We are off to a great start this week!

 

I wanted to remind parents of freshman students that in their three core-subject classes (English, History, and Science), ninth grade students will be assessed on a pass/fail (P/F) grading system instead of traditional letter grades during the first trimester.

 

This shift has been prevalent in recent years in numerous schools, colleges, and universities, including programs at Yale, Stanford, and Harvard, where research, best practices, and a commitment to promoting innovation and pedagogical excellence helped to drive decisions. The system now applies to CA ninth graders (it started with the Class of 2018) during the first trimester only.

  

In recent years, much research has been done on what Eric Schaps at the Developmental Studies Center in California describes as a focus on “what students ought to be able to do, that is, what we will demand of them – as contrasted with focusing on what we can do to support students’ development” as learners.  In other words, grades too often become the ends themselves, rather than simply being one stage in a learning process or a dialogue with the teacher. Time and again, we see as students enter high school that their fear of a low grade often holds them back.  Rather than really trying something more divergent or creative, they might “play it safe.” In so many areas, CA is a school that fosters intelligent risk-taking and creativity.  Our college counseling staff, student support staff, and faculty members are excited to use this new paradigm to support that. In fact, the decision emerged from teachers’ ongoing professional development to find the best ways to prepare students for the future.

 

Certainly, there is precedent at other institutions for P/F grading, but also at CA. Five years ago, we re-worked our freshman World History course in ways that helped students develop their critical thinking skills and explore the world. This Global Perspectives course, as it is now called, was the first to use a P/F system for the first trimester.  Teachers of the course have noticed that their students have been able to “build metacognitive awareness as a starting point for understanding assessment” and themselves as learners.  They quickly learn to see the “value of working through iterative work cycles when necessary.”  In other words, the experience in the course has helped train students to understand that learning is a process that often takes multiple steps.  Teachers, including Paul Kim, Elissa Wolf-Tinsman, David Colodny and Miten Patel, have found that the conversations they have been able to have with students about their progress—free from the limiting perspective of letter grades—has helped build a climate of trust and support that is essential.

 

In reviewing CA’s use of P/F grades in the Upper School, Head of School Mike Davis underscored that the outcomes were immediate and recognizable: “Teachers talked about how students were asking questions they had never asked before; that they were paying closer attention and taking part in a more open and focused way.” In a study done by the Mayo Clinic, Pass/Fail grading was associated with less stress, improved mood, better group cohesion, students taking more academic risks, and providing a more objective grading system.

 

Additionally, numerous CA efforts such as having an Innovation Lab designed for exploration, introducing courses that incorporate project-based learning, and use of design thinking are all at the heart of encouraging students to engage in deeper learning, and to “own” that process themselves. We know from interviewing CA alumni and college admission deans that CA has a challenging and rigorous program that prepares students well for college and beyond.  Our students continue to perform well on AP exams and standardized tests. CA students also continue to perform in the top 10% of those taking the College Work and Readiness Assessment (CWRA), a national test of critical thinking and writing skills, and outperform many college freshmen taking a similar exam.

 

With such positive results, one may wonder why the freshman Mathematics and World Language courses will not use the same P/F system. The answer is simple: many of those classes are comprised of students from different grades working at different levels. These classes don’t lend themselves to that system.

 

One might also ask why this system will be used only the first trimester.  The fact is that we operate in an educational world where letter grades are a standard element of any outside assessment of our work, including the college application process. While the latter is a long way off for freshmen, CA’s grade point averages are calculated based on cumulative results of all trimester marks. (For those courses using the P/F system, students receive full credit for the course, but no numeric value for the averaging of a GPA). Our belief is that introducing our freshmen to their high school careers with the encouragement to truly stretch themselves, and to become acclimated to the rigor and expectations of high school without the worry of a final grade will set the standard of engagement for their entire high school careers.

 

Students have remarked that the pressure is indeed reduced under this new system. In a recent survey, 79% of freshmen expressed that having a few pass/fail classes helped them to feel less anxiety and allowed them to take more academic risks. Additionally, there have been fewer ninth grade students on our ‘academic concern’ list since the introduction of Pass/Fail grading. Students were able to get acclimated to high school and then transition smoothly to the traditional grading scale in the second trimester.

 

When teachers issue mid-trimester grades, parents and students will find a P/F indication, as well as thorough feedback from the course instructor. Parent/Teacher conferences follow the posting of mid-tri grades, and again, provide ample opportunity for feedback. Our experience with the P/F system is that the greater engagement in class provides even more opportunities for daily or weekly teacher feedback and conferencing with students.

 

Towards the end of the first trimester (late October/early November), teachers in all three subject areas begin to assist students in the transition from a P/F system towards the more traditional grading system that will be used in the winter trimester. This can be done in as simple a manner as telling the students what their “P” grade would translate to in a more traditional A through F system, and also is reflected in the kinds of assignments that are given.

 

We hope you will share our enthusiasm as you see the results this fall. I encourage any parents or students who have questions or concerns about this to stop by or contact me. We are looking forward to a great year.