Can grades be an effective form of feedback?

Grades are portrayed as a villain by many in education today. Some researchers and authors contend grades stifle creativity, foster fear of failure, and weaken students’ interest (Pulfrey, Buchs, & Butera, 2011). Others argue that grades diminish students’ emotional and behavioral engagement in learning (Poorthuis et al., 2015). These claims have led some to believe that we could significantly improve students’ attitudes, their interest in learning, and the classroom learning environment simply by going “gradeless” (Barnes, 2018; Burns & Frangiosa, 2021; Kohn, 1994, 1999; Spencer, 2017).

But do grades deserve the supervillain label? Would eliminating grades suddenly increase students’ interest in learning and make our classrooms better places to learn? Not much evidence supports this. In fact, careful examination of the research reveals the findings are far more nuanced.

We know, for example, that students’ feelings about grades and how grades affect them depend on the purpose and meaning attached to grades. Their interpretations vary depending on how the grades are determined, the students’ grade level and background, and classroom learning conditions (Guskey, 2019). Students’ perceptions of grades and their follow-up actions also vary depending on the grade they receive (Link & Guskey, 2019).