Andrea Reid's Labor-Based Grading
Equity CoP Project – Andrea Reid
Applying an Anti-Racist Writing Assessment Strategy: Labor-Based Grading
I have adopted a Labor-based Grading Policy in my English 101 courses. This has completely changed how I assess student work from a class that tends to place higher value on students who already have the necessary reading/writing/study skills background to one where anyone, regardless of background, has an equal chance of success. Below is the information about this grading system that I have adapted from other scholars and teachers. It is written in syllabus-ready language.
The field of Composition Studies has been on the forefront of assessment and equity-based work for many years. My involvement, as Director of Composition for the English Department, in SBCTC’s statewide English 101 group, (de)Composing ENGL&101, was crucial in pushing me towards a more equitable, anti-racist way of assessing writing in my classes. I relied heavily on the philosophy and work of Dr. Asao Inoue, adopting much of his language, structure, and grade scale as my own after attending his breakout session on anti-racist writing assessment at the 2020 SBCTC Fall Faculty Institute. I finally committed to the work necessary to restructure my composition course to be a reflection of my beliefs about equity.
Ultimately, I heard from many students that this labor-based contract really benefitted their learning, giving them the freedom to write without the “red pen” of the English instructor hanging over their grade and their future (the “red pen” analogy is mine, not theirs!). The shift to this system was a lot of work, and I realized I needed to tweak things further to make them more efficient and fair to students whose lives were changed, often drastically, by COVID-related obstacles. I made sure to let students know from the start of the quarter that this was a pilot quarter, that I was committed to this method and to their success, and that I would always give them the benefit of the doubt as I navigated this new system.
Here's an overview of Contract Grading. Links to an external site.
The write-up below is what I posted in my syllabus this quarter; I tried version 1.0 Fall quarter with a slightly different grading “scale” than the one I used this quarter in version 2.0. I will see if there are noticeable differences. Making this shift to a new assessment system has not been easy, and I continue to grapple with how to make it work. I believe in it, though, and would recommend it. I will be attempting to revise other courses I teach (literature, advanced composition) to also use labor-based grading. I would say, for anyone interested in trying labor-based grading, that first reading Asao Inoue’s 2019 text is essential: Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and Inclusion in the Compassionate Writing Classrooom Links to an external site.
Labor-Based Course Grading:
This section of English 101 uses a labor-based grading contract. A labor-based grading contract is a system of grades that is based solely on your labor or work completed. That means that your final course letter grade will be the result of your weekly participation and completion of homework, drafts, and assignments (as detailed explicitly below), rather than a subjective evaluation of your final assignments as compared to the writing of your peers (as traditional grades are usually assigned).
I’ll be focusing on your potential as a writer rather than on your deficiencies. I will not place a single letter grade on any of your work. Instead, I will offer meaningful feedback that will encourage you to view your learning as a PROCESS that involves multiple attempts that may produce success and even failure (but with no fear of punishment). I’ll be asking you to participate in a compassionate learning community where we collaborate and create together–by responding to one another, by offering feedback each other’s ideas and interpretations, and by contributing to each other’s growth. Consider our class to be that supportive learning environment here to encourage you as a reader, thinker, and writer!
Grading contracts are valuable for a number of reasons, including the fact that they:
- Offer you the opportunity to be experimental and exploratory in your writing—to take risks, rather than only producing writing that is thought to be “correct” or doing exactly and only “what the assignment requires”;
- Value the time and labor you decide to commit to the class;
- Provide you with a clear and concrete understanding of your grade at all times throughout the quarter; grades are simple and easy to calculate;
- Do not penalize or reward you for the level of knowledge about and experience you have with writing and language prior to entering our class; all students have the same potential to earn an A;
- Privilege students who are investing the time, energy and effort into literacy learning.
Traditional grades tend to focus upon quality only, often using a standard that advantages those who’ve been more exposed to this standard or have had more opportunities to interact with it; traditional grades fail to reflect the labor (or work) that quantifies student learning. Using the labor-based grading contract, if you labor in the spirit and manner for which the course assignments are presented, and if you complete the expectations of each academic exercise, your labor will be rewarded.
