Grades have been a universal experience for almost any student. We finally submit that paper we may or may not have put forth a huge amount of effort. The teacher then grades the paper on specific standards, rubrics, or just a vague notion of how well they crafted their words to make meaning. The student receives the feedback in terms of grades- A being the best and F being failure. We as teachers have experienced this and have passed the tradition along to our students. In this model, we have unintentionally praised intelligence and have set limits on learning going against Carol Dweck’s growth mindset.

After seven experiments with hundreds of children, we had some of the clearest findings I’ve ever seen: Praising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance. How can that be? Don’t children love to be praised? Yes, children love praise. And they especially love to be praised for their intelligence and talent. It really does give them a boost, a special glow—but only for the moment. The minute they hit a snag, their confidence goes out the window and their motivation hits rock bottom. If success means they’re smart, then failure means they’re dumb. That’s the fixed mindset.

~Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Students who work hard in a subject may never find success in grades. They may always be a c student who works incredibly hard and yet we continue to put praise on students who receive higher marks. Students who may excel at certain subject can slack off because they don’t feel compelled to work as hard as they already have that A. This inequality damages students motivation towards learning. How many doctors and lawyers have we discouraged because they gave up once they know they didn’t get that 4.0. We have created a system where we want the grade rather than the learning.

Standards Based Grading

We give up grades, then what?

If the purpose of grades is feedback and providing students with achievable goal of whether they met the proficiency expectations, there are more ways to do that instead of a traditional grading system.

Standards-based grading is gaining popularity across districts as an alternative to the traditional grading system. On standard-based grades, teachers or curriculum defines learning targets for students. Students then engage in work around the learning target while the teacher provides feedback on that target. Students then complete an assessment on that target (standard) to determine mastery. If students show mastery within the learning target, it is reflected in a proficient scale.

I may never be a musician but at least I know I could be if I have the drive and willingness to set goals to overcome my lack of musical abilities. Good thing it’s not my passion.