Interesting conversations about assessment... Currently, schools in many countries are changing assessments moving away from grades towards competencies, which we have seen evidence of at some schools in Calgary already. The idea behind it is to have all students work towards mastery as opposed to giving them a grade when the unit is over and moving them on regardless of the level of understanding they have earned. This way, if kids need more time to learn and master a concept they can have it, while the kids who are ready to move on, can. This idea leads to the conversation about changing the way we educate kids altogether looking changing our current one-size-fits-all model to a model that allows students to progress at different rates. (Some leading countries are already doing this). Given we know different brains learn in different ways and at different rates, this idea seems to make sense. However, it leads to complexities and questions about how to accommodate all kids. This is especially interesting given the new mandate on Inclusion from Alberta Education which is just around the corner. The goal will be to have all kids all kids, including diverse learners, included and supported inside the classroom.
Anyways.... I am curious to know what people think about the idea of gradeless report cards. I also want to know how frequently reporting intervals should be so that parents, teachers and students know where they are at.
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