Grading Policy Rationale
In any given task people start at different skill levels. People seem to have innate skills in different areas. Some people take to swimming like a fish their first time in the water and some people seem to sink and flounder no matter how hard they try. The same example seems to holds true in all learned tasks, from physical to academic and any combination of the two. However Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers (2008), argues that if a person practices a task or skill for 10,000 hours, that person can achieve Mastery of that skill. This implies that regardless of innate talent, all students can preform at the same level of achievement at any task. I believe that Gladwell is correct in his theory that practice levels the playing field but I disagree with Gladwell’s idea that Mastery can be achieved.
Visualize Mastery of any given skill or task as a sphere. Then imagine the performance of that task or implementation of that skill as a line headed towards Mastery. Instead of the line reaching Mastery at 10,000 hours, I suggest that the line of learning is an asymptote. An asymptote is a line that approaches any given curve, but never reaches it. One can always be reaching and searching in a line towards mastery, but one will never reach it because situations change, knowledge grows, and people are unique. Jewelry is a class where a problem is realized and the line towards mastery begins or continues as the students work at defining a solution for that problem, implementing that solution, reviewing the results of the solution’s implementation and realizing new problems. As this process of realizing problems and seeking solutions continues, the line of learning continues towards Mastery and quality of effort and achievement look more like perfection.
Since total Mastery is impossible to achieve in even one area of life, it is certainly impossible to achieve in all areas. People will eventually settle down to a small handful of areas which will become the main focus of their life’s learning, this is called specialization. School, however, is not the time to seek specialization, but is rather a time to learn and practice many subjects and work towards mastery in all of them. In school this massive search for Mastery is learning. Grades, rubrics, summative standards and summative tests are the antithesis of learning. They become the goal of the student, getting the “A” , meeting the five or ten standards, or passing the test. When this becomes the focus then true learning takes a backseat because once a finite goal is achieved the pursuit of Mastery ends. In other words, the minimum has been met and one can give up.
In Drive, a book by lawyer and economist Daniel Pink (2009), there is a possible solution to abrogate the minimum achievement view that grades propagate. In the last section of his book Pink has his tool box, which is where he gives suggestions for the application of his theories. One of the tools is the Do It Yourself (DIY) grading system. Pink writes, “Good grades become a reward for compliance––but do not have much to do with learning… So try experimenting with the DIY… At the beginning of a semester, ask students to list their top learning goals, then, at the end of the semester, ask them to create their own report card along with a one-or two-paragraph review of their progress” (p. 176-177).
There are possible problems with having students grade themselves, such as students learning to manipulate and to justify without putting in effort, or polarizing weak and strong students. Polarizing of weak versus strong students is looked at in a study by Boud and Falchikov (1989), in Australia, it explained that, "‘good’ students tended to underrate themselves compared to staff marks, whereas ‘weak’ students tended to overrate themselves.” I have come across these problems in my teaching, and consequently I reserve the right to override the students grade choice if the evidence does not support their claim. Largely, students seem to do fairly well on choosing the same grade that I would have chosen, but there is always some manipulation and justification by “weak” students grading up based on optimism and grading below performance level by “good” students. Yet there are also possible problems when teachers grade students. The problem is that teachers are not consistent. Paul Dressel (as cited in Kohn, 1993) states, “a grade can be regarded only as an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable judge of the extent to which a student has attained an undefined level of mastery of an unknown proportion on an indefinite amount of material” ( p. 201-202). Keeping in mind that problems with accuracy can happen whether students are grading or teachers are grading, DIY grading is successful. One study showed that even students in elementary school can accurately assess themselves if the emphasis of the assessment is on mastery rather than performance (Butler, 1990). I feel that more is needed than a beginning goal and an end assessment to help students accurately implement DIY grades. Pink (2009) also talks about giving one’s self a performance review, which is the evaluation of one’s big goals and the setting and evaluating of smaller goals.
