Education and learning

Woman: So, a term in. What's the verdict on the no-grades experiment? You were fairly scathing about it at the staff meeting in September. Man: I was, and I'd rather not eat my words entirely. But I'll concede the written comments are undeniably richer. The kids actually read them now, instead of glancing at the number and stuffing the page into their bags. Woman: Well, that was the whole point, surely. Man: Of course. What nobody anticipated was the parents. I've had more emails this term than in the previous three years put together, and they all boil down to the same question: 'Is my child doing well or not?' A paragraph about 'developing independence in argument' simply doesn't answer that for them. Woman: Couldn't we just add a clearer summary line at the bottom? Man: We could. But within a week that summary line becomes the grade by another name, and the children will work that out a good deal faster than we do. I don't think the fix is cosmetic. We need to rethink what we tell families, not just how we word it. Woman: Then bring that to the review in January. Not just the complaint.