Reimagining Education

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Going Gradeless
“Grading is a weak form of feedback in all cases except the ones where students clearly
understand where the grade is coming from. If the kind of grading you’re doing isn’t feedback,
then it should always be satisficed or skipped” (Stuart, 2019).

“Traditional grading practices are often also corrupted by implicit

racial, class, and gender biases” (Feldman, 2019).

“Grades based on performance outside the classroom can...reproduce cycles of disparities, by

rewarding or punishing students based on their income and resources...teachers often
award points to students for their homework performance, which rewards or punishes
students based on environmental factors outside of the student’s control”
(Stuart, 2019).

“If a student can display their knowledge of those standards without doing the homework, he
shouldn’t be penalized for that in his grade, especially because students all have different
responsibilities outside of school that can make getting homework done difficult”
(Schwartz, 2019).

Essential questions (Thomas, 2018)

● What is the purpose of school? For students? For teachers?
● What is your teaching philosophy?
● How do our instructional strategies align with that purpose and those roles?
● What are our go-to tools for assessment? Who do they favor? Who do they leave out?
● What are the benefits and costs of our grading systems?
● What if our current systems aren’t serving our kids? What if they’re really about the
convenience of adults?

Reasons to go gradeless (this is not cumulative!)

● Grades are too subjective, arbitrary, and unclear (Lince, 2020)
● Grades are inherently limited and flawed (Pinkus, 2018)
● Grades are often misguided and invalid (SmartTutor)
● Grades can demotivate students from redoing/revising work
● Grades reduce student interest in the learning itself
● Grades can harm teachers’ relationships with students and vice versa
● Grades can undermine student engagement (Gonser, 2020)
● Students and families become “grade-obsessed”
Classroom success should NOT be impacted by…
● Participation
● Attendance/tardiness
● Behavior
● Environmental (and other!) factors outside students’ control
Classroom success should be impacted by...
● Reflected effort
● Reflected growth
● Newly built skills - without including them in a grade (Feldman, 2019)
More Holistic approach to assessment
● Standards/Progress/Proficiency/Competency-based grading (not perfect, either!)
● Self-Assessed Learning Goals
● Portfolios (measure growth)/Performance-based assessments
● Project-Based Learning (PBL)
Tips about going gradeless
● Provide feedback first; multiple rounds
● Provide as many opportunities for students to redo/revise until they are satisfied with their
demonstrated proficiency; accepting all late work up until the end of the semester
● Don’t penalize students for missing work/assignments unless they are unable to
demonstrate proficiency in that area at a later checkpoint
● Students have to argue for their grade; must demonstrate/explain their proficiency-level or
demonstrate/explain growth
Helpful blogs and articles about going gradeless:
● Why Are You Grading That? (more equitable grading)
● What Traditional Classroom Grading Gets Wrong (more equitable grading)
● Finding clarity in assessment and grading (more equitable grading)
● How teachers are changing grading practices with an eye on equity (more equitable grading)
● Why I’m Going Gradeless This Year (more equitable grading)
● Teachers Going Gradeless (going gradeless)
● How I Go Gradeless (going gradeless)
● The Joys of Assessment Through Gradeless Practice (going gradeless)
● Can You Go Gradeless? (going gradeless)
● What Going Gradeless Taught Me About Doing the “Actual Work” (going gradeless)
● Reimagining the High School Transcript (going gradeless)
● A standards-based grading how-to for secondary ELA (standards-based grading)
● Standards-based grading: What to know in 2020 (standards-based grading)
● Seven reasons for standards-based grading (standards-based grading)

Books about going gradeless:

● Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grades School
● Going Gradeless , Grades 6-12
Other Resources:
 ● Arthur Chiarvalli’s Twitter Account
● MCTE 2019 Gradeless Presentation
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Project-Based Learning
Essential Questions:
● How can Project Based Learning (PBL) be reimagined or expanded?
● Why is PBL effective?
● How can PBL be used to reimagine education (rather than focusing on right/wrong answers and
worksheets)?
Key Ideas:
● Guided towards a “big picture”
● An extension of inquiry-based learning
● Higher-order thinking skills
● ELA skills are “hidden” within the process
● Focuses on critical analysis, socio-emotional learning, real world problem-solving, and decision making
○ Avoids info regurgitation
○ Provides opportunity to be relevant to students, their communities, communities of others, and
real-world problems
● Provides flexibility with individual vs group work
Resources:
1. What is project based learning?
2. Why Is Project Based Learning Important?
3. Project Based Learning: Start Here
4. PBL: 6 steps to design, implement, and assess
5. Practical PBL Series: Design an instructional unit in 7 phases
6. Authenticity in ELA-PBL
7. PBL Resources
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Classroom Dynamics
Schools and education are not (and should never be) a one-size fits all model. If we are to ever be
successful at reimagining what our education system can do for students, we have to be comfortable
with undergoing massive physical, mental, and emotional changes. We don’t have all of the answers,
but we do have a few places to start the work of reimaging what schools can do for students and what
part we play in that.
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
In Support of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy:

Blogs and Articles

● You Cannot Be What You Cannot See: The Critical Importance of Representation in Literature for
Minority Students
● First-Day Actions for a Culturally Sustaining Classroom Environment
● Creating the Space to Talk About Race in Your School
Academic and Research Journals
● It’s Not on the List: An Exploration of Teachers’ Perspectives on Using Multicultural Literature
● What Is Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Why Does It Matter?
● Cross-Pollinating Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning: Toward an
Inclusive Pedagogy That Accounts for Dis/Ability

Book Lists
● For Students
● For Teachers

Universal Design for Learning

Guidelines
In Support of UDL:

Blogs and Articles

● 5 Examples of Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom
● Universal Design in the Classroom: Do it Once, Do it Right
● How to Apply the Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom
● Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Build Your Inclusive Classroom Through UDL

Academic and Research Journals

● A Practical Reader in Universal Design for Learning
● Universal Design for Learning: Technology and Pedagogy
● Universal Design for Learning in Postsecondary Education: Reflections on Principles and their
Application

Alternative Seating
In Support of Alternative Seating:

Blogs and Articles

● How Teachers Use Alternative Seating to Engage Students
● How Flexible Seating Is Increasing Student Engagement
● 9 Benefits of Flexible Seating in Education
● Alternative Seating for the Classroom

Academic and Research Journals

● Alternative Seating for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Effects on Classroom Behavior
● Alternative Seating and Students’ Perceptions: Implications for the Learning Environment
● Social Justice and Ensemble Success: Implementing Alternative Seating Practices

Resources for Starting the Process:

Video Examples, Ideas, and Advice

● 4 Tips for Flexible Seating - High School Teacher
● Flexible Seating Series Episode 1: How to Administer State Testing
 ● Flexible Seating High School Classroom
● How to Start Flexible Seating - Mr. Riedl
● Classroom Tour! 5th Grade Flexible Seating 2017 - Mr. Reidl

Ideas and Inspiration

● Flexible Seating: 21 Awesome Ideas for Your Classroom
● Flexible Seating on a Budget? You Can Do It!
● 9 Awesome High School Flexible Seating Classrooms

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School Resources
(i.e. mental health) - Ryan

Community Involvement in Schools

“One such district is Vancouver Public Schools, which has established 18 on-site Family-Community Resource
Centers (FCRCs), along with two mobile FCRCs, to help students and families address challenges they might be
facing outside of the classroom. Through their FCRCs, Vancouver Public Schools connect families to resources
and information related to health care, housing assistance, transportation, food, clothing, hygiene items, school
supplies, and more. The resource centers give parents and caregivers a physical place to connect with the
school system and gives community partners with students’ best interests in mind a space to offer services that
help district families.

FCRCs were created—and continue to be organized—by input from students and their families. Through Parent
and Family Leadership Advisory Groups and students and families who serve as staff and site coordinators,
FCRCs ensure that they’re responding to urgent and ongoing community needs. Building on the success of their
existing spaces, Vancouver Public Schools hopes to expand their FCRCs’ offerings to include vaccination clinics
and on-site childcare.”

Blogs and Articles

● 5 Ideas for School-Community Engagement
● Mental Health PowerPoint
● Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition
● Resources for teaching to students with disabilities