It's time for a radical transformation of our antiquated assessment and grading practices.
Are you willing to amplify your story as a catalyst for change?
Then join
@KatieWhite426
,
@TomSchimmer
, and myself at the Empowerment Ecosystem Summit!
Register @
Just saw a question on a job application that took my breath away.
"How does your privilege serve you in this work? How are you using it to create more equity?"
Wow. That is THE question. 👏👏👏
Fact: TikTok videos are only 60 seconds in length.
Also fact: Explaining a complex concept accurately in 60 seconds shows a considerable depth of understanding.
Ergo, I dare you to replace your next test with a TikTok challenge.
Rather than grading homework, invite students to self-assess on three criteria:
1. I need more challenge.
2. I need more practice.
3. I need help.
Start class in differentiated groups around these needs.
I literally CANNOT with folks defending traditional grading by saying it prepares students for the ReAL WoRLd
When’s the last time a teacher got docked pay for late report card comments?
Or could opt out of work with a 0?
Or couldn’t try again after bombing an observation?
I’ve stumbled upon the crux of the issue in education…
An additive mindset.
We’re not having the tough conversations about what we need to STOP doing. Instead, we just keep doing all the things that are no longer working, while also trying to adopt all the better practices.
When teachers start exploring the intersection between assessment, grading, and equity in the classroom... it's like pulling the loose thread on a sweater.
Eventually, it will unravel everything else we've been socialized to accept about school.
The current school model was designed to teach students compliance for rote factory jobs.
Now, we need a school model that teaches creativity and collaboration.
The key driver of that shift is rethinking our assessment and grading practices.
Do students need to take a lot of tests to prepare for tests?
No.
Students need a deep understanding of the curriculum that will transfer to any setting.
Practicing stress will not make up for a lack of understanding.
Do students need to take lots of tests to prepare for tests?
No.
Students need a deep understanding of the curriculum that they can transfer to any setting.
Practicing "stress" will not make up for a lack of understanding.
Today, in the false binary battle of education…
Either being an “academic” teacher, or a “relationships” teacher.
Since when are either of those things NOT Integral to our work?!
Also, if you’re living in the paradigm that academics means sacrificing relationships…
What I wish I knew before choosing a career in education:
- You'll find your voice, just to be scolded for using it.
- You'll be told to stay in your lane, A LOT.
-You'll question your value.
- You're more than your job; there's many ways to continue serving education.
The longer I stay in this assessment and grading work, the more clear the problem becomes.
Teacher prep programs.
The waves of new teachers with zero assessment literacy is making this work feel like trying to plug a fire hose with a band aid.
Here's a dare for the new school year...
Cancel a test and do a TikTok challenge instead.
It's a complex challenge to explain a concept completely and accurately in under 3 minutes.
Three BIG reasons it's so hard to rethink grading:
1. Our experiences in school.
2. Universities don't teach it.
3. We don't know any other way.
Others?
It's time for a RADICAL transformation of the education system.
I'm tired of sitting back and waiting for people in formal leadership positions to make it happen.
We need to each find our unique voice and come together in inclusive coalitions for change.
Who's with me?!
I’m currently working with a high school to expand assessment practices through a “grade less” approach.
To not unnecessarily trigger parents, one department called it a “feedback-first classroom” in their introductory letter upon launch.
Brilliant.
As the new school year starts, I want to fill my feed with badass educational leaders who are making moves around assessment, grading and equity.
Who do I need to follow?
The purpose of education has long been to train students to be members of society.
However, our society has entered a state of perpetual disruption and evolution.
Therefore, a better purpose is for education is to ground students in their evolving humanity.
The grading system a teacher creates is anything but arbitrary.
It's grounded in their values, experiences, and philosophy of education.
This is why responses to grading reform efforts are so emotional.
When someone says, "If I don't grade it, students won't do it."
Agree with them.
It's disarming.
Then ask, "But were they doing it for the right reasons anyways?"
The goal is to get more students engaged in authentic learning, not just task completion.
Here's the ultimate feedback strategy to cut your grading time in half.
Read through a stack of assignments until you find one thing to teach the entire class the next day.
Run a mini-lesson, then give the assignment back for revision.
Boom.
There’s a number of folks in this thread asking, “But what about the people who aren’t privileged?”
The assumption that some people have no privilege based on a couple of their social identities begs some serious reflection. 😳
Three phrases you'll hear if you start making REAL change as a leader:
"That's not how we do things here."
"Our kids can't do that."
"The problem is you're too (passionate/young/naive etc.)"
Expect them.
Accept them.
Don't hook into them.
Grades don't define a student's potential.
But they defined mine for nearly 26 years of my life.
It wasn't until I left the traditional system that I prioritized learning, reflection, and growth.
What if our school system prioritized these things instead?
I’ve unlearned a lot about summative assessment recently.
I used to think it had to be a large, authentic task that evaluated the full complexity of outcomes.
Now, I understand it’s more often a moment when we have enough evidence to be able to summarize the learning.
Can you imagine what school would be like if joy was included in the success criteria of every task?
A completely subjective, uplifting, mindful, human criterion.
