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Cooking the Books

Hello,


In last week's post, "Just Like Me," I wrote about how when someone is at the intersted level of engagement, they like what they're doing and they need an extrinsic consequence for doing the task. This is true regardless of the age of the person or the task they're doing.


With that in mind, let’s pivot this discussion to students and grades.


While students aren’t paid in dollars, the most common form of compensation for doing schoolwork is grades. On the surface, that seems fair. Students do work; they get a grade. Cause and effect. Effort and reward. Input and outcome. But beneath that familiar routine are two significant unintended consequences.


Grades are Often Invalid and Unreliable Measures of Learning

In the post, “Food for Thought: The Lack of Validity and Reliability with Grades,” I used the example from my life to help define the difference between reliability and validity. I love to cook and bake, and like most people, I rely on my oven. Here's the thing about mine: it's reliable—but not valid.


Let me explain.

  • Reliability means you get the same results every time.

  • Validity means you’re measuring what you’re actually trying to measure.


When I set my oven to 350 degrees, it reliably underheats. Every time. If a recipe says to bake something for 15 minutes at 350, I know it’ll actually need at least 20 minutes. My oven isn’t accurate, but it is consistent. Reliable? Yes. Valid? Not even close.


Now, let’s go back to the classroom. If we include things like late penalties, neatness, behavior, or participation in a student’s grade, we may still end up with something that feels reliable. The teacher issuing the grade is ic consistent with their approach to grading. But is it valid? Does the grade measure only what the student knows and can do in relation to the learning standards? If the answer is no, we have an oven problem.


We need grades that are both valid and reliable. That means stripping away the noise—late penalties, extra credit for bringing in tissues, points off for using pen instead of pencil—and focusing solely on academic evidence. In other words, the grade should reflect what’s inside the student’s understanding, not the external behaviors that may or may not correlate.


Grades Become the Reason Students Do the Work

And here’s the second consequence: Somewhere along the way, we convinced students—and their parents, and ourselves—that grades are the goal. Not learning. Not growth. Not curiosity or challenge. Just the grade.


We hand out smiley faces stickers and even write “100%” on a paper as early as PreK before kids even know what percentages are. We celebrate perfect scores like they’re the pinnacle of achievement. And while we might give lip service to persistence, what we actually reward is doing well the first time. We’ve created a system that instills a fixed mindset, one where success is about being right quickly—not sticking with something through the struggle. And then we wonder why students avoid risk, why they’re anxious, why they check their grades more often than they check their understanding.


We also tell them, “Find something you love and figure out how to get paid to do it.” But that message often gets drowned out by the louder, more consistent one: Do the work. Get the grade.


The irony? The students most addicted to grades are often the ones getting the best ones. Or the ones whose parents care most about class rank, honor roll, and academic awards. It’s not about learning anymore—it’s about status. We would never compare grades to harmful addictions like drugs or alcohol. But in schools, our dependency on grades can be just as pervasive—and just as hard to quit.


And maybe that’s the problem. Grades were meant to be feedback. But we’ve turned them into currency. Into judgment. Into identity.


What Can We Do?

Maybe we start by rethinking the role grades play in our classrooms, our conversations, and our culture. Maybe we start grading less, or grading differently. Maybe we talk more about feedback and progress, and less about percentages. Maybe we try—just try—to make the work itself matter again.


Because when the grade becomes the goal, the learning gets lost.


~Heather


P.S. This week’s Catch of the Week is my electric composter. While I would love to have a composter in my backyard that I add my scraps to that turns them into compost, that was just not going to happen for me. However, I did purchase a relatively inexpensive electric composter that I keep in my garage. About once a week it’s full with the scraps my family accumulates over the week and I hit the button. In 5-6 hours, I have milled and dehydrated material that I can use in my garden in the summer. I feel like a 21st-century Laura Ingalls Wilder!


P.P.S. Please remember to...


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