Narrative Evaluations Part I: Narrative Evaluations Vs Traditional Letter Grades

Unlike many schools, Waring does not use a conventional letter grading system to evaluate student learning. Instead, students at Waring earn credit for their courses and receive extensive narrative evaluations about their performance twice a year, with shorter written check-ins at the mid-term.. This method encourages students to learn for the sake of learning, rather than being driven towards the external validation of a grade, and to participate in what is always an ongoing conversation about their engagement with the curriculum. 

Without the letter grade format that traditional schools use, Waring students gain important insights into their growth, skill level, strengths, and weaknesses in each subject area and in the realms of both engagement and participation on which Waring bases evaluation. Written evaluations help students play a more significant role in shaping their learning and find joy in their learning process. 

The detailed written assessments of a student’s performance focus on clearly defining a student’s strengths, areas for improvement, overall progress, and presence in a class rather than simply assigning a letter grade.  These narrative evaluations also allow the teacher a broader forum for addressing various aspects of the student’s work and classroom experience (classroom engagement and contributions, work in small groups, essay writing, abstract thinking, etc.). 

Advantages of Narrative Evaluations

Waring’s narrative evaluations improve intrinsic motivation, foster curiosity, honor relationships, and allow students to develop their voices. They also encourage students to always go deeper into the material, push themselves further, and value learning as an end in itself. Decades of research support the use of narrative language and feedback to support students and reflect progress. 

Increased Intrinsic Motivation to Learn

A 1986 study published in Grading for Growth makes a compelling case for emphasizing verbal feedback in student evaluation and de-emphasizing, if not completely eliminating, numerical grades. In this study, verbal feedback was linked to significantly improved intrinsic motivation in the subjects and to improved quality of performance on both computational and written tasks. (Butler, R., & Nisan, M. (1986). Effects of no feedback, task-related comments, and grades on intrinsic motivation and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(3), 210.)

Educator Feedback & Improved Risk-Taking 

Authentic feedback helps students who might avoid risk-taking by providing encouragement and feedback for growth rather than instilling a preoccupation over a good or bad grade or distracting from the learning itself. Waring students are often encouraged to take these and other academic risks in and out of the classroom in pursuit of discovering interests new to the learner and in the hope that stretching oneself becomes a normalized part of the academic journey. 

The use of narrative assessments levels the playing field for all students by providing a safe and highly personalized assessment for each student, regardless of past experience. 

Limitations of Letter Grades 

Why does Waring choose narrative evaluations over more conventional letter-grade assessments? 

Harvard University’s Bok School of Teaching and Learning recently outlined some of the limitations of letter grades for assessment. Their findings, published in scholarly journals, suggest the need for alternative student learning assessment methods. 

Learning should come from a drive from within, not a letter grade given after a term or semester. In a recent broadcast, National Public Radio emphasized that “students have become so preoccupied with grades, they aren’t actually learning.” The drive to learn should come from within rather than a desire to see a perfect letter grade on a report card. 

The use of letter grades as a form of currency can and has reduced many students’ internal drive to learn about a topic merely for the sake of knowledge rather than a score on a test or grade report. At Waring the students find the drive to learn their subject material for the sake of finding out more, of going deeper, and ultimately learn more about the subject and themselves in the process. 

Perpetuation of An Unfair System 

Additionally, research has shown that letter grades lead to unequal educational opportunities based on a student’s race and class. (Source: The Week) Additionally, Harvard University cites three separate studies that illustrate that class, ethnicity, and race inequities impact letter grades:  Link & Guskey 2019; Malouff & Thorsteinsson, 2016; Feldman, 2018. 

The use of letter grades may perpetuate an antiquated educational system that enables inequities in the classroom and on academic transcripts. 

Mental Health & Stress Challenges 

Academic pressures can be formidable, especially in grade-focused assessment environments. This academic stress can lead to low self-esteem and anxiety. Competition at school because of grade inflation and grading curves provides motivation for external metrics not present in a Waring classroom. Students feel safer to learn in a comfortable environment where they are evaluated through conversation and the written narratives, and teachers know them well, including how they learn. The fear of grades being affected through illness or short absences is also removed, enabling each student to fully participate in the program and focus on the subject matter and not whether or not their grade is in good standing. 

Discourages Risk-Averse Students 

Students who are accustomed to a letter-grading system may become risk-averse. To maintain high grades and a competitive rank in class, some students find themselves following a “safe” course of approaching an assignment or problem set. Narrative evaluations allow students to go for depth in a project or research question. By using a narrative assessment format, Waring students can explore new areas of potential interest and inquiry. 

Learning through Dialogue and Inquiry

Waring School has always evaluated students with a Credit earned (or not) system, as well as narrative evaluations. There was no switch from letter grades in earlier years of the school – narratives and conversations were always the form of given evaluation. This has helped students know exactly where they stand in a class, what they can improve on, and where they have found success. It encourages students to be present, to take risks, to enquire deeper into the subjects at hand. Students feel safe and seen, and our narrative evaluations truly helps to create and sustain a community of lifelong learners. 

Have questions about Waring’s narrative evaluations? Talk to our Academic Dean, Admissions Director or Head of School to find out more.