If students learned to cultivate it in all they do, what impact might this have on our future world?
What phrases get you MOST triggered as a teacher?
I'll start...
"I'm just going to stick to what's working for me--no need to reinvent the wheel"
"That sounds like too much work."
"That'll never work with MY students."
"If I don't grade it, the kids won't do it."
What's the worst thing a colleague said to defend their antiquated practice?
I'll go first...
"I need to ensure my grading system has fear in it so students do their work."
No summative assessment is complete without including student voice.
Here are three questions to ask:
1. What are you most proud of?
2. What do you think needs strengthening?
3. What will you do differently next time?
For a grading system to "work" it must be an accurate reflection of student learning.
If that system is being used to leverage behavioral compliance...it isn't working.
Next time someone argues for the use of a 0 to hold kids accountable, I’m going to ask this…
Are your assignments worth being accountable for?
Are they integral to the larger goal?
Are they meaningful to learners?
Using the 0 to hammer compliance is the easy button.
When our grading system creates a mental purgatory between crippling fear of failure and obsessive quest for perfection… we’ve lost the plot.
Instead, what if our grading system could increase positive risk-taking, self-awareness and well-being?
It’s possible.
Here’s an “inquiry-based writing” model (Bernabei, 2012) to disrupt the tyranny of the five-paragraph essay:
1. Describe a scene/situation that unearths an interesting question.
2. What is the question?
3. What are possible answers? /1
“Proficient teachers notice thinking, novice teachers notice behaviour”
@cerkens
dropping truth bombs—day 1 of the assessment collaborative retreat with
@SolutionTree
I could spend a whole year of PL on this topic, and still feel like I have more to learn!
Other than the great tips below, I’ve come to rely on one self-reflection question: Does my feedback produce a productive response from learners?
6 tenets of a "pedagogy of voice" by
@ShaneSafir
◽️talk less, smile more
◽️questions over answers
◽️ritualize reflection and feedback
◽️make learning public
◽️circle up
◽️feedback over grades
How might you bring all 6 to life in your next unit/project/sprint?
Does anyone else find it strange when
#SEL
is discussed as an add-on to academics?
We should be challenging the practices and mindsets in academics that lead to anxiety, isolation and coercion.
#SEL
literally means we need each other and intrinsic motivation to learn.
As you’re planning for PD next year, remember…
If everything is a priority, than nothing is.
Focus on something that is timeless, ubiquitous, collaborative, and has robust research into its impact on achievement.
(Psssst… that’s formative assessment)
What is one of the most overlooked aspects of effective feedback?
Consent.
When we ask if we can give feedback, and someone replies yes, we’ve primed their mind to RECEIVE it.
Try it with your most struggling learners. Game changer.
If you can name it, you can assess it.
If you can discuss it, you can assess it.
If you can reflect on it, you can assess it.
If you say you’re developing it, you better be assessing it.
But, you don’t have to grade it.
Research has demonstrated that we increasingly lose our influence with each point we add to our argument.
So, when in debate, stick to ONE potent point... then shut up.
What is the one point you make in response to, "If I don't grade it, my students won't do it?"
If the focus is only to get higher grades, then anything, including cheating, seems a logical path.
If the focus is on learning, using feedback to improve becomes logical.
Spoiler: A focus on learning also increases grades.
Let's get our focus right.
Questions from a dinner conversation with a friend reading
@chrisemdin
’s for “white folks who teach in the hood”
Is there privilege inherent in the
#ungrading
movement?
Are we removing a cultural currency, and returning to a culture of relational capital with white teachers?
It's a beautiful thing when the research validates a shift in our practice that gives us work-life balance.
There is one such shift that is completely in our control.
One area we are spending WAY too much time for little impact.
Stop grading everything students do.
Assessment is a process, not just a packet.
When we treat assessment as test design, we rob teachers and students of rich conversations about learning.
Four questions to guide the process:
If a student score tops marks on an exam, but walks away from it with an eye roll and a comment about how they are so glad that waste of a course is over… which summative assessment matters more?
STOP scrolling for jobs at a more progressive school.
Your impact is most needed where the status quo is the loudest.
Start by declaring your vision and gathering a few co-conspirators.
Shout out to the middle children of the education system.
Those who aren’t classroom teachers, or admin, but live in the space between.
Instructional coaches, consultants, specialists, etc
Those who feel alone, but know they have the capacity to make REAL change
I see you.
The first step towards transforming our education system is believing change is possible.
It means being called naive, idealistic, and a dreamer.
And you know what? I'm fine with that.
Because I KNOW that if we go there in mind, we'll go there in action.
Who's with me??
Leading change is uncomfortable as hell, there's no way around it.
The only way to get to real transformation is through the messy middle.
Hold space for the struggle, both in yourself and for others.
A common formative assessment does not have to result in data on a spreadsheet.
It can be a circle meeting at the end of the week where a teaching team discusses the competency development they witnessed.
In fact, the latter is more likely to lead to instructional agility.
We cannot reimagine education through a district mandate.
We cannot reimagine education through an innovative teacher doing different.
To reimagine education, we need to step into the sweet spot between top-down and bottom-up change toward a shared vision of empowerment.
