By Olivia Merrick
If you had asked me what I thought about labor-based grading contracts when I was in high school, I would’ve had to ask you what that was. I’d never heard of labor-based grading contracts until I started college, and now that I’ve had multiple classes with a labor-based grading contract, I can whole-heartedly say that I believe all writing-based university classes should seriously consider a labor-based grading system if they want students to succeed. Labor-based grading contracts have an intimidating name for a pretty straight-forward grading style. As an article on labor-based grading contracts from Barnard College explains, when professors use this grading style, they collaborate with their students to create a grading contract that is based on the amount of labor that we will need to put into the class to receive a certain grade. This takes the pressure off subjective “quality of work” and, instead, asks that we put in a certain amount of work to achieve their desired grade (Barnard College). Now, this might seem like a bit of a far-fetched concept. One might ask if students know they’re being graded on putting in a certain amount of work, how is a professor to ensure that students are learning the content? Who’s to say students being evaluated under a labor-based grading system will try their best in the class? The reason that I'm personally so in favor of labor-based grading contracts over traditional evaluation is because of the separation that occurs between the content I submit (and the information I learn in the process) and the grade I receive for my effort (Barnard College). I think that, far too often, we exist in a system that teaches us that our worth is based off a subjective opinion that leads to the grade we receive, and that can be really damaging to how we view ourselves. If I’m constantly working for the best grades, and not to actually learn the content, I begin to prioritize a letter or a percentage above everything else. If the letter isn’t good enough, then I begin to feel as though I’m not smart enough. Consequently, I’ll often do whatever it takes to submit something that will get me the best grade possible, even if it’s not my true opinion. As discussed in article by Barnard College on this topic, by being graded on effort, as opposed to how “correct” we are, we will gain the opportunity to grow and learn without being punished. As students, we can grow to believe that the most important thing about our effort in class is the fact that we try, not whether we're “perfect” the first time we submit something. We will be given more opportunities to engage with course content without fear of it resulting in our grade being hurt, and, in doing so, will learn more than we would’ve if we were submitting assignments to try and tell the professor what we think they want to hear (Barnard College). Additionally, using labor-based contracts benefits professors. Rather than having to spend time stressing about what really distinguishes a 70 from a 69, an 80 from a 79, and so forth, professors will have an objective, pre-established standard for what kind of work results in what letter grade a student earns. As a result, professors will free up more time to offer critical, tailored feedback for each student, resulting in more concrete opportunities for student growth in writing. Furthermore, labor-based grading contracts still require that we put in effort. For example, in some classes, a student might have an upcoming paper, and, in accordance with the grading contract, if their paper is 2 pages long, they will get a D, if it’s 3 pages, they’ll get a C, etc. In other classes, grades might be more all-or-nothing; either students get the points for meeting the criteria, or they don’t receive any points at all. We are still required to complete work to get the grade we want, but it is our effort and labor that is being evaluated, not the “quality” of our paper (Barnard College). All of that is to say that I find labor-based grading contracts to be an excellent evaluation technique for students, as it allows us the ability to try new writing styles out and allows us to make mistakes without fear of our grades being punished as a result. Personally, I have found that my writing in courses that utilize a grading contract is much more exploratory, both in terms of content and style, because I’m less afraid that trying a new approach to a paper will damage my grade. As a result, my writing becomes stronger and more certain, and I absorb more of the course content. In my experience, everyone, from myself to my peers to my professors, benefit exponentially from the presence of a labor-based grading contract. Works Cited: Barnard College. Labor-Based Grading. Barnard College. https://barnard.edu/labor-based-grading
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January 2024
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