Julia McKenna, a senior at the University of Notre Dame, used to stress out over grades. Then she took four “ungraded” courses.
“The real world isn’t graded. Grades don’t take into account your work ethic, challenging semesters, mental health or growth,” Ms. McKenna told The Washington Times.
“College enrollments are falling and schools have enormous expenses that cannot be reduced in the short run, so they are having what in retail is called a ‘first sale,’” said Robert Weissberg, a retired University of Illinois political scientist and specialist on pedagogy. “Instead of 75% off, they are saying, ‘Come to our school, have fun and don’t worry about grades.’ Next, there will be a ‘going-out-of-business sale’ with diplomas sold for ‘only a dollar’ each.
“There is a risk of setting the bar too low and selling young people short,” Dr. Campo said. “It strikes me as a bit misguided to target grades and academic stress as the primary source of any perceived increase in reported emotional distress in youth and young adults, as the challenges have been long-standing across generations.”
Portfolio or conference-based collaboration in various subjects. Professors encourage feedback and reflection and determine the semester grade in discussion with each student based on the body of work.Susan D. Blum, a Notre Dame anthropologist who uses the third method, hasn’t given a letter grade on a paper in seven years.
In 2020, she published a book about her findings titled “Ungrading.” Since then, she said, she has participated in more than 70 talks, podcasts, book discussions and presentations about the topic — up from 15 talks from 2017 to 2020. Schools should prioritize students’ mental health over academic competition, said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a physician and associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
“Grades are the simplest and most convenient way for teachers to tell students how much of a subject they have successfully learned,” said Peter Wood, president of the conservative National Association of Scholars and a former associate provost at Boston University. “Without grades, students have to rely on their own guesses and on the teachers’ verbal assurances, which inevitably reflect personal sensitivities.
“Overall, I find removing grades is a way to significantly reduce the stress associated with school,” said Keith W. Mathias, an English instructor at the college. “Giving students the space to prioritize their physical and mental health allows them to focus on their learning.”
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