Our traditional approach to grading teaches many students to be in a mental purgatory.
Stuck between a crippling fear of failure and an obsessive quest for perfection.
It’s time to rethink our compulsion to quantify everything if we want a future society of learners.
What is the most efficient and effective vehicle to radically reimagine education?
Assessment.
Empower learners in the assessment process and it will change everything: instructional design, mental health, engagement, test scores… all of it.
Took some away from Twitter the last few weeks to fully immerse myself in my (three years delayed!) wedding.
The most beautiful day, drenched in the duality of loss and new beginnings.
Feeing loved, grateful, and ready for the next chapter. ❤️
Next time you feel the frustration boil over at a stuck, obtuse colleague, remember this...
Whenever someone says, "My kids can't do that..."
They really mean, "I don't believe I can do that."
It changes the energy immediately.
"If I don't grade it, my students won't do it."
We've all heard it.
What's being communicated is, how do I intrinsically motivate my learners?
Help them to discover their values and work in alignment with them.
Aligning our actions with our values is motivating.
I can’t tell you how many times I introduced ChatGPT in my assessment coaching sessions this week.
Many had never heard of it.
No clue.
If you’re in this tech bubble with me, please, TEACH YOUR COLLEAGUES ABOUT THIS INCREDIBLE TOOL.
Give the gift of time.
"How will this prepare them for university?"
If you're leading grading reform, I know you've heard this question.
Here's a one-liner that works...
"We're not only trying to get kids TO university but THROUGH it, and these changes will give them the confidence to do that."
“If you want to build a SHIP, don’t drum up men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders.
Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless SEA.”
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I don't think we talk enough about an important instructional strategy: our energy.
What we FEEL is what we cultivate in the classroom.
How can we amplify positive energy as a part of professional development?
Let's put away the completion clipboard for good, and instead, differentiate our feedback on homework based on student self-assessment using the following criteria:
1. I need more challenge.
2. I need more practice.
3. I need help.
Learning > Completion.
Future scenario: 10 years from now, the gov't has handed over curriculum design to AI for student-driven personalized learning. Teachers have been redeployed as "wellness guides" and must specialize in one of the disciplines shown below.
How do you feel about this?
Questions?
We cannot change anything in education unless we do the deep, inner work of changing ourselves.
We've all been immersed in the traditional grading system that taught us perfect is possible.
Disrupt perfectionism in yourself by trying something new before you feel ready.
A MUST LISTEN for every educator.
This quote from a student using ChatGPT for assignments hit hard, “That emphasis on grading pushes students to use whatever means that they can.”
Feeing affirmed. Using grading to leverage behaviour backfires.
Formative assessment is so much more than just ungraded practice.
To amplify its potential, we must have a plan for how to USE the information.
This means we need a clear formative pathway to summative success.
Assessment is a verb, not a noun.
Want to inspire your colleagues to rethink at the start of your PD session?
Try this.
Tell them to list 10 things they know to be true about ____ (grading, education, etc.) in a T-chart.
Then, invite them to describe the opposite of each one.
Models nuance & complexity.
For those feeling frustrated by the lack of vision and direction in your school…
Get used to it.
That’s the thing about the status quo, it doesn’t want to go anywhere.
That’s why education needs a change catalyst like you to provide the vision and rally everyone around it!
Let’s do some backwards planning
If students were empowered to tell their own story as learners, rather than a grade, what do they need to be successful?
▫️Clear and compelling learning goals
▫️A place to gather and reflect on evidence
▫️Practice with storytelling
What else?
It breaks my heart that so many teachers give their power to grading, and deny the power in their relationship-building, instructional design and feedback practices.
What does being student-centred really mean?
It means feeling your face flush when they roll their eyes.
It means being told to dampen your passion, again.
It means choosing not to laugh along in the staff room.
Being student-centred is brave…and lonely.
The piece missed when taking about the problems with grades, is they provide the main communication to parents.
I want to hear more about new ways of communicating that welcome parents as partners.
We often underestimate them as allies.
Failing the Mad Minute and being publicly ranked in grade 4 made me declare that I hated Math.
Being in a pass/fail university program focused on feedback made me decide I wanted to be a teacher.
Our grading choices dictate whether students opt-in, or out.
You are not the teacher today that you will be five years from now…
…and in five years you will be the teacher you never knew was possible.
Take a deep breath and find peace in the present. ❤️
Okay, let’s talk about this:
Where are my tweeps going next after Twitter?
Where might we organize a coalition of people who want to rehumanize education?
Feeling frustrated and unsure about how to create change in your school?
You are not alone.
Our industrial system was designed in siloes; it's not by accident you feel this way, it's by design.
Find a co-conspirator as an act of revolution.
Tests and exams are just longer quizzes by a different name.
Weighting them higher in PowerSchool doesn’t make them a more sophisticated measure of learning.
If we want to measure deeper learning, we need to stop repackaging quizzes of knowledge and expand our repertoire.
As Parker Palmer said, the outer life of the teacher is always a reflection of their inner life.
Take care of you today as an act of professional development.
Your energy is a powerful instructional strategy.