How do students react when teachers don’t grade? That’s the question Dr. Sylvia Bagley wanted to answer when she embarked upon a two-year study of student perceptions of the alternative evaluation system in place at a local high school. The school, referred to in the study by the pseudonym “Progressive Secondary School,” is a relatively small, private school. Teachers there do not assign students letter or number grades, but instead rely on non-numeric rubrics, portfolios, and narrative evaluations to guide assessment.The opinions expressed by the students regarding the evaluation system caught my attention, not so much because of the reasons they liked it, but because of the reasons they didn’t. Fifty-nine percent of the participants expressed that they “really like[d]” receiving narrative evaluations overall, citing the fact that such detailed feedback helps pinpoint what they need to work on, as well as what they do well. Those same students, however, also shared what they believe are the drawbacks to not having a traditional grading system. I wasn’t too surprised to read that some felt the teacher-written narratives were too specific and required too much work, because they require students to actually go back and address their weak spots. What did surprise me-and not in a good way-was the response of one specific student: “I do not like that I can’t be or say I’m an ‘A’ or ‘B’ etc. student. I am competitive with my academics, and with narratives it’s harder to do that.”
Somehow I don’t think that student wants to get letter grades so she can compete with herself. She wants to be able to rank herself against her classmates. She wants to know who she’s “smarter” than, who’s “smarter” than her, and how far she has to go to get to the top of the class. (Interestingly enough, the school also uses some form of a rubric with each evaluation, which rates students according to four levels of achievement that could pobably be translated fairly easily into a letter grade). I don’t know about you, but to me that’s not a very healthy or productive attitude toward learning or assessment. And it isn’t the student’s fault. She’s the product of an educational system (and culture) that promotes and thrives upon competition, even in contexts and situations where it has proven to be extremely counterproductive. If I had no other reason to dislike traditional grading, her comment would be enough to make me give narrative evaluations some serious consideration.
But are narrative evaluations really worth the trouble? I think they just might be, because, as student “Bethany” explains, they make assessment instructive, and relevant to each individual student:
Students who are used to simply doing what’s expected of them, and then receiving grades based on a point system, may be in for a rude awakening once they arrive at Progressive, given that it’s impossible to hide or ‘slip by’ at a school which places such a strong emphasis on personalized feedback.
While that may seem like a bad thing to some students, I think it’s actually a very positive aspect of this type of evaluation. Writing the narratives requires teachers to give substantial thought to the growth of each individual student of the course of completing a given project or assignment, and from one assignment to the next. There is flexibility for them to take into account not only what the student actually did, but how he did it, what he learned while doing it, and what he can do to continue to grow as a student of the applicable subject. In fact, as the article explains,
The very nature of assessment at Progressive requires that students learn to view assignments as a useful tool for growth, rather than simply a teacher-determined statement on ‘how they are doing.’
To me, that should be the nature of all assessment.
The truth is that my interest in narrative evaluation, particularly in the writing classroom, has a lot to do with the type of feedback I received from my writing teachers when I was in high school. While they did have to assign me a letter grade (which could change if I chose to revise), they also made comments in the margins, and provided a detailed, thoughtful paragraph about what they saw in my paper. They told me what went through their minds while they read, how my words made them feel, what they connected with, and what they didn’t. They recognized the things I had done well, but also explained what I could have done better, and how. To this day, I still remember many specific comments they wrote in those paragraphs, and I still apply their advice to my writing. The feedback I received became an integral part of my growth as a writer. That wouldn’t be the case if my teachers had just scribbled a red letter at the top of the page. That’s why I find the idea of an entire school using narrative evaluations so encouraging, especially in the context of a writing classroom, where the sincere response of an interested reader really does matter.
Yet while I find the idea of narrative evaluations very promising, I also recognize that their true usefulness depends upon the teachers writing them. If they don’t contain quality feedback, they won’t be any more useful than a letter or number grade. And I also understand that it just wouldn’t be realistic for a teacher who has 150 students to try to write narrative evaluations for every assignment in every class, at least not if the assignments are to be returned before the students graduate from college. Still, if I had things my way, narrative assessment would definitely have a place in writing instruction, at least in my classroom.
High School Students’ Perceptions of Narrative Evaluations as Summative Assessment
Sylvia S. Bagley
American Secondary Education
Volume 36, Issue 3
Summer 2008
Full Article
October 20, 2008 at 11:52 am
I believe the idea of Progressive is great by itself. However when considered in reality, I’m not too sure of how good it would be.
