No Grades!?

Gradeless education is an approach that aims to shift the focus from grades to learning. Instead of assigning grades, teachers provide feedback and work with students to help them improve their understanding and skills. The goal of this approach is to create a more holistic and meaningful learning experience, where students can focus on their personal growth and development rather than just getting a good grade.

Gradeless learning benefits students in a number of ways. Firstly, it helps to reduce stress and anxiety that can come from worrying about grades. Students can focus on learning for the sake of learning and on the process of improving their skills rather than just getting a certain grade. This approach also helps to promote a growth mindset, where mistakes and failures are seen as opportunities for learning and improvement, rather than as a reflection of a student's intelligence or ability.

Additionally, gradeless learning enviroment can help to promote more authentic assessments of student learning. Teachers can focus on providing descriptive feedback that helps students understand their strengths and areas for improvement, rather than just assigning a letter grade. This approach also help to promote more equity in grading, as teachers are less likely to be influenced by biases or stereotypes that can sometimes affect grading practices. Overall, a gradeless learning environment can be a powerful way to promote deeper learning and to create a more equitable and inclusive educational environment.

At Mistwood we want students and families to focus on LEARNING, not on "work production" and "points". Our youngest students do not receive any grades. Middle students only receive "grades" as a way of providing feed backing and helping them improve their skills. Our oldest students have a 'Proficiency-based' systems for grades, and academic reporting using an interactive transcript.  This is centered on students demonstrating that they have learned in a way that makes sense to them. 

At Mistwood High School students are given a list of objectives/skills to accomplish in order to graduate. Credits and grades are based directly on showing proficiency in these objectives and not tied directly to "passing a class" or a "test".  

Traditional graduation requirements are focused only on academic content. Mistwood puts equal emphasis on practical life skills, social skill, ethicals and vocational skills. This provides students with real life abilities they need to be productive members of our local and global community. Our Graduation requirements are alined with our School Wide Learner Outcomes.