I used to fret quite a lot over my grade distribution. If I gave too many As, did that mean my courses lacked rigor? If too many students failed, was I a bad teacher? My thinking has shifted to a greater concern over student learning and I don’t put much thought into the grades I assign. I wish for my students to do the same.
One Response
Paul Dressel famously described a grade as “an inadequate report of an inaccurate judgement by a biased and variable judge of the extent to which a student has attained an undefined level of mastery of an unknown proportion of an indefinite material.” Thanks, Emily. Great article. Ungrading is wonderful and I support your advocacy 100%! I have used the approach for nearly ten years now and found it transforms the class to a strong learning orientation. May your number increase!