Possibilities in Liberating Student Writers

Writing Without Grades

Valerie MattessichPascack Valley Regional High School District (NJ)

NCTE/CEL—Chicago, ILNov. 21, 2011

Typical Reaction to “Grading Essays”

What does an ‘A’ mean, anyway?

Do they even read my comments?

Why am I grading all students on the same criteria when their needs and abilities are so different?

To prompt you to examine the way in which grades are assigned to student writing in your district/department

To provide a brief glimpse into some alternatives ideas about grading writing

My Agenda

…was that the students’ focus was on grades, not on

improvement in writing skills.

My Sneaking Suspicion…

How do I remove grades from the equation, thus

freeing students to think, learn and write?

What does the research say?

“A grade may be influenced or contaminated by everything fromflattery to a teacher's personal preferences, to a desire to warn, to afear of causing psychological harm, to a need to reward good behavior,to a need to meet institutional distribution requirements. Yet,despite this, once given, grades are treated as scientific, immutable,factual” (Holaday 36 ).

“Even when teachers (or peers) offer extensive commentary in addition to grades, the presence of grades distorts the feedback, influencing the way the writer hears it” (Bauman 170).

“Giltrow and Valiquette foundthat students most often read the comments as justifications for thegrade on the paper, rather than as specific suggestions for improvement. Other research, too, shows the dubious value of teacher comments on students' papers” (Bauman 170).

How can I make adjustments that suit me, my students, and my school district?

Frequent writing occurs

Low-stakes writing is the norm

Ample conferencing time allotted

Assessment is mainly formative

Writing perceived as both process-oriented AND product-oriented

My Ideal Writing Classroom

1. Nancie Atwell’s In the MiddleFully-realized workshop model with structure

and purpose

2. Unit received via NCTE Lesson Plan Exchange

3. Collins Writing ProgramFocus Correction Areas

Catalysts for Change

The obvious:

INSPIRATION! How can I engage and nurture student writers

more fully?

INFORMATIONThe nuts-and-bolts of running a fully-realized

workshop environment in which students are given the space and resources to read and write for authentic purposes.

Atwell’s Contributions

Unit plan received through NCTE Lesson Plan Exchange circa 2003

Focused on writing for mastery

Essays revised continuously until mastery achieved

No grade assigned to any one piece of writing

Writing was recursive; revision was “forced”

Practical Influences

Focus Correction Areas

Teacher identifies 2-3 areas in which students need to improve

Student only graded on progress toward those goalsNot assessed/evaluated on other skills in a given

piece of writing

Collins Writing Program

Limit (but still use) one-shot, formally graded pieces

Use individual writing rubrics with all students for majority of writing pieces

Plan writing units that rely on repeated practice of given set of skills

Emphasize and make room for frequent reflection

Employ consistent writing-to-learn activities

Make room for plenty of structured, and often anonymous, peer feedback

Key Components of My Writing Instruction

…students who feel incompetent at writing avoid writing.They do not practice. They do not get better. The truly traumatized,and I estimate that about 20 percent of my classes are in this category,will do anything to avoid the torture they experience when they arerequired to put pen to paper or finger to key. They may strugglethrough a writing course, put out a few scraps they are not happywith, make the changes the teacher demands, accept a C or a D orwhatever is enough to get them past the requirements, and then rushout at the end of a semester, breathe a huge sigh of relief that that isover, and vow never to write again. Their experiences in a writingclass and the C or D they receive for their efforts reinforce their beliefthat they cannot write and increase their determination to find futurecourses, and later, a career, in which they will not have to write. Andwhen they find that they do have to write again, because physicistsand psychotherapists and business people and even leaders of wildernessoutings all have to write, they repeat the ghastly process over andover (Holaday 36).

Why write to learn?

Journal entries to start class

Assessment takes place mid-marking period and at end, part of class participation

Teacher sees areas where student naturally tends in his/her writing

Practice with timed writing, for test prep

Writing-to-learn activities

Use of Google Suite for Content

Sample journal entries

More Writing-to-Learn Opportunities

Summarizing/reflecting mid-lesson in journals

Taking Cornell notes on readings, lectures, videos

Assessment is quick, observed, pass/fail

Sample Cornell Notes

Another Cornell Note example

Students identify 2-3 areas in their writing in need of improvement

Teacher confirms the areas that student identifies

Student makes rubric, with examples of target skill in action

Teacher uses rubric to assess majority of writing pieces over the next unit/marking period

Individual Writing Rubrics

Can be used at thesis, paragraph or essay level

Mastery of skills, not necessarily content, the focus here

Content can be incorporated if necessary

Recursive Writing Units

(Elbow 19)

Create reflection assignments in Turnitin.com based on each writing piece submitted

Reminds teacher to allow for that extent of feedback on the part of the student

Reflection assignments

Example Writing Reflection

Writing Reflection Example

It is not enough simply to take the specter of grading away… Take away grades and you also take away the traditional means whereby students are motivated to work hard; you take away the chief mechanism through which they get feedback about their writing; you take away the means through which they learn how successfully they write compared with their classmates and others; and you take away their sense of accomplishment and reward. Similarly, when you take away grades, you take away the familiar lens through which teachers are accustomed to viewing students, themselves, and everyone’s respective roles in the classroom-even what goes on in the classroom. If we choose not to grade student writing, that choice sets in motion a chain of causation that necessitates a number of other decisions as well (Bauman 165-166).

Buyer Beware!

I wish you well as you continue to seek

opportunities for teachers to more effectively coach and nurture student writers!

Thank you for your time.