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My Grading Philosophy
My Grading Philosophy
Image by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
I remember going through school and closely monitoring my grades in every course. In high school and college, I would sit and obsessively calculate my grades for accuracy because I was so concerned about my GPA. It got to a place where points and percentages and letter grades consumed me and distracted me from retaining the information that I was in school to learn. As I began my teaching career, I turned to scholars in the field to guide me to grade in a way that would not replicate my own experiences as a student, but instead help my students focus on the learning for its own sake. I finally arrived at the system you'll see below after years of trial and error.
As a result of this grading system, my students have reported that they have felt more safe, validated, intrinsically motivated, and have taken more risks in their assignments. These outcomes remind me of what it means to really teach rather than simply grade for the purposes of categorization or classification. Therefore, in this class, I have removed grades from the equation so that students may focus on the intrinsic value of the course content for their personal and academic growth. I hope this will lead to a rewarding and freeing experience, AND I promise that, by digging deeply into the course content and committing to improving your critical reasoning, reading, and writing skills, you will be able to advocate for the grade you feel you've earned (more on this below).
Let me tell you how it works...
The Nuts & Bolts
The Nuts & Bolts
Each assignment in our Black Literature course includes a grading rubric. Please review the rubric before submitting your work to ensure you have addressed all the required elements. If your work is submitted on time, I will make every effort to review and comment on the discussions within 72 hours and projects within 10 days.
Individual Assignments
Individual Assignments
The scoring system in this course is set up using narrative scores rather than points, letters, or percentages. Students will see one of three narrative scores for their assignments:
Accomplished: Excellent Work ⭐️: this indicates that the assignment has met or exceeded the criteria as outlined in the assignment instructions and rubric.
Progressing: Please Revise 📌: this indicates that the assignment can use a bit of reworking in order for it to meet or exceed the criteria as outlined in the assignment instructions and rubric. Students are invited to submit a revision of their work for additional feedback from me. Once the assignment has been reworked, I will change the score to "Accomplished." Revisions need to be submitted within 3 days of receiving feedback from me so that I can turn around additional feedback quickly.
Missing⚠️: this indicates that the assignment has not yet been submitted.
Late Work: Students are invited to submit their work late, as I believe that completing the work is critical to meeting (or exceeding) the course learning outcomes. Please note that there may be a slight delay in receiving assignment feedback if the assignment is submitted late. Assignment deadlines are there to keep you on track and help you meet specific milestones in the course. However, sometimes students encounter life obstacles that affect their ability to turn in work on time. For this reason, I will accept assignments up to 3 days late, but please use this added window sparingly. *One caveat: peer reviews cannot be submitted late, as your peers rely on timely feedback to use for their final drafts.*
Final Self-Assessment: Course Grades
Final Self-Assessment: Course Grades
The last assignment for the class will be a final self-assessment where students will identify their final course letter grade by submitting a self-evaluation to make a case for the grade they believe they earned. Students will make a case for a specific course letter grade by discussing the progress, effort, revisions (if applicable) demonstrated in the assignments. Students can use my feedback, the assignment rubrics, and the revision process as evidence for the grade that they feel they have earned. If I disagree with your self-selected course letter grade, I will either message you through Canvas Inbox or request that we meet to discuss it further via Zoom. Here is a guide which demonstrates how to find feedback that I will be providing.
The header image is by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash
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