Making a Gradeless Classroom Possible

Hop on the 'Formative Feedback' Wagon

Students’ written work is a complicated process; I think it would be hard to find someone who disagrees. The assessment process deserves to be complex as well. Keep in mind: complex does not have to equate to difficult. I am going to map out an assessment cycle for teachers to use that mainly focuses on formative feedback throughout the writing process. The overall goal is to encourage writers, of all levels, rather than shame them. Creating assessment-capable learners will prepare them for work-related performance evaluations and improvement reflections.

“Writers need feedback, not evaluation. I believe this. I embrace it. I seek readers as I struggle with my thinking, but I don’t want a letter grade on my writing. It won’t help me with that piece; it will likely damage my confidence and disrupt my process.”

–Kittle, Write Beside Them

“Students are positive towards teacher feedback and highlight the significance of teacher praise.”

"Student engagement in the feedback process is seen as one of the key ingredients of effective feedback practices. It is not enough merely to provide feedback. Formative feedback has to be used--actions have to be taken by the students, in order for feedback to be effective."

-Bader, Student Perspectives on Formative Feedback as Part of Writing Portfolios

Verbal Feedback

Verbal feedback should be going on before your pen hits paper. Words should be exchanged between you and the students about their writing as a vital way for them to receive feedback, verbalize their reflections, and hear other people’s ideas. One outcome of a classroom with formative feedback is that it naturally creates a healthy environment for mistakes because it focuses on growth, not the harvest, so that when comes time for publication, students often feel more excited to share their hard work.

Conferencing

“Students eventually come to seek learning instead of the grade. The relationship between teacher and student can move beyond the typical ‘grade giver’ and ‘grade seeker’ roles and become more meaningful.”

-What We Talk About When We Don't Talk About Grades

Intentional check-ins at students' desk during work time and three-minute focused conversations at the conference table are both needed for maximizing formative feedback, maximizing differentiation.

Mini-lessons

Mini lessons are for addressing patterns of error among your class, requiring you to collect data about which errors are showing up consistently. Then, you present a brief game plan on how to specifically, relevantly, and applicably write better in a ten-minute mini-lesson. Giving time to practice the new skill in an isolated example is favorable for transferring their learning to their bigger writing pieces.

Peers

"If students feel supported by their peers, they are more likely to react to formative feedback effectively."

"Consistent peer partnership was most effective in improving writing and enjoying the process."

-Student Perspectives on Formative Feedback as Part of Writing Portfolios

Use partners for pre-writing to get students talking and thinking about their connection to the prompt. You can categorize these consistent groups by sorting similar passions for the unit so that they can rely on people who have been with them every step of the way, like you. The more the merrier. But, don't forget to articulate what masterful partnership looks like.

Written Feedback

Verbal feedback often addresses big ideas; it’s like changing invisible parts within your students’ writing because they were thinking about it and altering their directions from there. Here in the written realm, we are helping students visibly alter their writing. We as English Language Arts teachers know the power of language at a written level. We see it inspire people, change people, and challenge people. In order for audiences to be incited with meaningful reactions, we have to promote complexity and polish at the visible level.

Commentary

"When their stake is in the game, they are more likely to use the formative feedback."

-Emily Asqueri, Preston Middle School

Students can turn in a mid-unit draft for you to give written, or typed, feedback, but they should be responsible for naming the area of growth they need, either based on your rubric or their own reflections. Then, you can look at the completed puzzle in the final product and give your last remarks. But remember, students should have the opportunity to do something with feedback so consider allowing students to revise the final if they choose to.

Criteria

"Keep the rubric with you like a friend."

-Bradford Lardner, Preston Middle School

Refer to the success criteria during conferences, mini-lessons, peer groups, and within your commentary. In order for that to be productive, we have to make sure our rubrics are straight-forward, easy to understand, and usable. Consider having a space for students' comments and a space for your comments. Both of you are invested in their writing.

Handouts

Conversations are vital for developing the foundation of our writing, but we don't want skills drifting in and out of our students' reach. Put resources, mentor texts, handouts, and any mini-lesson material in sets of folders accessible in your classroom so that students can pull them out when they want guidance on a certain area of growth they’ve noticed during their drafting. The students are differentiating the learning themselves. Your room can serve as their textbook.

Self-reflection

"Metacognition refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one's understanding and performance. It includes a critical awareness of a) one's thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and learner."

-Vanderbilt University

Give students the opportunity to write out their goals for the unit, refer to them midway through and ask what still needs to be done, and reflect on the process at the end. Emphasis is placed on learning, not the grade. And the hope is that students will get to see how far they come unit by unit and recognize that the work put into their writing pays off.

On-demand

"Come as you are."

-Nirvana

We want our students to know that they can come as they are. We can only expect them to bring their best selves. Students continue to make that best a bit better every step of the way. That’s why completing an on-demand writing piece at the start of the writing unit is beneficial: to see where they come in at. Then, end the unit with another on-demand to help you and the students see where their raw writing improved, or didn't improve. The collection of these pieces over time are the student's portfolio.

Conclusion

Formative feedback improves students’ writing, that we as an educator community know, but we also know that we struggle with how to implement it within our classrooms efficiently and effectively. We care about our students. We care about writing. And we care about our students’ writing because they get to put their voice out into the world which can be scary--and rewarding if they feel confident in their hard work. We aren’t going to get it right every day, heck, we might not get it right every week, but I urge you to dig into the different forms of feedback and see the impact on your writing community. You might see more learning and less competition. And if you trust the process, and not just the product, you’ll see writers growing and trusting themselves to make a statement about the world around them.

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