LINKS: Joe Bower (Memorial)
Joe Bower died in 2016. Here are some tributes to Joe.
Joe Bower, tireless advocate for education reform, mourned on social media
Condolences pour in for popular teacher who pushed for more progressive education system
In April 2018, there were more than 25,000 views of Joe's blog. That's a positive digital footprint that Joe left for us. Let's spread his blog, especially articles about "the end of grading."
"Many people have followed my husband's blog or twitter for his ideas and beliefs in the education world, they followed him for his stand in his own teaching and his pride in not following the norm for conventional teaching. He also undoubtedly had charismatic humour that people got when speaking with Joe or through tweets and messages. Joe definitely had an ardor for learning that has overflowed into my life. "
written by Joe's widow
Spread this collection with this quicklink TINYURL.com/joeEndofGrading
Abolishing Grading
I have had a number of people ask me to share a 'table-of-contents' for my blog posts on why and how we should abolish grading. Here is a list of blog posts that should help you gain insight into this whole abolishing grading topic. I will add more as I write them.
The Problem with Percentages - we might think we know what percentages mean but they are arbitrary and imaginary.
Who will pack your parachute - the objectivity of grades and percentages is an illusion.
Ungraded students - here's what it can look like.
I will not let an exam result decide my fate - awesome video
Information vs Reward and Punishment - Jerome Bruner and John Wooden both agree, rewards and punishment must go. Because grades are a judgement, they serve no real purpose in learning.
Pink, Godin, Kohn and asymptotes - Grades get learning wrong because they are linear but learning is an asymptote.
Replacing Grading - here's how I replaced grading even though I still have to place a grade on the report card.
Assessment Malpractice - here's a brief summary of the two kinds of assessment: formative and summative.
Fears of Abolishing Grading - here's what scares us
Detoxing students from grade use - if you chose to abolish grades, here's how students may react. 6 steps based on my 5 year study.
Grading Dependence - Whether grading is good for students or not is irrelevant when it comes to the unavoidable truth that many students, parents and educators have come to depend on the conveniences of grading.
Grading Currency - Watch this video and try not to cry.
Supportive Assessment - I used to differentiate assessment into two categories: formative and summative. While I still recognize the two categories, I now label them supportive and unsupportive of learning.
Testsandgrades are like an absentee landlord - they only show up when it's convenient for them.
The folly of implementation - Grades and tests bring with them a phenomenally eerie superstitious fear factor.
Grades never hurt me - here's my response to those who say grading never hurt them when they were a student.
Grades: the candle snuffer of the love of learning - Grades are the candy floss of education.
Grading: Where do I stand? - If we wanted to create a form of feedback that encouraged students to focus less about making sense of what they're doing and more on how successful they've been while comparing themselves to others, I could not think of a better system than grading.
My de-grading philosophy Q & A - here's a quick Q & A where I answer some of the most common questions about how I assess with no grades.
Opposing Pedagogies - here is a guest post by a teacher describing their journey away from grading.
Grading distorts and bastardizes our love for learning - Like a fish immersed in water, we are drowning in grading, and for the most part, we don't even know it.
The Student Body as Transportation Devices - A student's body is not simply a transportation device for their number two pencils.
Assessment in Medical School - Here is a guest blog post from my good friend Dr. Brad Bahler.
A's For Good Behavior: A massive exercise in missing the point - I came across an article in the New York Times called A's for Good Behavior and found myself quite bothered by the whole thing.
Chris Wejr on the Price of Grades - Chris Wejr wrote a fantastic post where he reflected on an article that explained how Aboriginal students were being offered cash incentives for their grades.
Our system test and grades young people turning them off of learning - School has been bastardized so badly that it is less about learning and more about gaming the system.
(very little) Room for Debate - here's a post by Susan Ohanian that the New York Times would not print.
Data is fabulous - this video makes want to wretch.
Tests get high marks for preparing kids to... take more tests - It's a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.
High Test Scores, Low Ability - here is an article by Yong Zhao about the paradoxes that make up Chinese education.
Framing the Reality of Grading - Many teachers are prisoners to external prescription and standardization.
Limits of Testing: Data Rich - Information Poor - here's a comment left by a reader of my blog.
Is Grading a 21st Century teacher skill - The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum
Report Cards Get a Failing Grade - Here's an article based on an interview with me in the Globe and Mail.
Tests and Grades: Missing the Point - Teachers could give politicians all the test scores they could possibly want while giving the kids nothing they really need.
"After reading about Joe's work in Ken Robinson's book CREATIVE SCHOOLS, I had to hunt for his blog. I typed in "joe end of grades" and the search revealed his blog. I have referred to his articles dozens of times and shared them with colleagues. The recent growth of the Mastery Transcript will spread faster if teachers, parents and students discuss the topics that Joe brought up. I have suggested to the Master Transcript Consortium Mastery.org that they include a link to Joe's blog as part of their resource list."
Steve McCrea, teacher, Florida.