Grade Goals Pact

choose your own adventure

My grading structure is inspired by Asao Inoue's work, Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies: Teaching and Assessing Writing for a Socially Just Future, in which he dismantles the traditional grading system and advocates for a labor-based grading contract.

You will choose your own grade for the semester and work toward that goal. You will be asked to confirm your goal by the end of Week 2.

How does the pact work?

The default grade for this class is B. Instead of the conventional grading system that forces students to compete with one another, to seek constant approval from the teacher, and to “color inside the lines”, our system will be structured in a way that inspires hard work, genuine learning, creativity, and critical thinking. I want you to focus on self-improvement, supporting your co-scholars, and enriching our learning community.

Therefore, rather than assigning letter grades on projects, you will receive either a Pass (Complete) or a Revise/Resubmit (Incomplete). I will give you verbal feedback and/or short, personalized, written responses to your work and offer suggestions for further exploration. If you complete all the work below on time, demonstrate growth as a writer and community member, and make a consistently solid commitment to our writing community, you can expect to earn a B.

Exceptional work and commitment to the classroom community above and beyond this will net you an A. Work that consistently comes in late, does not demonstrate effort and growth, as well as inconsistent preparedness and professionalism will result in a final grade of C or below. See our Grade Goals Pact chart below for a visual breakdown.

What if I can't meet my goal?

I know that life is unexpected and things can happen that are out of our control. If this happens to you, and meeting your desired Grade Goal is now extra challenging, throw me a lifeline as soon as possible. I'm here to support you! We can reevaluate and reimagine a new goal for you. Let’s make the most of this unexpected opportunity to continue our meaningful work together this semester.

Link to our Grade Goals Pact chart

IMPORTANT NOTE*

All items on the list for a Grade Goal (left to right) must be completed in order to earn that grade. Failure to complete any of the required Grade Goal items will mean an automatic deduction to the lower grade. Grade Goals are the minimum you need to complete with a “pass” for the desired grade.

*Adapted from Bri Brown's grading contract, English faculty at Cuyamaca College

Sticking to the Pact

Community Engagement

Regardless of Grade Goal, your contribution to our class should be consistent and thoughtful, and in accordance with our Community Agreements and Community Guidelines.

It also looks like participating in all of our class activities and being fully present, as well as demonstrating authentic engagement with your co-scholars.

Extra Project for the "A"

If your Grade Goal for this class is an A, I'm here for it! To make this happen, you must complete all the requirements for the B AND complete one of the following:

Attend a film festival (virtual or in person) and write a review for at least 2 full-length or 3 short films.
Curate your own at-home three-film festival organized by an auteur, film movement, genre, or cultural/historical context. Include a description and reasoning behind your film fest.

Late work

There is a 48-hr. grace period to submit homework assignments after the due date and a 24-hr. grace period to submit main writing projects. In other words, as long as you submit your work within these grace periods, it will not count against you.
There is a “lifeline” for those scholars who may not be able to fulfill their initial Grade Goals or are veering off that track because of circumstances beyond their control. In other words, if you are consistently submitting late assignments or missing them altogether, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can collaborate on a fair and equitable revision of your specific Grading Pact.

I am here to support you! However, you also need to meet me halfway.

Incomplete

Because we are not using points, assignments will be either marked as "Complete" or "Incomplete". (In Canvas Grades, it's designated with a ✔️ or an ✖️.)

If assignments do not meet the minimum requirements, you may be asked to Revise & Resubmit.

Revisions*

If an assignment not yet passing (✖️), you are allowed to revise it 2 times based on my feedback and resubmitting within 3 days after I have left comments. You will know it's passing when you see a ✔️.

Any assignment that is revised within the 3-day window will not be considered late, and therefore, it not affect your Grade Goal. However, if your assignment is still not passing after the second revision, it will be marked as "Incomplete" and will affect your Grade Goal.

There are no limits on the number of assignments you can revise.

*Adapted from Bri Brown's grading contract, English faculty at Cuyamaca College

FREEBIES

By attending a cultural or literary event (in person or online) that connects to our class, scholars can:

Make up a Late Assignment if they exceed the amount for their desired Grade Goal (limit: 2 events for 2 assignments)
Make up an Incomplete Assignment if they exceed the amount for their desired Grade Goal (limit: 2 events for 2 assignments)

All scholars must complete this Cultural/Literary Event Form while attending the event to take notes that will be used for a Reflection Essay. (Print it out or make a copy in Google Docs.) Please reach out to me first before attending the event so that we can discuss how it relates to our class.

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