The Case Against Grades
May 26, 2022
4:00PM to 5:30PM
Date/Time
Date(s) - 26/05/2022
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Join us for an informative and engaging session presented by Alfie Kohn, a leader of the “ungrading” movement, to discuss the relevance of psychological research about motivation, the difference between feedback and evaluation, and how teachers can work for the abolition of grades while minimizing their impact in each classroom in the meantime.
Research has found three consistent effects of traditional grades: They lead students (of all ages) to think less deeply, to lose interest in what they’re learning, and to try to avoid challenging tasks. Thus, rather than tweaking grading practices, educators should be looking to replace letter and number grades with less destructive alternatives.
While assessment of any kind can be overdone—there is a genuine risk in leading students to become preoccupied with how well they’re doing—it is possible for assessment to be more authentic and informative once we have moved beyond grades.
About the Speaker:
Alfie Kohn has been described by Time magazine as America’s “most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades and test scores.” He is an independent scholar who has written 14 books and hundreds of articles about education, human behaviour, and parenting. Among those books: Punished by Rewards, The Schools Our Children Deserve, Unconditional Parenting, and What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated?
Kohn’s essays have appeared in the Review of Educational Research, the Chronicle of Higher Education, New York Times and Macleans. Kohn speaks widely to educators, researchers and parents; he has been a featured presenter at many university schools of education and a keynote speaker at numerous education conferences. Kohn lives in the Boston area. To learn more about Alfie Kohn visit www.alfiekohn.org.
Register: