So often, we are taught to follow certain guidelines and rubrics, to do things a certain way, and to adhere to the rules. If we can follow these, we are rewarded with a good grade, the only pinnacle and marker of success in a school setting, the only thing that we really need from school, or so we think.

What is the Point of Education?

The point of education is not to teach us the cookie-cutter formula of how to write an essay or solve a math equation. It is to teach us how to think critically about the world and problems around us and to allow us a chance to find our voice. Nowadays, almost every student’s voice sounds the same, carved from the same template and methodology of teaching or the same AI chatbot.

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Learning Without Letters and Numbers

Therefore, I propose schools should implement “gradeless learning,” also known as a “pass or fail system,” where assessments are not measured in grade letters or number scores. Grades were originally introduced to create a fair assessment for students. However, as time has gone on, grades have only proven to be something that students must attain to graduate and get into a good university.

In fact, grades in recent years have been found to enhance a student’s anxiety and avoidance of challenging courses. Research has found that gradeless learning actually helps reduce this anxiety as it encourages students to focus on learning rather than performance, benefiting their overall well-being and motivation. Gradeless learning will allow students to shift their focus from memorization and surface-level learning to actual transformative skills: critical reflexivity that involves dialogue and interaction – all valuable skills that are being lost on us in this modern digital age.

It prioritizes collaboration over competition, fostering a greater sense of community and creativity amongst students. Gradeless learning is essentially a focus on the process rather than the result, enabling students to truly learn, understand, and enjoy the material being taught.

Students find themselves more able to explore and enjoy the learning process without the external pressure of grades.

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Why Work if There's No Grade?

Critics may argue that gradeless learning can harm students, diminishing their incentives to study hard, and I agree to some extent. Recently, my school implemented a “no homework policy” where homework is still assigned but not counted for a grade. The thought behind this was to incentivise students to learn and review unfamiliar concepts by themselves, allowing them to take agency over their education.

Since there was no grade attached to the homework, I, along with many others, allocated my time instead to other assignments and projects that actually counted for a grade. However, I eventually realized that the greatest value in the no homework policy is the freedom of choosing to engage and explore in the learning process free from the influence of grades.

Finding value in the process of learning is extremely difficult for students who have been conditioned their whole lives to care about their grades. These students who have grown up assigning their worth and value to numbers and letters will find it challenging to suddenly have nothing defining them. Instead, they must learn to find value in the process of learning.

In turn, this will allow them the agency to critically evaluate and think about the things that they are learning. It will give them a chance to formulate their own opinions and thoughts about a particular subject, rather than memorizing a certain pre-laid way of thinking that is dubbed correct in the eyes of the education system. It will help them find their voice and speak on certain matters freely, realizing that their words will not be labeled with a number percentage.

Navigating the Changes

The negative effects of gradeless learning will lie on the teachers, who will have to take on the most burden of change. For the past few decades, teachers have been taught how to teach children through approved methodologies and rigid facts that are either right or wrong: Communism is bad, America is a democracy, and an essay must have a three-pronged thesis statement. Students recite this information to get a good grade without even questioning it. That is the teacher-student transaction that happens within the classroom.

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A gradeless system challenges teachers to question their own established and taught beliefs and to be open-minded about their students’ voices. It requires the teacher to nurture the formation of new and opposing ideas. It requires the teacher to be fully present, not mindlessly following a set class plan. While it may be difficult on teachers, in the long run, it will benefit the students, and eventually the future of our society.eh