Alfie Kohn (1993), a psychologist and author, notes that grades are a reward for some and a punishment for others. Regardless of which, for many students, grades are not just ineffective, but actually can do harm in the learning process, because students who have traditionally done poorly might see the grade as another affirmation of their inability to perform correctly in school. On the other hand, students who consistently get perfect grades are continually recognized as good students who are capable of winning the respect and admiration of those in power, namely teachers and parents. Kohn suggests to do away with grades completely. Kohn also says however, that if only one teacher in a school gets rid of grades then that teacher’s class will very likely be on the student’s I-do-not-have-to worry-about-that-class-because-it-does not-really-count list and student learning will again be sacrificed. I have seen that a DIY grading system is an excellent option for turning possible negative effects of grades around into a valuable assessment tool that leads to learning goals and not grade oriented goals. I see that if a student is not trying to shape metal into a grade, then they can work on shaping the metal into creative jewelry instead and move towards Mastery. I have also seen that when the student is working towards Mastery instead of a grade, their projects look better and they are more proud of them. I use DIY grades to give students the peace of mind that they can grade themselves because they know what they have done and how hard it was for them to do.
Learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice, or study, or by being taught. Keeping the definition of learning in mind, students will grade themselves on two continuums. The first continuum is effort. Effort incorporates a huge number of things, but one of the major things it looks at is whether or not the student is working towards Mastery or sitting around in class waiting for the last minute that they can make a piece of garbage to get a passing grade. The effort continuum also helps those whose starting-level-aptitude is higher than others and when they make something nice, in half the time of their peers, they feel that they can sit around and forget about learning until the next specific assignment is made. The effort continuum will be represented in a daily participation score where after students have cleaned up the classroom they will write a score of 0-10 on how well they worked that class period. This will also give students who are less inclined to show up to class a reason to come and make-up lost time.
The second continuum is achievement. In life there are myriad examples that effort does not always do the trick. Imagine a brain surgeon who studies and practices and works so hard to be the best brain surgeon ever, but if all his patients die, then the effort doesn’t count for anything. In Jewelry if a student works all semester and never makes any of the projects there will still be problems. Project grades are a method of learning and assessing progress. If a student makes something and hands it in and a teacher later hands it back with a grade, then the student missed out. If the student looks at their work, evaluates it and breaks down how they truly did and what they need to do better then the project grade is a tool of learning.
Boud, D., & Falchikov, N. (1989). Quantitative studies of student self-assessment in higher education: A critical analysis of findings. Higher Education, 18(5), 529-549.
Butler, R. (1990). The effects of mastery and competitive conditions on Self‐Assessment at different ages. Child Development, 61(1), 201-210.
Gladwell, M. (2008) Outliers: The story of success. New York: Little, Brown and Company
Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A's, praise, and other bribes. New York, N.Y.: New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York: Riverhead Books.
Visualize Mastery of any given skill or task as a sphere. Then imagine the performance of that task or implementation of that skill as a line headed towards Mastery. Instead of the line reaching Mastery at 10,000 hours, I suggest that the line of learning is an asymptote. An asymptote is a line that approaches any given curve, but never reaches it. One can always be reaching and searching in a line towards mastery, but one will never reach it because situations change, knowledge grows, and people are unique. Jewelry is a class where a problem is realized and the line towards mastery begins or continues as the students work at defining a solution for that problem, implementing that solution, reviewing the results of the solution’s implementation and realizing new problems. As this process of realizing problems and seeking solutions continues, the line of learning continues towards Mastery and quality of effort and achievement look more like perfection.
Since total Mastery is impossible to achieve in even one area of life, it is certainly impossible to achieve in all areas. People will eventually settle down to a small handful of areas which will become the main focus of their life’s learning, this is called specialization. School, however, is not the time to seek specialization, but is rather a time to learn and practice many subjects and work towards mastery in all of them. In school this massive search for Mastery is learning. Grades, rubrics, summative standards and summative tests are the antithesis of learning. They become the goal of the student, getting the “A” , meeting the five or ten standards, or passing the test. When this becomes the focus then true learning takes a backseat because once a finite goal is achieved the pursuit of Mastery ends. In other words, the minimum has been met and one can give up.
In Drive, a book by lawyer and economist Daniel Pink (2009), there is a possible solution to abrogate the minimum achievement view that grades propagate. In the last section of his book Pink has his tool box, which is where he gives suggestions for the application of his theories. One of the tools is the Do It Yourself (DIY) grading system. Pink writes, “Good grades become a reward for compliance––but do not have much to do with learning… So try experimenting with the DIY… At the beginning of a semester, ask students to list their top learning goals, then, at the end of the semester, ask them to create their own report card along with a one-or two-paragraph review of their progress” (p. 176-177).
