Effort grades boost student outcomes

One of the challenges that is often shared by school leaders and their boards is ensuring that every student is reaching his or her full potential in every area of their formation – academic, physical, spiritual, and so on.  Traditionally, academic prizes were used as a prime motivator, but of course only the top few percent of students can ever dream of receiving one of these prizes, which suggests their value as a motivating influence on students is marginal at best.

During four of my five school headships, I introduced an initiative which proved to be extremely effective in motivating students.  Indeed, in the words of many of my colleagues, it completely transformed the learning culture of the school.

The initiative was a very simple one.  Every school already included grades for “Effort” or “Application” on their student reports, but none of them treated the effort grade as seriously as the academic mark achieved for each subject.  Consequently, neither the students nor the parents placed much emphasis on the effort grade.  The simple initiative was to treat the effort grade as being more significant than the mark achieved.

The thinking behind this change was that only a few students could ever achieve marks of, say, 90% and above.  However, every student was capable of gaining an “A” for Effort if they were working to their full capabilities.  In other words, a student who was getting a mark of, say, 55% might deserve an “A” for Effort if they were working their heart out.  Similarly, a student who was receiving a mark in the high 80s might only deserve a B or a C for effort, or even a D if they were coasting and not applying themselves seriously to their work.

A key element in this initiative was coming to a common understanding among all teachers of what was required for the award of each Effort Grade.  In other words, Effort Grades should be criterion-based.  The criteria used in each of the schools where I was Principal varied to suit their different demographics, but they were something like this:

A    EXCELLENT SUSTAINED EFFORT

• A highly motivated, always punctual student who submits all work on time.
• Frequently makes a positive contribution in class and participates actively.
• A highly developed work ethic and consistent striving towards goals.
• Homework is always done and to the best of his abilities
• Always comes to class well organised with appropriate materials

B    CONSISTENT, VERY GOOD EFFORT

• A motivated, punctual student who submits most work on time.
• Makes a positive contribution and participates well.
• Good work ethic and ability to set goals.
• Homework is almost always done and to the best of his abilities
• Almost always comes to class well organised with appropriate materials

C    REASONABLE EFFORT

• Usually a motivated, punctual student but not working to potential.
• Sometimes lacks self-motivation and participation.
• Work ethic could improve but some goal-setting is evident.
• Homework is usually done but not always to the best of his abilities
• Usually comes to class reasonably organised with appropriate materials

D    UNSATISFACTORY EFFORT

• Lacks sustained motivation and is often late in submitting work.
• Shows little interest in studying or participating in class.
• Does not work independently or set goals of achievement.
• Homework is done inconsistently and often below his abilities
• Sometimes comes to class disorganised without appropriate materials

E    UNACCEPTABLE EFFORT

• Often disinterested in learning.
• Unco-operative and disruptive in class.
• Does not work without supervision.
• Homework is rarely completed satisfactorily. 
• Frequently comes to class poorly organised and without appropriate materials

Teachers assess Effort on the basis of consistent, demonstrated patterns of learning.  They do not base their judgements on isolated incidents.  There are no restrictions to the number of Effort grades awarded in a course.  Effort grades are awarded on the basis of actual student learning profiles, not quotas.  It is important to note that the Effort grades relate to the learning process and the content relative to an individual student’s ability, irrespective of actual achievement of marks.  Low performing students should be and are capable of receiving an Excellent grade if their approach to learning in the classroom and their performance in completing homework is high.

The introduction of this simple change meant that parents became aware of their children's progress relative to their own individual capabilities and potential, not just in relation to the rest of the class or grade.