Sound familiar? We as educators are first learners. We crave knowledge like a 4:45 Thanksgiving plate when dinner started at 4:00. In my sixteen and a half years of teaching, a revolving door of instructional strategies and new technology has distracted the very innocence and sacred time of teacher planning. Some of those strategies and technology pieces have been beneficial. The best instructional strategy thus far I have learned is building relationships with your students and a little something called "ungrading". That's correct, UN-GRADING. This process is to set up learning as the goal of students, not receiving the proverbial "A".
The process seems complicated and yet I laughed thinking I have taught more than sixteen years without it. Educators traditionally grade on a 100 point scale. An "A" is defined numerically from a 100 down to a 90. A "B" is defined as an 89-80, a "C" is a 79-70, and a "D" 69-60. It's an equal ten point spread until you get to an "F". An "F" is numerically calculated from a 0-59. That's a 59 point spread. How is that equitable or even fair? This is the challenge. How do we keep kids motivated without dangling the grade carrot in front of them? How do we discourage cheating?
More often than not, we work in communities where we are working on solutions that are evolving throughout time. How do we get our students to understand that learning is a process, not a destination. Traditional grading is a destination. While reading "Ungrading" by Susan D. Blum, I became painfully aware of how much I am setting my students up for failure. I am still at the beginning of my "ungrading" journey but I refuse to allow precious feedback and self assessments be overshadowed by a numerical grade that doesn't account for growth and improvement.
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