Grading to build student agency: A case-study

Abstract

Traditional grading practices remain common in secondary schools despite concerns that they may not adequately communicate student learning or support contemporary educational goals emphasizing mastery, growth, and student agency. Although alternative approaches to grading have received increasing attention, implementation can be complicated by teachers’ beliefs about grading and learning, stakeholder expectations, existing school structures, and uncertainty regarding how nontraditional grading practices affect students. This qualitative case study examined how two high school teachers experienced and interpreted the implementation of a student-centered grading reform focused on standards-based mastery, academic growth, and student self-agency. The study also explored the changes teachers make to their instructional and assessment practices and their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of grading reform for student learning and student self-agency. Agency theory provided a conceptual framework for examining how the reform shaped teachers’ professional decision-making and the opportunities created for students to exercise greater ownership of their earning. Data were collected through two semi-structured interviews with each participant and analysis of grading policies, communication documents, and course materials. Findings indicated that both teachers viewed grading reform as an opportunity to better align grades with demonstrated learning and to shift classroom practices toward mastery, growth, and student ownership. Implementation required substantial changes to assessment and grading systems, feedback practices, reassessment opportunities, and structures supporting student reflection and self-monitoring. Participants perceived increased transparency of learning expectations and greater opportunities for students to understand their progress, reflect on feedback, and exercise agency in the learning process. However, they also described persistent challenges associated with students’ long-established focus on grades, differences in students’ willingness to engage with agency-supportive structures, teacher workload, and traditional institutional expectations surrounding grading. Findings suggest that meaningful grading reform involves more than changing how grades are calculated; it requires changes in instructional practice, teacher decision-making, student beliefs and behaviors, and the broader systems within which grading occurs.