My philosophy
Recently, I participated in a study group that explored ways to make grading more equitable — that is, to be sure that my grading policies don’t create unnecessary obstacles for one group of students over others.
This inquiry led me to reconsider almost everything I’ve done in the past — things that you may be used to, since it’s what you’ve almost certainly experienced in most courses.
My new philosophy is based on the understanding that, for most students, grades undermine the ability to learn. I therefore emphasize the process of writing rather than the finished product. And this emphasis encourages me to separate your grade from the quality of your work.
This doesn’t mean that I’m not interested in quality; I will work hard to encourage you to think and write well. To do that, though, I need to ensure that you feel free to take risks, even to fail, without fearing that your grade will suffer.
Of course, I still have to assign you a grade at the end of the semester, so let me explain how that will work.
The Grading Policy
Note: Though this is not very complicated, it is difficult to explain. If you are ever confused by this policy, please contact me. I’d be happy to go over it with you as many times as you need.
The default grade for this course is a B. This means that if you complete the required work (listed in the center column of the table, below), then you are guaranteed at least a B in the course. If you don’t complete the required work, then your course grade will be lowered. On the other hand, if you complete work beyond what’s required for a B, then your course grade will be raised (allowing you to make up for any grade penalty and/or to earn an A in the course).
In this table , you can see how this works specifically:
| Raising the Course Grade | Required work: Default Course Grade (B) | Lowering the Course Grade |
|---|---|---|
| N/A (Not applicable) | Complete all 3 major essays Note: All 3 major essays must be submitted to pass the class, but they must all be complete to meet this requirement. | Each Incomplete major essay lowers the course grade a full letter. |
| N/A | Reflection on each of the 3 major essays | Miss 1 Reflection (-1/3) Miss 2 or 3 Reflections (-2/3) |
| All 3 working draft conferences with a reasonably complete draft (+1/3) | 2 (out of 3) working draft conferences with a reasonably complete working draft | 1 working draft conference with a reasonably complete working draft (-1/3) No working draft conference with a reasonably complete draft (-2/3) |
| 4 (out of 6) working draft questionnaires (+1/3) Note: these only apply if you attend the related working draft conference. | N/A | N/A |
| No more than 1 Incomplete or missing Discussion Group Assignment Post (+1/3) | No more than 2 Incomplete or missing Discussion Group Assignment Posts | 3-5 Incomplete or missing Discussion Group Assignment Posts (-1/3) 6+ Incomplete or missing DGA Posts (-2/3) |
| No more than 1 Incomplete or missing Discussion Group Assignment Response (+1/3) | No more than 2 Incomplete or missing Discussion Group Assignment Responses | 3-5 Incomplete or missing Discussion Group Assignment Responses (-1/3) 6+ Incomplete or missing DGA responses(-2/3) |
| 2 additional Annotated Bibliography entries from scholarly sources (+1/3) | 3 Annotated Bibliography entries, as assigned | 2 or fewer Annotated Bibliography entries (-1/3) |
| N/A | Reflective Essay at the end of the semester | Incomplete or missing Reflective Essay (-1/3) |
| N/A | Unit 3 Topic Conference | No Unit 3 Topic Conference (-1/3) |
| No more than 1 Incomplete Quiz for Understanding (+1/3) | No more than 2 Incomplete or missing Quizzes for Understanding | 3+ Incomplete or missing Quizzes for Understanding (-1/3) |
Understanding the table
Note: As I explain this, keep in mind that Yuba College only records full letter grades on your transcripts. For example, a B+ is recorded as a B; a C- is recorded as a C.
To receive a B in the class, you’d complete all the assignments in the center column.
If you complete additional work, as explained in the left column, then your course grade would be raised. If you do not complete all the work in the center column, then your course grade would be lowered, as explained in the right column.
And note that the left and right columns offset each other. If you lose a portion of the course grade, you can earn it back by completing work in the left column; and if you raise your grade, you can lose that progress if you don’t complete one of the center-column requirements.
Examples:
Diana Troy completed everything in the center column, with one exception: she did not want to attend any of the working draft conferences. This lowered her course grade 2/3 of a letter, from a B to a C+. However, she really wanted a B, so she made sure she missed no more than one Discussion Group Assignment post. This raised her course grade 1/3 of a letter, bringing her back to a B-. (Final reported grade: B.)
Selina Kyle wanted an A in the course. She completed everything in the center column, with one exception: she couldn’t attend the Unit 3 Topic Conference. This lowered her grade one-third of a letter, to a B-. However, she completed all 16 Discussion Group Assignment posts and responses (raising her course grade 2/3 of letter) and two additional Annotated Bibliography entries from scholarly sources (raising her course grade another 1/3 of a letter). This raised her course grade to an A-. (Final reported grade: A.)
The Grading System
For this course, I will use a “Complete/Incomplete” grading system. In other words, I will not assign points or letter grades to individual assignments. Instead, each assignment will receive one of three “grades”:
- Complete: If an assignment gets a “Complete,” then it means that you fulfilled the requirements of the assignment.
- Incomplete: If an assignment receives an “Incomplete,” then it means that you didn’t fulfill the requirements of the assignment. (Note that the major essay assignments may allow rewrites. Information about that will appear on the assignments.)
- No grade: If an individual assignment does not have a “Complete” or “Incomplete,” then it means that (a) you didn’t turn it in by the deadline, or (b) I haven’t yet graded it.
What Does “Complete” Mean?
As I said, I will be separating the notion of quality from your grade. Instead of grading on how “well written” your essay is, or how “proper” your grammar is, or how “insightful” your argument is, I’ll assign a “Complete” or “Incomplete” based on whether or not you completed the requirements of the assignment.
