Striving for the "acceptable" grade (Part 2)

When I last left you, Jolene had been wanting to switch math courses because she wanted to be able to get an A in math and spend less time achieving that grade. Our plan was for Jolene to take the next test and see how it went and she would decide based on that result.

Jolene earned an A- on the Unit 2 Test. She decided to stay in the honors course.

I know, this is kind of a quick ending to a long story, but it was really as easy as that. Why? Because there was only one important thing - her grade. There was no discussion as to how long she spent preparing for the test.

A few weeks later, she remains in the class and her grade is at an A-. But there's been no discussion involving me about whether her other classes are suffering or if she has, in fact, reduced the amount of time she devotes to her math homework.

Today, we had our Unit 3 Test. I have no idea how Jolene did and I probably won't look at the tests until Thanksgiving break. (Yes, I do school work during my "break". In fact, most teachers I know use their breaks to do work. Often a significant amount of work.) At the end of today's test, Jolene commented that the test was difficult. But, she didn't leave my room crying.

No, today it was Brenda who left crying. Brenda, my superstar. Brenda, like Jolene, is a new student at my school. She considered trying to move on to the third-year honors course. In the end, she opted to stay in my second-year honors course, and this has proven to be a pretty good fit for her. Her grades have often been near or at the very top of my class.  But, she has been learning a lot and the class has not been as simple as she had thought it might.

Today, Brenda melted down at the end of the test. Time was up and just as Brenda was about to hand her test to me, she noticed that there was a page 6. She looked at me and asked for time to complete page 6. I told her no, that I had not been able to give students in the other period extra time, so it would not be fair to give her additional time. Moreover, the last page had one problem that was worth 2 of a possible 34 marks. There is absolutely no way that 2 marks will have any impact on her semester grade. Brenda has already demonstrated to me remarkable mathematical skills. She readily recognizes pattern and is proficient at explaining how the ideas connect.  Despite all of this, Brenda broke down crying over not having gotten to do anything on page 6.

I'm not sure about this, but I'm guessing Brenda's breakdown has many more reasons behind it other than the math test she just took. Regardless, not finishing the test ignited her feelings and brought them to the surface. Since I don't know what's going on with her beyond my math class, it's not fair to say that the almighty letter grade is the main culprit here. But, the letter grade certainly has played a major role. It's as simple as this. If the test had no grade associated with it, would Brenda have left my class sobbing today?

What the heck is this blog all about anyway?

A major focus of my professional development in the last ten years or so has been the role of evaluation in the education of high school students. Hi. I'm a high school math teacher. Want more? I am a math teacher at a prep school. At an intense college preparatory secondary school. So, kids are sent here to go to college. Or so it would seem. And I am part of that.

Now, I want my part at my school to not be just as a tool that students use to get to the next place. No teacher wants that. So, I question everything I do, and the biggest question that looms over me, especially at the end of each quarter is what the heck am I doing assigning a grade to these kids. I mean, how does giving a student a grade really benefit that student?

I wholeheartedly (yes, I mean that, with every ounce of my heart) reject the "positive reinforcement" idea. Quickly, if you think negative reinforcement is bad, then why should positive reinforcement be any better? Both are used as a means of obtaining compliance. Don't do this, or you will go to your room. Do well on this test and I will give you a token that helps you get into college. Same thing. Don't trust me, trust Alfie Kohn who exhaustively researches his writing. Check out this article first.

But, I am obligated to pursue this practice given where I currently teach. Really, this would be the case at the vast majority of secondary schools, so it's hardly surprising.

At the end of each quarter, at the end of each project, at the end of each test, and so on, I assign a letter grade to evaluate the quality of the student's work. This simple letter grade only conveys how one has done compared to one's peers. It does not offer any suggestions as to what is "good" or what "needs improvement" or if a student has improved or regressed or been stagnant. And, given the high stakes involved - Yale? Carleton? UC Santa Barbara? - students learn that these tokens are what they need so that is all they pay attention to. Yes, I am generalizing, but it is a valid generalization.

My proposal: Eliminate with great haste and with great contempt the letter grade. Evolve as a teacher, evolve as a school, and evolve as a student. Who knows, maybe evolve as a society?