Beginning this year, NWA high schoolers will be able to view their grades via online open gradebooks. They can now access a complete breakdown of their grade for each class, including individual assignments and its effect on the overall grade.
“There were a few different things that sparked this decision,” said Joanne Kim, Head of High School and the driving force behind the adjustment. “I’ve experienced open gradebooks before, and I really valued it. I think it made it possible for students to have access to their grades and exercise more agency.”
Kim cites her previous educational experiences as a main reason for this change, and she thinks that her former students greatly benefitted from open gradebooks.
“It was helpful for me as a teacher for there to be this accountability and communication feedback loop with students,” she said. “Students would check their gradebooks every once in a while and just make sure that they understood what was happening.”
Many students echoed Kim’s opinions, agreeing that the introduction will bring a level of responsibility as well as awareness. Additionally, many students agreed that this change carried benefits, despite any concerns. Lulu Tonisson, a sophomore, is highly supportive.
“I like it because it’s always nice to be able to check in on my grade and see what I need to do better at,” Tonisson said. She believes that the open gradebooks are a useful tool that provide students with needed information.
“I do already [use it regularly] to check my grades, this way I’m not left in suspense and I know if I’m doing good [in my classes],” she said.
Many students have already begun using the new feature. “I have been using the gradebook [to check] on assignments, [but] not on the overall grade,” said Max Orton, a junior.
A key selling point for the change is the hope that open gradebooks will reduce anxiety as students look forward to not being left in the dark and building stronger communication with teachers.
“I really like being able to see my grades because it lowers stress towards the end of quarters,” said Maura Moloney, a sophomore. “I know what to expect, and anytime during the school year I know how I can improve.”
Some students have also applauded how open gradebooks now encourage using MySchoolApp (MSA) even though the school platform has been subject to criticism due to its impractical format and general clunkiness.
“While MSA is a basic frame that in theory has everything we’d need, it’s too unpolished,” said Wren Alger, a sophomore. “I see [open gradebooks] as a step in the right direction to make MSA more accessible, I don’t personally see any downsides as it’s added more user friendly features and not taken anything away. I will definitely use this feature and have already found it helpful.”
Other members of faculty like Julia Cain, the Director of College Counseling, support this modification. She believes that open gradebooks will be vital for building accountability skills as students venture into college.
“I agree with the change,” said Cain. “Students need to know where they stand in classes. This eliminates the guesswork. I’m always surprised when students say they don’t know how they are doing in a class. They see their grades, so where is the confusion? This way, there is no misunderstanding when grades are updated regularly.”
A level of anticipation surrounds the adoption of open gradebooks, as both students and faculty wait to see how it will play out. Nini Annuse, a sophomore, said that while it has the potential to be an appreciated improvement, a true picture cannot be painted until the flow of classwork picks up and students progress through the year.
“I can only see the grades for two of my classes right now because we haven’t had any assignments so far, but yeah, I think it will get better,” Annuse said.
Her opinions are reflected back on the faculty, including Kim herself, who holds the same expectancy for the system.
“I’ll certainly be tuned and open [to] unanticipated issues, but we’ll see,” said Kim. “Every once in a while you get the student who wants to avoid [keeping track of their grades], and that will have been the case even without open gradebooks, and I’m hoping the open gradebooks will support those students well.”
However, Kim’s enthusiastic sentiment is not completely mimicked by the student body. Students, such as sophomore Rose Veneklase, have mixed feelings about open gradebooks.
“I’m kind of neutral on the subject,” Veneklase said. “…It can be a lot of pressure, and also the fact that you can see everyone else’s grades, like when people share them with each other. Then you see someone else and if they’re better than you, you feel bad.”
Some students, despite appreciating it, still called attention to possible logistical issues when it comes to grading. Teachers each have unique grading styles, which can be confusing to students when balancing many classes.
“I think it’s mostly very helpful because now we can see what we need to work on and how to improve without directly emailing your teachers,” said sophomore Jake Chisholm. “It is a little annoying that some teachers post participation grades as a separate assignment, but overall I think it’s very positive.”
Veneklase and Chisholm are not the only students who see a potential struggle. Syd McCornack, a sophomore, worries for different reasons, as she thinks students being able to actively view grade breakdowns may lead to anxiety when it comes to class assignments.
“I think that it’s nice to see my progress and it’s helpful to know what I should work on, and what classes I should focus more on, but at the same time it’s kind of stressful,” said the sophomore.
“If I see my grade drop I’m like oh, oh sh*t.”
Some students said that open gradebooks may cause them anxiety, in spite of the advantages they might bring.
“I like the change,” said Eli Swartley, a sophomore. “I feel like I can know where I am at all times and not just at the end of the term. I think the one downside is that I might stress over it a little too much, but I think I will use it so I can know where to put extra effort.”
Despite some concerns from the student body, some faculty disagree with these ideas, noting that issues like that would have occurred with or without open gradebooks.
“This is a good step in preparation for what is next,” said Cain. “If teachers update their grades every week or two, it saves the back-and-forth reminders. It puts the onus on the students to follow up. In a way, it returns the power to the students’ hands. Knowing where you stand and how you respond is an important part of maturing.”
Cain notes how NWA has long preached the importance of student autonomy and self-advocacy, as the school’s mission statement itself promotes the “constructive challenging” they strive to use.
Online gradebooking is a fairly recent addition to academic practice, but it is quickly becoming commonplace in the US. Despite this, there are no formal studies illustrating the positive and negative effects of open gradebooks on students.
However, many educators, such as those from the National Association of Independent Schools, are concerned that parents who have access to the grades will put undue pressure on students to perform well.
An important distinction between these concerns and NWA’s approach is that parents cannot access the grades, with the hope of alleviating this tension and granting students more control over their academic careers.
“Change is hard for people, and I think it’s very normal that people will feel a reflexive instinct for anxiety just because it’s a new thing,” said Kim.“[People] will fear the worst possible outcomes, and I’ll certainly be tuned and open to unanticipated issues,” Kim expressed that she wanted it to be positive for the whole school. “My hope is that it’ll be an overall easing for everyone, for both students and teachers.”
Reporting by Jonas Honeyman-Colvin and Caroline Barr
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