In Stacie Oliver’s English classes, students choose their own grades. It’s part of a concept the London, Ontario, high school teacher calls “disqualification.”
“We focus on feedback instead,” he said. “It is putting the focus exclusively on learning and opportunities for students to take risks without fear of failing (and) receiving a (bad) grade.”
The AB Lucas High School teacher says it saddens her to see students identify their self-esteem with the grades they receive in school.
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“It’s really problematic… Our whole academic society is transactional, but the biggest thing for me is that kids are afraid to put themselves out there and pursue their interests,” he said.
And so, Oliver decided to make a change.
In the fall of 2021, it introduced a new grading system in its two English classes, one for ninth grade and one for twelfth grade.
The system was that students could choose their own grades.
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“They had no idea what I was proposing to them. They were excited (but) confused,” she smiled.
Oliver began the semester by outlining the curriculum expectations so students know what they need to demonstrate.
Students propose a midterm and final grade, “but they have to create a digital portfolio containing all of their work (to) justify how their work is meeting expectations,” Oliver explained.
One of her ninth-grade English students, Briseida Bode, says the self-grading system encouraged her to put more effort into her work.
“I always wanted to give myself a lower grade, but I always try to look back on my work (and say): ‘This is what I deserve based on my actual work.’”
Bode finished the semester with the brand he wanted “after many lectures,” he said. “A lot of explanation and a lot of justification is needed.”
Oliver says this system allows students to fail and catch up because they have multiple opportunities to practice and explore interests.
“If we’re looking at the curriculum, we’re looking at these skills (and) then we’re moving forward,” he said. “Because we are limited by time, (this system) better mimics the real world, because (students) are given a task and (they) do it.”
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Bode says that Oliver’s class was a great experience and that he will miss the self-assessment system.
“I didn’t like it at first, but then as we did it more and more often, I enjoyed it because it gives you a whole new perspective on how you can look at grades as more than just a number.”
As for Oliver, the high school teacher says that she will continue with this system for the next classes.
“(The students) talked about how it has been for them a process of personal growth,” he said. “For many of them, they have rediscovered the joy of pursuing what interests them.”
— With files from Mike Stubbs and Bill Kelly of Global News
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