As Joshua Eyler researched a book about what brain science tells us about how to improve teaching, one issue kept emerging as an underlying problem: The way schools and universities grade student work is at odds with a effective teaching.
Science says that children need to feel free to try things and fail, and that the deepest learning occurs when failure occurs and the student figures out how to course-correct, Eyler says. However, our letter grading system and emphasis on maintaining a high GPA to earn educational opportunities such as scholarships and spots at top colleges discourages moments of failure. And online grade books that instantly alert family members to any low grades have made the disadvantages of letter grades even worse, she argues.
“I always felt like there was an elephant in the room, which is hard to talk about because grades are such a big part of everything we do in education that at first it seemed too big to address,” Eyler says. , who runs the teaching center at the University of Mississippi.
In fact, many schools that have undertaken reforms to their grading systems have faced passionate objections from parents, who fear that their children will miss out on opportunities or lose motivation to turn in work if they do not strive for high grades. in the traditional ratings game.
Eyler decided to tackle the issue head-on in his latest book, due out this summer, called “Failing Our Future: How Grades Hurt Students and What We Can Do About It.He says his hope is to start a national conversation about grading reform in schools and universities, to include not only teachers, but also parents, students and political leaders.
“Because what I've noticed is that most of this conversation happens in different corners,” he says. “And what we have to do, if we want to make changes, is that we all come together to talk about it. And that means being on the same page as to where we are in that conversation.”
It promotes alternatives to letter grades, such as standards-based grading, and says such measures have been shown to be more equitable because they give students who may not be as prepared more time to review work and demonstrate what they know. .
But the record of such reforms is mixed. “It was an absolute disaster in Maine,” Eyler admits, referring to a 2012 state law ordered schools to move to “proficiency-based” grading (a version of standards-based grading). That law was later repealedin favor of allowing schools to have local control over how to handle grading after complaints about the new system and what reports later found was uneven implementation of the new practices.
Meanwhile, some schools have made the switch successfully, such as Santa Fe Public Schools.
Reforming grading requires a big shift in how people perceive the purpose of testing students, moving from the idea of grading ability to getting as many students as possible to master key concepts. Therefore, success will require a broader effort to educate parents and students, he maintains.
EdSurge sat down with Eyler to talk about his new book and his response to parents and students who are skeptical about getting rid of letter grades.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Cloudy, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you listen to podcasts, or use the player on this page.
Correction: This article originally incorrectly included Joshua Eyler's title.
