Your School Is F-ing You, Ep. 5: Does “grading on the curve” make grading more objective? (spoiler: no!)

Your School Is F-ing You

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com [https://yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Your School Is F-ing You, ep. 8: On teaching writing

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com [https://yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Your School Is F-ing You, Ep. 7: Nobody likes being told what to do!

When I speak to adults—that is, those people who are free of the educational institution—about grading and all of the harm it does, even those who are sympathetic to at least some of what I have to say follow up with the question: If we eliminate grades, how are we going to motivate students? The question is a good one, but the answer is not more grading, or different grading. Not only do grades not motivate students, they actively demotivate them. Greene, D., & Lepper, M. R. (1974). Effects of extrinsic rewards on children’s subsequent intrinsic interest. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1974.tb00720.x Lepper, M. R., & Greene, D. (1975). Turning play into work: Effects of adult surveillance and extrinsic rewards on children’s intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31(3), 479–486. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076484 Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.68 Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000a). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54–67. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com [https://yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Your School Is F-ing You, Ep. 6: Hearing Voices with Stacie Oliver

You’re not alone. Other teachers are successfully quitting the grading game. In my own experience, it has been very helpful to hear their voices. Stacie was the first teacher to whom I reached out and she had encouraging words for me. I wanted you to hear them as well. You can easily find articles discussing the 2010 IBM survey of CEOs by just searching these terms. But here’s [https://www.creativityatwork.com/ceo-creativity-leadership-ibm-global-report/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20IBM%202010,complex%20world%20will%20require%20creativity.%E2%80%9D] a starting point. Articles about Stacie’s teaching:From Global News [https://globalnews.ca/news/8962945/london-teacher-promoting-authentic-learning-ungrading/]From the Toronto Star [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/should-grades-matter-why-this-teacher-is-shaking-up-everything-we-know-about-report-cards/article_81fbb4f8-33df-5dea-b2c0-fc27ce3b893c.html]From the Globe and Mail [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-educators-are-reconsidering-how-they-grade-students-after-covid-19/]From CBC [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ungrading-london-school-1.6739656] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com [https://yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Your School Is F-ing You, Ep. 5: Does “grading on the curve” make grading more objective? (spoiler: no!)

“Grading to the curve” is bullshit. Why do we do it? Because, like “standardization”, it holds out the promise of making educational measurement scientific. But when you scratch under the surface, you see that this promise is empty. We don’t need the curve, and we don’t need to make grading scientific. Kulick, George and Wright, Ronald (2008). "The Impact of Grading on the Curve: A Simulation Analysis," International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 2: No. 2, Article 5. Bresee, Clyde W. (1976). On "Grading on the Curve", The Clearing House , Nov., 1976, Vol. 50, No. 3 (Nov., 1976), pp. 108-110. Grant, Adam. “Why we should stop grading students on a curve”, New York Times, 11/9/16. Kahneman, D., O. Sibony and C.R. Sunstein (2021). Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment. New York, Little Brown Spark. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com [https://yourschoolisfingyou.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]