Examining the issue of Grades in Education - specifically reporting of Grades

This will be a long post (we have a few away and I want students to feel part of the class discussions)

Consider the following questions with regards to the grades reporting system.

Where do motivational theories and research studies connect with the changes being suggested in our current grade reporting system?
How much has our system changed and / or is it due for change?  (see the video by Sir Ken Robinson below)
Where is Surrey in these discussions?  

Read some of the recent posts by our new Superintendant,  Mr Jordan Tinney in response to questions arising from the original news reports a few weeks ago.

Links you may find useful:
  CTV
Vancouver Sun - history of grading
Mr Jordan Tinney's first response post:  What do Letter Grades Really Mean?
Mr Jordan Tinney's second response post Preparing Students for the Real World
Institute for Critical Education Studies - blog post last April with some links to varied interviews and resources

In class we have begun a conversation around the recent news that Surrey and Maple Ridge have been piloting the practice of eliminating grades in reporting.  This topic arose from student queries and conversations in class on Monday.  Most had only spoken or discussed initial news reports, like the one above, which were brief in details.

We started with creating a chart including 3 columns on what do we know, want to know (questions reveal a lot about your thinking - sometimes more than responses), and collecting our findings and resources (notes and references). We are trying to reserve judgement until you gather a variety of sources, information, answers to your questions.

We also watched the video below in class which discusses recent research on motivational theory:

If you are interested in the longer Ted Talks by Daniel Pink that inspired the RSA Animate version above, here they are:

19 Min Ted Talk 

Dan Pink: The Puzzle of Motivation

50 Min Ted Talk

Dan Pink:  The Surprising Truth About Motivation

He further explores these ideas in his book titled Drive 

Additionally - some of you are asking really good questions like: (these are only a few of the questions I can recall from today)

When and where did our current grade reporting system originate?

What exactly is the district considering changing and why?

Why are we considering changing the system now? What is the rationale behind this idea?  

Where are these ideas coming from?

Does changing our reporting system actually change our grading system?  

How might these changes positively and negatively affect student learning and students' future opportunities (post - secondary options)

I have indicated to the class, that conversations around assessment and reporting (which are different) have been happening globally for at least the last 10 years (system changes tend to take a long time).  We are just hearing about it in the news recently as shifts are starting to become more concrete.

Ted Talk that Inspired the above RSA Animate (21 minutes)

***There are some other talks by Sir Ken Robinson***