Determining what is “creative” is about as subjective as something can get. Be it art, music, or a play, what one person sees as creative, another might see as bland or gauche. Creative assessment, likewise, is beholden to the person judging it (or assessing it haha). Over the past few weeks, as we have been focusing more on the aspects of assessment that really define both how we view assessment and how we design it, I keep coming back to this week's reading of Alfie Kohn and his ideas about grading in general. 

Kohn’s Ideas and ELA Intervention

To sum up Kohn’s ideas about grading very briefly, he feels that grading as a whole is problematic and can actually hurt a student’s learning rather than help it (Fiddlestick Productions, 2016). To be frank, this idea, challenges the entire understanding of assessment that is currently held by the majority of the primary and secondary level education systems that exist in the United States at this time. Just take the school I work at, for an example. Our administration will oftentimes express that they are in favor of us fostering understanding and not focusing on grades, but when push comes to shove, i.e. when the quarter is ending, all they can talk about is grades and assessments. 

I myself am very lucky, as I currently find myself in a position in which I get to assess without grading. Rather than give students As or Fs for tests or essays, in my ELA intervention program, I get to see where my students start in terms of reading level and ELA skills, then I work with them to strengthen those skills they struggle with, then finally assess for growth after each quarter. I find that this program and freedom from grades allows me to be more creative and intentional with my assessments. 

Where I think assessment went wrong

When considering what killed the creativity of assessments, Kohn blames quite a bit of it on grades and our focus on grading, but I think that it goes deeper than that. I personally think that we can look to our societal focus on standardized tests, as well as  No Child Left Behind to why we are struggling.

Simply, standardized tests have drained the life out of many aspects of education, in my opinion, but due to their nature as high stakes assessments for schools, schools tend to put more emphasis on teachers preparing students for these rather than give them the backing to explore more creative assessments. No Child Left Behind did not help this either, with the threat of funding being cut if testing results did not show improvement, again, creative assessment took a hit (Au, 2008). 

Summary

Creative assessment is, by and large, struggling to gain and maintain traction in the modern education system which focuses on grades and standardized test results. I personally believe that if more schools took the approach that I am allowed to with my job, we would not only see an improvement in student engagement, but also an increase in student achievement. 

References:

Au, W. (2008). Unequal by design: High-stakes testing and the standardization of inequality. Routledge.

Caref, C. (2021). Teacher Protesting Standardized Testing. Ctulocal1.org. photograph, Chicago Teacher Union. Retrieved October 23, 2023, from https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/was-this-really-a-lost-year/. 

Fiddlestick Productions. (2016, February 21). Why grades shouldn't exist - Alfie Kohn. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfRALeA3mdU&t=54s.

Kohn, A. (2011). The case against grades. Alfie Kohn. https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/case-grades/