Grades are not the only measure of achievement

And the release of first-semester grade reports on Saturday morning.

 

When that electronic report card goes live, most eyes will naturally focus on the letter grades. The five or six, maybe seven, marks upon which so much rides. We are fortunate at Ransom Everglades to work with kids who work hard and genuinely want to do well. Our teachers are scholarly, passionate about what they teach, and expect distinguished work. Quality work matters to everyone at Ransom Everglades. We know that letter grades and GPAs are consequential, especially as students get closer to junior year and the college admission process becomes a reality. But those letters and numbers don't tell us everything. The end of a semester is a wonderful opportunity for us to think about our students in more profound and holistic ways.

 

Through official notes, parent-teacher conferences, mid-semester advisor comments, and the end-of-semester teacher comments included in Saturday's report, our teachers have worked steadily since August to develop a narrative about each student's progress. Additionally, my colleagues have created more and more assessments, including those at the end of semester, that push beyond recall and memorization. They are assessments that require higher thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis and making connections with material learned previously. The assessments call for deep learning: the application, oftentimes real world, of acquired knowledge and skills. In a perfect world, the narratives and assessments will reveal how connected students are to their work and how passionate they are about that work, something a letter grade alone cannot accomplish. 

 

Stories of student successes that were celebrated in the Dell + Cannon last fall had little to do with academic averages and more to do with meaningful engagement, passion and confidence.

 

Nine unrehearsed middle school students dazzled on national television, sharing what kindness means to them and leading Today Show co-anchor Hoda Kotb to say "these kids make me feel better about the future.”

 

Five scholar-athletes committed to NCAA Division-1 colleges.

 

Students engaged in difficult and challenging conversations about identity, equity and inclusion during our first semester with the High Resolves program.

 

Three RE students became the first high school students in five years to win recognition at an annual scientific conference dominated by undergraduate and graduate university students.

 

Upper school drama students pulled off the almost impossible: an outstanding three-night performance of Fiddler on the Roof after losing their lead a week before opening night.

The sailing team took the Mendelblatt Trophy in the national championships of scholastic keelboat racing in RE's first appearance in the event.

 

The public presentations of this year's Bowden fellows showed how truly beautifully our students can ratchet up the quality of their work when they are motivated by a subject that interests them and have the time and resources to focus and dive deep.

 

St Alban's Day and the relief drives for the Bahamas reminded us of our abiding commitment – that can be traced back to Paul Ransom – to the common good and others less fortunate. 

 

Grades are not the only measure of achievement, and learning comes in many forms.

 

During the break I perused college and university websites, hopeful that I might be able to decipher what admission officers look for in their applicants. At yesterday’s opening faculty meeting, I shared what I had found on the Harvard website: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/what-we-look. I did not share this document, nor do I now, as a roadmap of how to crack college admissions, particularly at Harvard; we know that the admission landscape is increasingly complex. What I wanted to show was that nowhere are grades and GPA’s mentioned and that other important attributes and character traits are highlighted.

 

Harvard says “we seek to identify students who will be the best educators of one another and their professors – individuals who will inspire those around them.”

 

I am fortunate to lead a school of well-intentioned adolescents who seem to exhibit those characteristics instinctively. Through their genuine engagement in their classes, community and school life, our students show they are inspired and defined by more than grades on a report card. That inspires me.

 

I am inspired each and every day at Ransom Everglades, and I am constantly learning from our students. They make me feel better about the future.

Here’s to extraordinary learning in 2020!