Rethinking Schools Volume 34, No. 4 SUMMER 2020 :I Hate the Pandemic, but I’m Grateful to Be Rid of Grades

 Before I even started reading this article, I knew I wanted to go back to something that was written during the height of COVID-19. I feel like, as a society, we moved on from the pandemic way too quickly. Of course I was excited to get back to normal life, see my friends and family again, and not have to wear a mask everywhere. But looking back now, I don't think we've spent enough time talking about what we actually experienced or what we should have learned from it. Now, only a few years later, it sometimes feels like we've decided to pretend none of it happened. We talk about getting back to normal, but we see that normal never worked for everyone in the first place.

That's one of the reasons Mariela Tyler's I Hate the Pandemic, but I'm Grateful to Be Rid of Grades, resonated with me so much. Mariela Tyler isn't just writing about grading during COVID-19. She's asking us to think about what the pandemic revealed about our education system. Instead of rushing to return to the way things were, she challenges educators to ask whether those systems were actually serving students. I think that's a question we should still be asking today. The pandemic was traumatic for so many people, but it also gave us an opportunity to rethink practices that we had accepted for years without questioning them.

One line that really stuck with me was when Tyler writes, "This pandemic has shown me in brilliant Technicolor that students need feedback, not grades." That sentence made me stop and think because feedback encourages students to dig deeper and to grow, while grades often end the conversation. Once a student sees a B or a C, that's usually all they focus on. They are less likely to think about what they learned or how they can improve because the number becomes the only thing that matters. With grades students can easily get discouraged because there is no growth point. It is just a hard letter or number where with feedback it allows for both praise and room to grow!

This article also reminded me of Lisa Delpit's discussion of the culture of power. Delpit argues that schools often reward students who already understand the unspoken rules of education while unintentionally disadvantaging those who don't. Traditional grading systems are another example of that culture of power. Students who have more resources, stable home environments, reliable internet, tutors, or parents who know how to navigate school are often set up to earn better grades. Meanwhile, students facing barriers may be just as capable but have to overcome obstacles that grades never acknowledge.

I also found myself thinking back to Armstrong and Wildman's chapter on Colorblindness is the New Racism. One of the biggest takeaways from that reading was that pretending everyone has the same opportunities actually reinforces inequality. Tyler makes a similar argument about grading. Treating every student exactly the same may sound fair, but fairness isn't always equity. If we ignore the different realities students face outside of school, we risk confusing privilege with achievement.

One of my favorite moments in the article is when Tyler explains how eliminating grades changed her role as a teacher. Instead of feeling like the person handing out points, she became someone who coached students through their learning. That really stood out to me because I think education should be about growth rather than compliance. I think a mindset shift in school is a positive thing. Instead of students being forced on whether this is being graded or how it is being graded, they should focus on what they are supposed to be learning.

I also appreciated that Tyler doesn't romanticize the pandemic. She openly acknowledges the fear, grief, and uncertainty everyone experienced and by everyone she really included the students and what they were losing. At the same time, she argues that the disruption gave educators an opportunity to rethink practices that may never have been serving students well in the first place. One of the most powerful lines in the article is when she writes that all of her students would pass because "living through a damn pandemic is passing." While that statement might sound extreme to some people, I think her point is deeper than simply giving everyone credit. She's asking us to recognize students as whole human beings instead of reducing them to a letter grade. Lived experiences are just as important as grades and academics and there is no better learning than serving a global shut down!

Now I can also reflect that my opinions may come from biased places. I do not work as a teacher and although I was working in a high school during the pandemic I was a college counselor not a real teacher. In my role I get to look at students holistically so I am lucky grades are not always something I have to look so deeply at. So I guess to all my new teacher friends in the class how do you feel about grades? As I read the article and write this blog I do agree that I do not love the grading system but I find myself wondering how to replace them. How does this long standing system even change?

Full article here