Beyond Measure: “UnGrading” Your Music Classroom

Our traditional system of grading in education is fraught with bias and leans heavily on extrinsic motivation tactics. Traditional grading is usually light on description and heavy on comparison. Rarely does a single letter or number convey the complexities that it is meant to summarize. Our traditional use and understanding of assessment and grading in education need to shift from comparisons & labels to self-assessment & growth.

This course will examine the history, use, and purpose of assessment and grading. We will look at research and reflect on our own methodologies thinking deeply about equity, effectiveness, and our own grading practices. We will imagine and construct new assessment methods that serve the most important people in the room – the students. Please join us for a course that will dismantle some historically bad practices regarding grading and replace them with equitable ideas that will transform not only the way you teach but also the relationships you have with your students.