Alternatives to the note - an overview
Smileys, traffic lights or snails
They may not have made it onto the report card yet, but they are omnipresent on the corrected exam: instead of a grade, a smiley is given as feedback. It beams - or pulls its mouth down if things didn't go well. Alternatively, there are also the three colours of the traffic light, which represent good, mediocre or poor performance, animals from cheetahs to snails or the number of rockets.
What schools sometimes advertise as new approaches is «pedagogical cosmetics» in this case, says education researcher Winfried Kronig from the University of Freiburg. «You could just as well leave it at grades. Children know exactly which symbol stands for which achievement and interpret it into grades.» Philipp Bucher, an expert in school and teaching development at the FHNW University of Teacher Education, advises against the smiley system in particular: «Younger children then tend to associate their performance with the emotional message - and think they have made the teacher sad.»
Verbal assessment in categories
From «failed» to «exceeded»: Verbatim assessments in corresponding categories have established themselves as an alternative to grades, whether as feedback on tests and schoolwork or - where legal regulations allow - as a substitute for numbers in school reports. «Feedback that shows the child what they can already do, where they still need to practise and what steps they need to take next is conducive to learning,» says Katharina Maag Merki, Professor of Educational Science at the University of Zurich. «Categories and numerical grades have a similarly low information content in this respect. Only content-related feedback, which neither a number nor a category can provide, helps the child to actually understand what they can already do and what they should work on next.»
Extended learning and assessment reports
Extended learning or assessment reports claim to provide children with a holistic assessment that goes beyond numbers and categories. Where legal provisions make it possible, these sometimes replace the grade report. A large number of observations, performance records and impressions from shared experiences are included in the reports. Teachers describe the child's academic and interdisciplinary skills in comparative detail, often using specific examples of what the child is particularly good at or where it can still develop.
As an assessment of a child's position, such reports «may have some merit», says education researcher Kronig. However, they are unsuitable as a basis for selection decisions, i.e. as a substitute for school reports. «Even if there is a lot of commitment and good intentions behind them, learning reports are probably even more susceptible to bias than grades,» says Kronig. «They are similarly uninformative when it comes to comparing performance outside of the classroom. And in fact, they make the child's educational career dependent on the teacher's powers of observation and language skills.» Kronig also believes that the risk of reports being coloured by personal convictions is even higher than with grades. «In case of doubt,» says Kronig, «words hurt more than numbers. Analyses of learning reports show that teachers often use adjectives carelessly, which sometimes leads to highly suspect statements or at least allows for questionable interpretations.»
Competence grid
Curriculum 21 focusses on competence orientation. According to the Conference of Cantonal Directors of Education, this means: The curriculum «sets out in a transparent, understandable and comprehensible way what pupils should be able to do». Competency or criteria grids have the same function. Templates are provided by teaching material publishers, teacher training colleges or education directorates, and teachers often develop their own. They are commonly presented as a matrix structure: the vertical axis describes the learning objectives that build on each other and need to be achieved within a thematic block, while the horizontal axis shows the different levels. Teachers use competency grids as an evaluation tool to determine the learning status and level of pupils.
The portfolio offers a more insightful view of learners and their strengths than the report card.
Katharina Maag Merki, educational scientist
For them, in turn, they are a helpful tool for self-assessment and orientation: the child can see what they need to be able to do by when and how well, they can place a cross in the grid to indicate their current level and compare their assessment with that of the teacher. In this way, personal progress becomes visible, but it also becomes clear where there is still a need to learn.
«A good competency grid fulfils several requirements for support-oriented feedback in a way that a numerical grade cannot,» says Philippe Wampfler, secondary school teacher and lecturer in German didactics. According to educational researcher Kronig, comprehensive criteria grids that define what the competences required by the curriculum actually mean and make it clear where a child stands in relation to these learning goals are more meaningful than report card grades. «In the current system, however,» he is convinced, «such a form of assessment is not feasible. It would fail because of the effort involved.»
Learning portfolios
In learning portfolios, pupils collect work over a longer period of time that documents their achievements and progress and shows where their personal strengths and interests lie. Individual project work, products or other evidence of achievement are included in the portfolio. This usually also includes reflection on the content and learning experiences. Self-assessments and external assessments, for example by the teacher, round off the portfolio. Among other things, it helps pupils to improve their learning and working techniques. «In addition, the portfolio offers a more comprehensive view of learners and their strengths, which is more informative than looking at their school reports,» says education researcher Maag Merki. «Such formats have great potential, especially when looking for an apprenticeship, because they increase the chances of a good match between the company and the applicant.»
Learning dialogues
How am I doing? What am I good at? Where am I still struggling? Such questions are at the centre of the learning discussion between teacher and child. The child answers them from their own perspective and the teacher contributes theirs. This exchange is a valuable addition to the feedback that the child receives in writing or in class. It should help them to perceive their learning development in a more differentiated way than would be possible through comparison with others.
«Personal words from the teacher are very important in this context,» says Maag Merki. «It's important to create regular opportunities for this.» This can be done with reasonable effort, says Lucerne primary school teacher Daniela Muff: «Two or three key questions are enough. It's better if the learning dialogues are shorter and take place more frequently - at best, we have three per semester.»