While labor-based grading contracts focus on quantifiable labor outcomes (participation and completed work), you will still be expected to attend to and revise your writing and work for its quality. All writing assignments will have clear criteria so that you know what constitutes a complete task or set of tasks. Grading contracts function on the belief that quality writing is the result of one’s efforts at drafting, getting and understanding feedback from others, and revising your own work. Learning is a product of trying, receiving feedback, and then trying once again.
Since writing is a process whereby the more we write (labor) the more we improve, I will be using this labor-based approach to determine your final grade (since I’m contracted by the College to award a final letter grade). But that grade will have nothing to do with what I or your peers think of the quality of your work in relation to a single academic standard. Instead, the grade will be a reflection of the quantity of labor that you exhibit throughout the quarter. My goal is to value your time and effort—the intentional, meaningful work and thinking necessary to produce the learning products of the course.
Early in the quarter, you will choose from several learning options to establish your labor-based grading contract for the course. If you need to adjust the option that you’ve chosen (example: you have other courses that demand more of your labor/time, and you must pay more attention to them), you can adjust at our mid-term check-in. If you choose not to participate as often, turn in assignments late, forget to do assignments, or do not follow the labor instructions for each task, you will receive a lower course grade. The only way to fail this course, therefore, is to not do the work involved in your chosen contract option.
*Late/Incomplete Assignments: You agree to turn in properly and on time all work and assignments expected of you in the spirit they are assigned, which means you’ll complete all of the labor instructions for each assignment. During the quarter, you may, however, turn in a few assignments late. The exact number of those late assignments is stipulated in the table above. Late work is defined as any work or document due that is turned in AFTER the due date/time BUT within 48 hours of the deadline. For example, if some work (say a written reflective piece) was due on Thursday, February 15 at 11:59 pm, that piece must be turned in by 11:59 pm on Saturday the 17th. Also, if you have submitted an Incomplete assignment, I will alert you to that fact so that you have the opportunity to resubmit it before it becomes “missed work”. If it does not meet the labor expectations and you do not resubmit a complete assignment, it will be marked “ignored”.
**Missed Work: If you turn in late work AFTER the 48 hours stipulated in Late/Incomplete Work above, then it will be considered “missed work,” which is a more serious mark against your grading contract. This is due to the fact that assignments build on each other and are most usefully at the particular time they are due; turning in something beyond 48 hours after it is due means it is assured to be less useful, and its absence can also hurt your classmates’ work (ex. they may need your peer review letters, or discussion board posts to complete their own work).
***Ignored Work: You agree not to ignore any work expected of you. Ignored work is any work unaccounted for in the quarter—that is, I have no record of you doing it or turning it in. My sense is that ignoring the work so crucial to one’s development as a learner in our community is bad and unacceptable, so accumulating any “ignored work” will keep you from meeting our contract expectations. As mentioned in the “Late/Incomplete Assignments”, if your submissions do not meet the labor expectations and you do not resubmit a complete assignment, they can be marked “ignored”.
Third, Tracking Your COMPLETES in Canvas Grades:
As you complete your assignments in both English 101 and English 151, you will upload the assignments to the appropriate Canvas class along with typing the word COMPLETED to indicate that you have completed the specific assignment according to the expectations provided.
Once you affirm your completion by submitting the assignment, a Checkmark will be placed in the Canvas Gradebook. You will be able to track your labor completion by accessing the number of Competes in your “Grades” in Canvas (again, there will be no points or letter grades associated with your labor).
Note: Labor Contract Check-Ins—around midterm, in week 6, you will submit a labor contract check-in where you will be able to adjust your chosen contract option should you so desire. For example, you may have realized that your other courses are demanding more of your labor/time, and you must begin paying more attention to them instead of these courses. Conversely, you may find that you are managing the course labor quite effectively and may want to upgrade your option to achieve a higher final grade, thus assuming more labor. Either way, you will have opportunities to make these contract option changes with no questions asked.
