Your Grade

Grades Suck: This Class is Ungraded

While every student does end up with a final grade in the course, this class is not based on points/percentages. That is, your individual assignments are not graded in the traditional manner. Instead, you will get an indication of your progress on each assignment. For your assignments, you will see:

Advanced (3)⭐️, Accomplished (2) ✅, or Approaching (1) 🚧 on your weekly work. Assignments must earn at least an Accomplished (2) to count towards your grade. You will be given feedback based on your goals and have the opportunity to learn, revise, resubmit, and reflect on your learning (if you choose). You may also choose not to resubmit based on your goals. For example, if you earned an Approaching (1) on an assignment and are not needing/wanting an Accomplished on that assignment, you are done! If you DO want/need to hit the Accomplished or Advanced level, you can request such feedback, revise, and resubmit. You can also take the feedback and apply it to your next assignment rather than revising the one you got an Approaching (1) score on. You can similarly do this with an Accomplished score--review, revise, and resubmit to earn an Advanced.

You don't like/need/want to do this assignment? You might not have to! Your grade is always in your hands!

You will also participate in self evaluations in this course, giving you more voice in the overall grading process.

WAIT. How Will I Know My Grade???

First, don’t panic. Everyone gets a grade in this class, and ideally most students get the grade they desire. Second, while we do not use points towards a final grade, there will be points given just as identifiers of your progress and growth (not grades!) only because Canvas does not allow categories such as the ones we’re using. They will, however, allow you to keep track of the status of your assignments easily even if not providing a running total. Focus on learning and growing as a student rather than maintaining a % each week.

Where you end up is a lot more important than where you start!

YOU WILL ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOU STAND IN THIS CLASS. Assignments are assessed regularly and the grading structure is unchanging. Therefore, you can, at any time, know exactly what you still need to complete in order to accomplish your goals.

Grade Goals

Your overall body of work, effort, understanding, and growth as a learner are the most important things to me as your teacher. Further, I recognize and respect that you have your own goals and needs for taking this course–and that you have varied demands on your time and effort. Therefore, I believe your grade should reflect your goals and the big picture of your effort rather than its weakest parts. That is, where you end up as a beginning historian is much more significant than where you start! We should be allowed to begin something new without punishment (loss of points)! Most grading structures punish the growth process by subtracting points for non-mastery. In this class, you are given the chance to improve and grow without sacrificing your goals. Remember: Where you end up is more important than where you begin! Learning is the whole point! (haha, points. Get it?)

OK, But How Do I Get My Grade?

Before choosing your Grade Goal, consider what grade you need from this class. What other commitments do you have this semester that may affect your goals? How much time and effort do you have for the work in this specific class compared to others? How consistent and organized are you, typically? Lastly, what kind of grade do you want? You will decide by using the chart linked below.

Note that there is a difference between completion and excellence. In this class, you can decide what your intended outcomes are and prioritize accordingly.

Click Here for the Grade Goals Chart

Why I Am An Ungrader

I've been a teacher since 2005 and have radically changed my views on learning, grading, and the relationship between teacher and student over the years. Through research and just plain practice, I've grown away from the usual standards. Below are the key reasons I no longer believe in traditional grading.

GRADES DO NOT:

Assess a student's effort

Determine intelligence

Measure success or comprehension

Encourage actual learning

Allow for beginners and growth

Provide room for flexibility or creativity

Inspire out-of-the-box thinking

Lead to natural curiosity or knnowledge

GRADES DO:

Cause unnecessary anxiety

Make students feel worthless

Lead to students giving up

Make students dread school

Lead to a game between prof and student

Reflect white supremacist and patriarchal traditions in education

Determine that learning can only be measured one way

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