Owen Burns, Lily Churchill, Samantha Manheimer, Alexander Stayoch, David Sweeney, Colin Waring
In June 2021, Jesse Stommel published an article titled Ungrading: An Introduction. In the article, he describes the process of “ungrading”, which he defines as, “raising an eyebrow at grades as a systemic practice,” and how he went about moving from a traditional grading system to this new method. As with many things, however, this change comes with an element of tension, along with risks and rewards for both the students and the instructors. By examining the article alongside a piece we are familiar with, Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild”, which also features tensions, risks, and rewards, we can use Bloodchild to help illuminate those elements within the process of ungrading.
Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild” presents systemic issues through the lens of the Tlic and the Terrans. In this alien world, the human-like Terrans have been forced into a society with the alien Tlic where Terrans are sold “to the rich and powerful for their political support” (Butler 5). After years of living together, they reach certain agreements to create a more peaceful connection between them. Despite these agreements though, certain systemic issues still arose that created turmoil between the two species. The story follows the Terran, Gan, who has been chosen by the Tlic T’Gatoi to eventually bear her eggs. Gan was chosen when young and has struggled with this choice for a long time. As part of their agreement, Terrans must give one of their young to bear Tlic eggs. Gan is shown “diagrams and [drawings” (Butler 13) of the process and is assured that it is very safe yet after seeing a Tlic birth go wrong, Gan questions the good that these “diagrams and drawings” (Butler 13) can do. He was never truly prepared for the process, he “wasn’t ready to see it” (Butler 17) and pleads with T’Gatoi for some sort of change for every other Terran that must go through the birthing process. He calls for systemic change, asking that Terrans have the ability to actually _see_ a birth in person, not just on paper. He wants the process to be “‘Shown.’” (Butler 29), multiple times throughout a Terrans life so they can grow truly comfortable with it, easing the tensions between the two species.
In Bloodchild we see a conflict that is a lot more alien then the tensions present in school and the grading format. From the book we observe Gan and T’Gatoi having issues that still present an interesting parallel to those tensions of grading. Gan and the practice of ungrading both have the same goal of fixing a systemic issue that has large negative consequences throughout society. With Tilc births in Bloodchild, the main issue is that Terrans are not properly prepared for the births they have never seen or have been educated on. Traditional grading provides a similar issue, letter grades simply aren’t good enough to prepare students for a future. A letter grade does not provide the feedback that is necessary for students to succeed. The practice of ungrading fixes this issue because it breaks an ongoing systemic practice.
Ungrading is a system of grading that moves away from the traditional A-F/1-100 letter/number grading system, and focuses on the feedback the student receives and the growth that comes from it. Within the article, Stommel references the pandemic as a well-known and recent example where the traditional grading system fails. He states, “If your institution just continued grading during the pandemic, ‘business as usual,’ here’s what all those grades were measuring: how well students and teachers ‘pivoted’ to online, whether students had necessary access and support at home, and the ability of students to ‘perform’ in a crisis” (Stommel, Ungrading: An Introduction). Stommel mentions that the act of ungrading seeks to target a larger systemic issue, not simply solve problems here and there from classroom to classroom. “‘Ungrading’ means raising an eyebrow at grades as a systemic practice, distinct from simply ‘not grading.’ The word is a present participle, an ongoing process, not a static set of practices’ ‘ (Stommel, Ungrading: An Introduction). Stommel suggests that the way to start the ungrading process is to talk to students about their grades. “Demystifying grades (and the culture around them) gives students a sense of ownership over their own education” (Stommel, Ungrading: An Introduction). This idea of ‘demystifying’ goes hand in hand with what Gan says to T’Gatoi at the end of Bloodchild. “Shown. Shown when we’re young kids, and shown more than once. Gatoi, no Terran ever sees a birth that goes right. All we see is N’Tlic–pain and terror and maybe death” (Butler 29). Gan is suggesting a way to alleviate some of the tensions between the two species–and that is to give the Terrans a deeper understanding of the relationship between the two, much like Stommel suggests with his demystifying method. We as students have grown up with the traditional grading system, just like how Terrans in Bloodchild have only ever known that they are ‘supposed to’ get implanted by Tlics and incubate the eggs inside of them. Both practices have many flaws; the practice of traditional grading causes problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, overcompetitiveness, tendencies to cheat/plagarize and more, and the practice of Tlics implanting Terrans can fail sometimes, harming the Terran. Both practices are seen as the normal way of life, so not much is being done to change them. However, some people are realizing the problems. In Bloodchild Gan talks to T’Gatoi about how the relationship between Tlics and Terrans can change. And in our lives, different forms of ungrading are beginning to be talked about and put into practice.
There are some rewards and many risks that are associated with traditional grading, and some offer ungrading as a solution. When giving ungrading as a solution, it is important to note the risks and the rewards of an ungrading system, for both students and instructors.
There are a few risks associated with a system of ungrading that may be overlooked when searching for a solution to the risks of a traditional grading system. For both students and instructors, a large risk of switching to an ungrading system is the unfamiliarity that both parties have in ungrading. Just as if the Tlic and Terrans in _Bloodchild _were to switch from their traditional system of life, just because switching from a way of life you have always known might be better, it is not easy to transition. Another risk of ungrading is that students may lack motivation due to not having a clear goal (as in a goal of getting an A+). For instructors, a large risk is that you still have to find a way to translate your ungrading system into a final letter/number grade as schools still require you to give students a final grade. Another risk for instructors that comes with ungrading is that you have to consider that students may be taking advantage of the ungrading system and acting in bad faith.
With risks, come rewards, and for ungrading there are a good amount of rewards. For instructors, a worthwhile reward is that you get to know your students better. With the various systems of ungrading, instructors give well thought out insight and feedback on a student’s work, rather than just a simple number or letter grade. This also benefits students because students can actually understand their mistakes better and grow, as well as develop a good relationship with their instructors. This fundamental idea of understanding is something that is imperative to Gan in Bloodchild as well. While ungrading forms a greater understanding with students and instructors, Gan also seeks to create a better sense of understanding between Terran and Tlic. Another reward, mainly for students, is a lower incentive to cheat or plagiarize under a system of ungrading since students don’t need to get a perfect score by any means necessary. Another reward that comes with ungrading is a less competitive and more relaxed classroom. Since students are no longer squeezing out every ounce of effort in their body to get 100 (or cheating), they can relax and actually learn.
This matters because _Bloodchild _outlines and connects to the importance of communication and the dangers of the truth not being fully exposed. Gan struggles with the fact that being unaware of how the procedure really is and the risks it causes. This connects the ungrading because a students negative grade could show a different result then what the truth actually is, a student could have cheated out of bad faith and recieved a good score or a very good student could have been sick and not done so well even if he knew the material. This is also very important because everything we have covered is related to risks and rewards. We understand that it is a part of life to make mistakes and ungrading is just a suggestion on how to solve a discovered problem. People make mistakes all the time and as time goes on, solutions will be found. It’s an endless cycle of messing things up and then fixing them. That’s what helps us in life in the mistakes because we can learn from them and try to strive and not let history repeat itself. This does matter because for example this is a self graded class therefore we can call this a more academically reformed classroom because we move away from right and wrong and focus on things like are we caring for are learning? Are we being respectful and helpful in our peers’ learning? And are we striving to participate, engage and take something valuable out of this course. We believe that Geneseo education is trying to teach us that there are risks and rewards in every move we make and that being judged solely on our actions, like grading, should not defy us as a person because we are human and make mistakes. It’s about being aware and understanding the risks and rewards of learning and living here at SUNY Geneseo.