I will also check your completion record periodically and will contact you if you are falling behind in the required labor outlined in your chosen contract option. Remember, though, that it is your primary responsibility to maintain and track your labor in the course!
Reminder: it is your responsibility to review your grade and withdraw from the course if necessary. Grades of “Z” of “Incomplete” are given only in rare circumstances. If you do not withdraw and stop attending class, you will receive a 0.0 (F). Make sure that you are turning in your work and communicating with me about your progress. Because of federal regulations, it is important for you to understand how your course grade, including a W, Z or I, impacts your financial aid. If you have questions about the Pace of Progression policy, please contact Financial Aid at 509.533.7017.
Fourth, What Sample Assignments and Required Labor Look Like for English 101
Introductory Letter (2 hr total)
All students will complete this week 1 activity—it's my way of getting to know you and your way of getting to know your classmates.
Student-led conferences w/instructor (1 hr each)
You will sign up for a 20 minute conference with me using a Google Doc sign-up sheet that I will set up. At this conference, you will lead the conversation, which may include any questions or concerns that have come up that you want to talk with me about, an overview of your work on past or current assignments, and your learning goals for upcoming assignments. I will ask that you submit notes/questions/talking points before the conference so that I can come prepared to assist you during your conference time.
Essay components (3 essays: each essay includes 3 components) (2-6 hrs/component)
You will complete three formal essays in this class: a Literacy Narrative, a Research Essay, and a Rhetorical Analysis. Each essay will require three distinct components, and there will be clear assignment guidelines and criteria posted for each component:
· Pre-writing ideas (including brainstorming; multiple versions of a working thesis)
· Full rough draft (including an introduction and thesis; all body paragraphs, a conclusion)
· Revised final essay (includes an attached document your revising plan and reflection on changes made)
Peer review letters (2 opportunities per essay) (1-2 hr/letter)
You will be asked to respond to and assess a number of your peers’ essay rough drafts. The goal of these assessments is NOT to evaluate or comment on “correctness”; instead, you will be describing how you experienced your peers’ writing and how it engaged your thinking or feelings (or, conversely, failed to engage you). These assessments will be made in the form of letters and will happen through the Canvas Peer Review feature.
Written reflections on reading selections (2-5 hr/wk including reading)
Almost every week you will have readings tied to your writing assignments. Most weeks will require between 2-3 hours of reading and reflection. A few weeks (when we are working on the research essays or reading the memoir Educated, you may have closer to 4-5 hours of reading). Your written reflections on these reading selections may include summary, analysis, and personal connection responses and will be 400-500 words each week.
Weekly participation activities (30min-1 hr)
There will opportunities to complete one participation activity each week. These may be group activities or additional individual learning opportunities. Occasionally there may be more than one participation activity in a week (such as during week 1). However, only one participation completion can be earned per week, even if you participate in multiple ones.
Weekly labor log entries & reflection (1-2 hr/wk)
This course will consistently rely on reflection and your self-assessment practice. This is often called metacognition Links to an external site., and there are proven benefits of “thinking about one’s thinking.” For this activity, you will be reflecting on the intensity, engagement, and meaning of your labor. I’ll be asking you to rate your levels of these three characteristics in each labor log reflection (you will keep your own Excel file). Each week, you will include your updated labor log (a link to your Excel file) and a short written reflection as an assignment entry in Canvas.
Final portfolio with reflection letter (3-5 hr total)
All English 101 sections complete a final portfolio of their work at the end of the quarter which includes a formal letter reflecting on how specifically you have met the Student Learning Outcomes for the course (see these listed at beginning of syllabus).
Grading contracts originate from research in the field of rhetoric and composition by Dr. Peter Elbow and Asao Inoue that has sought more equitable and just grading practices. This grading contract has been adapted from their work, as well as from the contracts of Dr. David Buck, Dr. Kati Ahern, Dr. Missy Watson and Dr. Nicole Howell.