Commentary
For many teachers, marking assignments is the least enjoyable aspect of their job. Few things are more tiring and frustrating than reading and writing comments on a pile of essays only to have students throw their papers in the garbage seconds after getting them back.
It certainly raises the question of why teachers bother to go through this process. At a minimum, there’s got to be a way to make school assignments more meaningful to both teachers and students.
Some teachers think they have found the solution—get rid of marks and grades entirely.
A recent CBC story featured a high school English teacher’s experiment with “ungrading.” This teacher does not give students marks on their assignments but simply provides feedback students can use to improve their work in the future. At the end of the term, students meet with the teacher to make their case for the final mark they think they deserve….