Reducing the Use of and Emphasis on Grades in High School Physics Classes

Grades have been found to undermine student learning. Some teachers have begun a movement to reduce the use of and emphasis on grades in their classrooms. This pedagogy can be characterized as a “reduced-grades” approach to teaching. Common among published adopters of this approach is the use of justification and feedback. Justification is the process through which the teachers justify the reduced use of and emphasis on grades, to their students. Feedback is the information which teachers provide their students on graded assessments, to improve their learning. Feedback is offered instead of grades. All of the literature which describes this approach and its crucial components in detail has been written by practicing teachers. None of them are high school physics teachers. This research project reveals details about the approach in the particular context of the high school physics course. In the reduced-grades physics classroom, justification can be achieved through explanation or practice. Feedback for graded assessments is offered both through practice for and revision of graded assessments. The specific approaches used depend on the educational mandates which shape the circumstances of the teacher. Some mandates may compromise integral aspects of the reduced-grades approach, and thus jeopardize student learning