Why Change our Assessment, Grading and Reporting Structure

Roots of Current Grading Practices

Industrial-era beliefs created school-centered systems in the 20th century as schooling became compulsory and expanded to more and more children. The prevalent assumption then was that intelligence was innate and fixed. The introduction of the bell curve took this further, suggesting that only a small portion of learners were naturally capable of succeeding – an idea founded in racist and elitist notions. The 21st century calls for a new paradigm: a belief that all humans have unique strengths and the capacity to learn, grow and succeed through personalized pathways. Yet our grading system continues to operate from the outdated belief system that ranks learners and narrowly defines intelligence and success.

Behaviorism also heavily shaped early 20th-century beliefs. Skinner’s 1940s research asserted that rewards and punishments drive human learning and behavior. Modern motivation theory has shifted to focus more on developing a growth mindset with research from Carol Dweck and the power of intrinsic motivation from pursuing mastery rather than performance goals. However, classrooms across the country continue to use points and grades to compel learners to complete work and follow rules. A late penalty and a zero for cheating is a legacy of behaviorism.

The industrial era’s biggest value was efficiency. Decisions about what school looks like, what Tyak and Tobin (1994) refer to as the “grammar of schooling,” such as bell schedules, stem from this value. Our grading systems are also designed to be as efficient as possible, with mathematical formulas and a focus on churning through the grades rather than focusing on feedback and iteration. Research has shown us though, in the 21st century, that learning takes time and how long is in fact different for each learner (Sawyer, 2008). In fact, those cycles of feedback and iteration, learning from mistakes and tinkering with ideas are crucial for the learning process. Focusing on efficiency, or just covering the standards or inputting a score at the end of the semester to fulfill the grading requirements, does not truly support learners and their growth.

Finally, the industrial era of school-centered schools were built on principles of obedience and compliance in order to prepare factory workers. This shows up in current grading practices such as homework completion or participation grades that rely on learners being compliant with rules the teacher has outlined. In the industrial era, children of the wealthy had tutors and academic experiences that asked them to apply their learning and solve problems, while the masses in compulsory education were expected to conform.  In many ways, the system is still designed this way. Although the system "worked" in producing compliant workers, because as W. Edwards Deming says, “every system is perfectly designed to get the result that it does.”  However, in the 21st century employers are not looking for compliance. A longitudinal study by Karen Arnold (2020) revealed that high school valedictorians - the learners deemed most successful in this system - went on to achieve "conventional" measures of success as adults but did not become transformative leaders or change agents who took risks, started new things, or solved problems in creative ways. America Succeeds (n.d.) has done immense research into the skills that employers are looking for in the 21st century and they include leadership, innovation and critical thinking, not following directions.

Not only are K-12 systems thinking about a paradigm shift, but universities are also catching onto challenges with traditional grades and supporting faculty in thinking about alternative grading structures. Guides from Larson (2023) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Streifer and Palmer (n.d.) at the University of Virginia (n.d.) cover the limitations with traditional grading and offer alternative options. Not only is higher education thinking about new grading structures within their own courses, but they are increasingly open to considering new options for transcripts, such as portable learner records, which could have trickle down effects for the K-12 system (Vander Ark, 2021).

So what is the alternative? Many systems across the country and around the world are rethinking the traditional grading system. Continue onto the next page to learn more.