Some of these requirements are simple to understand. For example, if an essay assignment asks for 1000 words, and you turn in 500 words, the essay would be marked Incomplete. If an essay assignment requires you to cite at least six sources, and you cite only three, it would be marked Incomplete. If a Discussion Group Assignment asks you to respond to three classmates, and you only respond to two, that DGA Response would be marked Incomplete.
Other requirements are trickier. For example, if the assignment asks you to both explain and apply Carol Dweck’s concept of “mindsets” to your experience (that’s Essay 1), and you mention the mindsets without explaining them, that assignment would be marked Incomplete. Or if the assignment asks you to take a position on an issue, but you only report on a range of positions without identifying your own, that assignment would be marked Incomplete.
These requirements will be explained in the assignment and identified in a rubric, so they should be reasonably clear. (If you don’t know what “rubrics” are, don’t worry — I’ll introduce them during the semester.) However, since some of the requirements are, as I said, trickier, please feel free to contact me if I assign an Incomplete and you don’t agree. I’m happy to talk to you about it.
A Note on Canvas’s Gradebook
Unfortunately, Canvas won’t calculate grades based on Complete/Incomplete scores. This creates a real challenge: any calculation that Canvas makes is wrong, whether that’s points, or a percentage, or a letter grade.
At the same time, the Gradebook can help students keep track of missing or incomplete assignments.
That benefit is important enough that I’ve chosen not to “hide” the Gradebook. However, be sure to keep that first observation in mind: please ignore calculation that the Canvas Gradebook presents you. Only use the Gradebook to keep track of assignments.
This semester, in response to recommendations from last semester’s students, I’ll be developing a way for you to monitor your progress. I hope you’ll let me know what works, or doesn’t, as I work with you to develop that process.
Late Policy
As I mentioned above, my grading philosophy emphasizes the process of learning. In a perfect world, that would mean that I’d have no late policy at all.
Unfortunately, the world isn’t perfect. I have found — both from my own experience, and from feedback from students — that many students need hard deadlines to succeed, especially in online classes.
So here’s my general pattern for deadlines:
Initial Due Date
Every assignment has a due date that is designed to keep you “on track.” This will be the due date that is listed on the actual assignment in Canvas.
Grace period
I know that this class (or even school, more generally) isn’t always the most important thing in your life. I know that semesters get busy, and you forget things. (So do I….) I know that things come up — health issues, family emergencies, shifting job schedules, and much more — and you won’t always be able to meet that initial due date.
That’s why most assignments include a “grace period” — generally one or two weeks, depending on the assignment — during which I’ll accept late work with no penalty (and no judgment).
You should do your best to meet the initial due date, as much of this class involves interacting with each other as you work through the concepts and issues that you’ll be writing about. Discussion Group Assignments are less useful when you get out of sync in class discussions, for example. It’s also best to wrap up one essay before you have to start dealing with the concepts and issues related to the next one.
But the grace period is there, if you need it.
If you miss the grace period
I will not accept work after the grace period has expired. (There’s one exception, which I’ll mention in a moment.) This isn’t meant to be punitive; it’s meant to support your success. Putting everything off until the end of the semester only leads to shallow learning and overwhelm. (I know this from other semesters, before I’d put this policy in place.)
The exception: since you need to submit all three essays in order to pass the class, I will accept essays submitted after the grace period. However, they will receive an Incomplete, and will not be eligible for a rewrite.
A couple other things I hope you’ll keep in mind regarding the grace period:
- I don’t assign “busy work.” Everything I assign is meant to contribute to what you’re learning in the class (and not just the individual unit). So even if you miss the grace period, it would still be useful for you to finish the work for your own understanding.
- You might also use the missed grace period as an opportunity to consider how you might change your planning or schedule to avoid the problem in the future, whether in my class, or throughout your schooling (and beyond!).
Major Essays
Please note how important the three major essays are: To receive a passing grade in the class, you must submit all three essays. If you don’t — if you choose not to turn in one or more of the major essays — you won’t pass the class. This cannot be offset by doing work from the left column.
Further, each major essay that receives an Incomplete will lower your grade by a full letter. However, this can be offset by doing work from the left column.
Rewrites
If you turn in a major essay assignment by the grace period but still earn an “Incomplete,” you will have an opportunity to rewrite the assignment to meet the requirements. I’ll explain the exact details within the course, but here’s the general idea:
- I’ll provide feedback about ways that you might revise the essay in order to receive the complete.
- After you’ve reviewed my feedback, we’ll meet (via Zoom, if possible) to discuss that feedback. This will provide you the opportunity to ask questions and to run ideas for revision by me; it will also provide me the opportunity to assess how well you’ve understood my comments. Note: if you don’t get the chance to review my feedback before the meeting, we’ll reschedule to give you a chance to do so.
- At the meeting, we’ll decide together on a deadline for the rewrite. If you submit the rewritten essay by that deadline, I will score the essay again. (If you miss the deadline, the “Incomplete” will stand.)
One Last Thought
This grading system isn’t perfect. As far as I can tell, though, no system is perfect; there are always trade-offs.
In my judgment, the trade-offs from this system offer huge advantages over traditional ones. But if you’d like to talk through what these advantages are—if you’re concerned (as some students are), or if you just want to understand better what’s going on here — I’m happy to meet with you to talk through it.
I mean that: I welcome your insights, and I’ll consider them as I continue working through these issues.
Next up: Resources
The next section is about resources that you might find helpful.