There are possible problems with having students grade themselves, such as students learning to manipulate and to justify without putting in effort, or polarizing weak and strong students. Polarizing of weak versus strong students is looked at in a study by Boud and Falchikov (1989), in Australia, it explained that, "‘good’ students tended to underrate themselves compared to staff marks, whereas ‘weak’ students tended to overrate themselves.” I have come across these problems in my teaching, and consequently I reserve the right to override the students grade choice if the evidence does not support their claim. Largely, students seem to do fairly well on choosing the same grade that I would have chosen, but there is always some manipulation and justification by “weak” students grading up based on optimism and grading below performance level by “good” students. Yet there are also possible problems when teachers grade students. The problem is that teachers are not consistent. Paul Dressel (as cited in Kohn, 1993) states, “a grade can be regarded only as an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable judge of the extent to which a student has attained an undefined level of mastery of an unknown proportion on an indefinite amount of material” ( p. 201-202). Keeping in mind that problems with accuracy can happen whether students are grading or teachers are grading, DIY grading is successful. One study showed that even students in elementary school can accurately assess themselves if the emphasis of the assessment is on mastery rather than performance (Butler, 1990). I feel that more is needed than a beginning goal and an end assessment to help students accurately implement DIY grades. Pink (2009) also talks about giving one’s self a performance review, which is the evaluation of one’s big goals and the setting and evaluating of smaller goals.
Alfie Kohn (1993), a psychologist and author, notes that grades are a reward for some and a punishment for others. Regardless of which, for many students, grades are not just ineffective, but actually can do harm in the learning process, because students who have traditionally done poorly might see the grade as another affirmation of their inability to perform correctly in school. On the other hand, students who consistently get perfect grades are continually recognized as good students who are capable of winning the respect and admiration of those in power, namely teachers and parents. Kohn suggests to do away with grades completely. Kohn also says however, that if only one teacher in a school gets rid of grades then that teacher’s class will very likely be on the student’s I-do-not-have-to worry-about-that-class-because-it-does not-really-count list and student learning will again be sacrificed. I have seen that a DIY grading system is an excellent option for turning possible negative effects of grades around into a valuable assessment tool that leads to learning goals and not grade oriented goals. I see that if a student is not trying to shape metal into a grade, then they can work on shaping the metal into creative jewelry instead and move towards Mastery. I have also seen that when the student is working towards Mastery instead of a grade, their projects look better and they are more proud of them. I use DIY grades to give students the peace of mind that they can grade themselves because they know what they have done and how hard it was for them to do.
Learning is defined as the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice, or study, or by being taught. Keeping the definition of learning in mind, students will grade themselves on two continuums. The first continuum is effort. Effort incorporates a huge number of things, but one of the major things it looks at is whether or not the student is working towards Mastery or sitting around in class waiting for the last minute that they can make a piece of garbage to get a passing grade. The effort continuum also helps those whose starting-level-aptitude is higher than others and when they make something nice, in half the time of their peers, they feel that they can sit around and forget about learning until the next specific assignment is made. The effort continuum will be represented in a daily participation score where after students have cleaned up the classroom they will write a score of 0-10 on how well they worked that class period. This will also give students who are less inclined to show up to class a reason to come and make-up lost time.
The second continuum is achievement. In life there are myriad examples that effort does not always do the trick. Imagine a brain surgeon who studies and practices and works so hard to be the best brain surgeon ever, but if all his patients die, then the effort doesn’t count for anything. In Jewelry if a student works all semester and never makes any of the projects there will still be problems. Project grades are a method of learning and assessing progress. If a student makes something and hands it in and a teacher later hands it back with a grade, then the student missed out. If the student looks at their work, evaluates it and breaks down how they truly did and what they need to do better then the project grade is a tool of learning.
Boud, D., & Falchikov, N. (1989). Quantitative studies of student self-assessment in higher education: A critical analysis of findings. Higher Education, 18(5), 529-549.
Butler, R. (1990). The effects of mastery and competitive conditions on Self‐Assessment at different ages. Child Development, 61(1), 201-210.
Gladwell, M. (2008) Outliers: The story of success. New York: Little, Brown and Company
Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A's, praise, and other bribes. New York, N.Y.: New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York: Riverhead Books.