«We are a high-performance school even without grades»
JK*: «There are many ways to assess a child's performance. This doesn't always have to be based on a final learning assessment. Instead, we document the learning path and take a step-by-step look at what a child can already do or still needs to practise. Among other things, we use criteria grids that explain the learning objectives for a topic and on which we teachers regularly record where the child stands.»
Daniela Muff: «Brief one-to-one learning discussions and written feedback are a central element of our feedback culture - and an assessment tool. There are also learning assessments, but they are not the only reason for an assessment. It can also be a learning dialogue: a child lets us know when he or she is ready to demonstrate a learning objective. A teacher then schedules 10 to 15 minutes for them.»
The children continue to compare themselves, but they no longer pigeonhole themselves as quickly as they used to.
Daniela Muff, class teacher
JK: «We try to incorporate as many different forms of learning documentation or assessments as possible: written, oral, group or project work. That way, there is something for every child that suits them. For some content, we take more time and the children sometimes come to us individually to show their learning progress, while for others we use less elaborate methods.»
Muff: «The children really appreciate the learning dialogues. We spend 10 or 15 minutes discussing current issues: how am I doing, what am I particularly good at, where do I still need to practise? In this way, the child develops an increasingly differentiated picture of their strengths and weaknesses.»
JK: «Working with the criteria grids certainly contributes to this. The children also use the grids to judge each other, for example when reading aloud.»
Children are more motivated to learn without grades
Muff: «It doesn't just mean: you read badly. But rather: You stalled, the volume was good, the speed was a bit fast. The children continue to compare themselves, but they no longer pigeonhole themselves as quickly as they used to. In general, I have the impression that they are more motivated to learn.»
Robert Klemm: «Thanks to the intensive dialogue between child and teacher, which is often documented in writing, parents are informed about the child's learning progress even without grades. Then the half-yearly report is no surprise. Overall, we have neither more nor less work with parents today. This is because our teachers can document their assessment well with numerous collected observations and performance records.»
The renunciation of grades is not a renunciation of performance.
Robert Klemm, Headmaster
JK: «Some parents wonder whether children without grades are sufficiently prepared for the meritocracy: They would also be assessed on the job.»
Klemm: «Doing without grades does not mean doing without performance. The job comparison is not accurate: How often do employees have a skills interview - once a year? Children are constantly being assessed. We are definitely an achievement school. But we pursue a concept of performance that focusses on personal development.»
- * Name known to the editors