As you said, it relies heavily on the teachers and how much insight they provide their students with. And while building such a personal relationship on an assignment is great, it also would take a toll on the teacher. I don’t think anyone could really argue that the evaluation of the first paper a teacher does and the fiftieth one he or she does would be equal.
Also, once again as you said, it wouldn’t work for a teacher that has 150 students which comes out to 30 students per class for 5 classes in a high school setting. Those numbers are fairly common I believe. And if teachers with large amount of students couldn’t do the narrative evaluation then I see this becoming yet another socioeconomic issue. From what I know urban and poorer schools usually have a much higher rate of students to teacher than suburban and private schools do. If this is the case I fear that the wealthy would benefit from these innovative method of education while the poor get left behind.
Any thoughts or ideas on how to remedy that if the kind of narrative evaluation was to become the new method of education?
October 21, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I think this is a very interesting topic. I’ve never heard of narrative evaluations before but I feel that they would be very beneficial to students. I can’t count how many times I’ve received an assignment back that only had a letter grade written at the top, no other comments. It was hard to pinpoint what it was that I did wrong. I can see narrative evaluation being especially helpful for writing assignments. To know that a teacher had taken the time to not only read my writing but to put a great deal of thought towards the changes that would improve it would have meant a lot to me. As for the student you quoted who said she preferred letter grades, I completely agree with you that the grade wouldn’t be used for her to see where she stands academically. It seems, especially after she used the word competitive, that her real intent for wanting to have a letter grade is so that she can compare herself with other students and know who she’s better than. I hope learning and education hasn’t become a competition for students. It should be about finding out how to better yourself and become more informed on important topics, something I believe narrative evaluations would contribute to
October 21, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Wow.
I can only imagine how much work narrative evaluations would create for a student. Although I probably would have been opposed to the idea in high school, it would have benefited me in the long run if my school had used that method of grading. I think the general mentality of students is, “I only have to do this much. Once I reach this level, I don’t have to work any harder,” as if the progression of a person’s intellect should stop at the lowest level of what is considered acceptable. Students should actively seek excellence, going above and beyond the bare minimum. In an ideal world, that would be the natural reaction of a student, but that kind of logic is very rare in a high school setting. That’s why I like this idea of narrative evaluations. Excellence is thrust upon the students. They have no choice but to perform at their optimum level.
October 22, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Narrative evaluations are the only truly meaningful part of the feedback process; everything else is just keeping score. Not that scorekeeping isn’t important, but I don’t really learn that much from a letter at the top of the page. On the other hand, when I have a professor who really excels at marginal comments and suggestions for improving the piece, I LIVE for those comments regardless of what grade I’ve earned.
The point about the time invested in narrative evals is an important one, but I do think it’s crucial to see them as investments and not simply as time wasted. That likely depends upon the way the students react and respond to the evaluations. If they are really improving their writing through your efforts to use narrative evaluations, then it will be easier to follow through on them. If not, you’ll not only be slogging through the reading of the essays, but the evaluations too.
October 26, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Very cool study. I’m going to have to find and cite this!
Of course the sheer number of students and papers involved in a typical teacher’s day make narrative evaluations daunting. But, if it seems like the right thing to do, perhaps we can cut out one paper from our typical assignment list and do this narrative assessment for one important assignment. If enough of us tried this, and both our students and we found it to be better than the old way, we could conspire with our students and each other to convince the rest of the world that A) Narrative evaluations get us further than letter grades. and B) To do this, teachers need smaller classes. Everyone complains about students’ writing ability and claims to be looking for a solution. So, if we find a way to improve their writing ability, perhaps we’ll have a shot at making the structural changes that will allow us to do more of what works. But you already know all that.
Hope you’re enjoying the fall! I just climbed a mountain here last weekend. Newkirk invited me on an “easy, four mile hike.” A Michigander, I thought, “No problem!” I got a little worried when I arrived at the meeting place and they all wrinkled their foreheads when I said I’d had a big breakfast in response to their query about the whereabouts of my food and water. I got even more concerned when the van driving us to the trailhead motored two hours into the White Mountains. As it turns out, we were climbing Mount Chacora (sp?)–a four mile climb to the top of the mountain, and a four mile climb back. It was beautiful–valleys of autumn trees that looked like giant bowls of Trix. Either Newkirk is a master of understatement, or, to all these rugged mountain people, it really is a relatively easy “hike.” I swear, though, if it had been about four degrees colder, I would have needed an ice pick. I’m still sore So, enjoy your flat (but still lovely) terrain.