UNgrading – the early returns

This is the third in a series of posts about UNgrading.  The previous two posts were: Why I’m UNgrading my students and How I’m UNgrading my students.

a new day has dawned in my classroom

We are about to begin week 6 of the school year and I’ve not given my students a grade.  Sometimes I feel a little like I’m neglecting part of my job.  Most of the time I feel like a huge burden has been lifted.

The early results of UNgrading are observational and subjective, so take with a grain of salt.

Brief Background:

• I teach in a poor, rural area on an Indian Reservation in a traditional public school setting
• I decided that this year I would try to not give my students a single grade
• I have standard required grade reporting times (athletic eligibility, progress reports, quarter grades)
• My students are assessing themselves

What my students have been doing:

I’m a project based learning adherent, so each class (biology, chemistry, physics) has completed one long-term project this year.

In biology, the project was integrated with social studies and English and was focused on the driving question, “What determines who I become?”  This project integrated studies of genetics and heredity (biology) with elements of culture and famous world leaders (social studies).  English focused on writing and speech skills.  At the culmination of the project, students created a poster to answer the driving question.  This poster integrated various pieces from each class.  The posters were presented at a poster session prior to Open House.

In physics, students took on the challenge of the egg drop.  Our school gym has a roof that is about 40 feet high and I climb up there to drop their egg protection devices.  They were given a very limited list of materials with minimal quantities of each allowed.  They made and tested prototypes, completed a scale diagram of their plan for their final device, built their device, and presented their product to their peers with an explanation of the physics behind their design.  The final result, of course, was the egg drop itself.  We had about 100 students and staff in attendance at the event (our school has ~250 students).

In chemistry, we dove headlong into Whole Class Inquiry.  The students explored the particle model of matter with a couple of brief labs, followed by modeling-style whiteboard sessions.  We then went through an inquiry involving baking soda and vinegar and various apparatus that eventually forced water into a graduated cylinder.  The students determined which variables to manipulate about the system and then designed and carried out their experiments.  Finally, they had to bring all of their separate group data together to complete a whole class inquiry assessment.  In this challenge I set the parameters and they had to use their experimental data to complete a single trial experiment.

What I’ve seen so far without grades:

• This is purely substantial evidence but I feel like I’ve seen a much greater level of curiosity and question asking.  I strongly believe that I’ve never seen so much genuine wonder and inquiry in my classroom.
• Kids are grading themselves right about where I would have probably done it anyway.  Yeah, a few here and there are a little high or a little low.  Only a handful have been off by more than a grade (i.e. – A vs. C).  Those I just had a brief, gentle conversation with and asked them why they gave that grade.  The ones who undergraded were all too happy to bring it up.  Those who overgraded were quick (maybe too quick) to say that they thought they went too high.
• The focus on quality work in projects has been at least as good as before, if not better.  Maybe that’s more because the projects were rigorous and engaging and had an audience at the end.  Still, I had to (gently) kick kids out of my room on consecutive Fridays (my day to go home early) at 4 because I wanted to head out.  High schoolers!  On a Friday!  I wouldn’t have been caught dead near a classroom on a Friday afternoon in high school!
• The focus on content learning during projects has been at least as good if not better than in past years.  Counterintuitively, instead of focusing on really “pretty” products (which I think they equate to “better”), they are doing more functional work focused on learning the necessary content.  Scores on conventional quizzes (not graded) have been at least as good as in past years as well.
• The relationships in the classroom are better than ever.  My relationship with my students has been very positive.  I feel like I’m acting as more of a mentor or facilitator than ever before.  I feel like we’re on the same side.  My students are also getting along very well with each other.  I do think that grades foster competition among peers, even when there is no curving of the grades.
• I’ve had no complaints.  No student has complained about UNgrading (not a big surprise).  As yet, no parent has either.  As long as the students and parents are happy, so are my administrators!

The Bottom Line:

• Students are working at least as hard as before, if not harder, and doing quality work.
• Students are focusing on learning and being curious more than ever.
• Relationships are better than ever.

Having seen these positive results so far this year, it’s hard to imagine ever going back to giving grades.  I’m really curious to see what happens when we hit that time of the year when student motivation really starts to wane.  How will the absence of the carrot and the stick affect their willingness to work and to learn when they want to be nowhere near school?

My next step is to keep sharing my learning about UNgrading with my colleagues.  Hopefully I can steal some more converts away from the Dark Side!