Guskey, T. R. (2011). Five Obstacle to Grading reform. Educational Leadership, 17-21.
Synopsis:
In previous years, even when we were in grade school, our achievement came in the form of a single letter grade for each subject we took. Typically, that grade represented how we did in comparison to how our peers did, rather than a comparison to how we did in achieving our actual learning outcomes. We could find our place somewhere along the bell curve. Guskey points out all of these traditional assessment methods and challenges each and every one of them. He challenges these dated ways of understanding our student’s achievements in saying that they do almost nothing for the learner. For example, do low grades really motivate students to try harder? I wouldn’t count on it.
My Critical Reflection:
Although this article seemingly has little to do with creating a positive classroom environment, I beg to differ. Consider the climate that letter grades have created in our pasts. We receive a grade and the first thing we do is compare it to our friends. I know that when I got a good grade, I was thrilled; when I got a low grade, I beat myself up about it. The ups and downs were truly a rollercoaster ride that made me sick. So, why do we do this to our students? Why give them anxiety with a letter that fails to really represent where they were, where they currently stand, and where they need to go? Surely, we can give them something that more accurately represents their trajectory and guides them in the right direction. Perhaps then they will be more likely to keep trying in the midst of failure, and reach even higher during times of success. I think that taking away the anxiety caused by traditional grading, can aid in creating a classroom environment that is safe and welcoming. However, as Guskey states, we can’t simply have a strong opinion about how assessment ought to change, we need to have a plan on how we are going to change it.
