Are your school's grades telling the whole story?

Happy Friday

Are we too drawn to the comfort of numbers? It's a question that's been on my mind after my chat this week with Amarbeer Singh Gill and Jennifer Curran from Ambition Institute.

When we try to put a number on learning, we often forget what grades were made for. Singh put it really well when he said that grades give us "shared meaning" – when a student gets a Grade 8 in GCSE Maths, everyone knows what that means. But when we use the same system for a Year 8 test, that shared meaning gets lost.

Does a Grade 5 in Year 8 predict their future GCSE result? Does it show what they'd get if they took the GCSE today? It's just not clear anymore.

I see this a lot in international schools, especially where parents put huge pressure on their children to get high marks. In China, where I'm based, it used to be super common to see schools ranking students based just on test scores – this happens less now thanks to new rules, but the thinking is still there.

When we boil learning down to a number, we miss so much of what's really going on in the classroom.

Test scores can trick us into feeling certain about things. Singh used a great example of Usain Bolt – he doesn't run his world record time in every race. There's always a range. It's the same with our students. The child who scored 65% today might score 60% tomorrow, not because they've gone backwards, but because both scores are in their normal range.

So what might this mean for your school?

First, think about what Jen says, look at your current testing methods by asking: What do teachers think our tests are for? What do pupils think they're for? Does everyone in your school community understand them the same way?

Second, think about what Singh pointed out, every minute spent giving, marking and looking at formal tests is time not spent planning lessons, making practice activities, or thinking up great examples. Have you got that balance right?

What stuck with me most was the reminder that the best teachers are always checking learning, not by giving numbers, but by spotting when kids don't get it, changing their approach, and responding right there and then. How well do your teachers know their subjects to be able to do this well?

I'd love to hear what you think. How happy are you with how your school uses grades? Have you found good ways to balance the need for data with meaningful ways to check learning?

Drop me a reply – I read every email.

Have a restful weekend,

Shane

Here’s a few of my latest episodes to take you in to the weekend: