How Do Grades Work in Microschools?
Grades are something that all educators, especially in the U.S., have to think about when teaching students. Since microschools are meant to be educational spaces mimicking traditional school settings, there are some factors you must consider with grades in your program.
Considering the fact that microschools are much smaller than traditional schools, grades cannot be given out the same way. If microschools were to use traditional grading systems, students wouldn’t get a fair chance at learning and could become discouraged with their grades.
Not only would grades in microschools need to be different from traditional schools because of size, but grades should also focus on student progress instead of completion.
Do Microschools Place Emphasis on Grades?
In traditional schools, grades are a huge part of students’ lives. They feel as though they need to do well on their grades because those grades will impact their future in a big way.
Microschools should aim not to make grades a priority for students. Instead, it is more important that the microschool sets up a system where student learning is the priority. Grades in this setting should be used to help students understand their progress in learning, not if they are doing well or poorly overall.
If grades are used in microschools in order to make the school seem more legitimate, it would defeat the purpose of the learning environment being “non-traditional.”
The Microschool Grading Model
Grades in microschools should mimic the “progress-based grading” model. This would allow students to truly learn throughout their time at school instead of stressing about grades, which are usually an end goal.
When using the progress-based grading model, students are challenged with different projects each marking period that they complete for a grade. These projects are meant to help the student learn about different topics and show their growth over time.
Using this model, students would be able to take projects home, work on them at their own pace, and come back with new projects each marking period (or semester). This would allow microschools to mimic homeschooling settings by giving students more opportunities to learn and grow at their own rates.
Other Ways to Encourage Students to Learn Without Grades
Since grades and traditional school systems don’t mesh well in microschools because of the size, students need other ways to know that they are learning. Microschools can encourage students’ learning by allowing them to do different projects throughout the marking period (semester) instead of tests or quizzes. These projects should be something that require students to learn and show their understanding of the topic.
Microschools could also use portfolios as a way for students to showcase their learning, like in traditional schools. But instead of filling them with their completed tests and quizzes, students should fill them with projects they have completed throughout the marking period (semester). These projects will show student learning over time and mimic the progress-based grading model.
Grades in microschools can be a difficult thing to work out since each one is so different. Microschools should encourage students to learn by giving them projects throughout the marking period instead of tests or quizzes. These projects will allow the students to show their learning, allow them to learn at their own pace, and mimic homeschooling.
