There are perfectionists and those who are content with any outcome, even negative ones. Yet, oftentimes, we cannot help but want to know the unknown. For years, students at Montrose School have been frustrated and concerned about their grades, especially since a student can only find out their grade half way through the semester. A couple weeks later they are informed of their final grade. Students have expressed physically, through tears and complaints, and mentally, by overstressing and becoming overwhelmed, that they would rather prefer live grading. Students felt as though they had no chance to improve their grades and that their percentage did not represent the amount of effort they put forth for their class.
Live grading allows students to view their class grade anytime, anywhere. So, when a student receives a test or assessment grade back, they can see if their grade had a negative or positive impact. While walking through the hallways to lunch or simply to grab something from my locker, I have continually heard positive feedback about live grading. Yet, is that truly the case for the whole student body? It has been a couple weeks since Montrose School turned on live grading, and yet, students have very strong opinions.
Talking to Sanya Nadeem ‘26, I first led the conversation with questions. How has live grading impacted your daily life? “It has been a lot less stressful because I know what my grades are and I know what I can do to improve them.” Would you like to have live grading all year round? “Yes, because I feel like it will be easier for teachers and students to communicate with each other, and one does not have to continually email teachers and instead have official ownership of their grade.” Can you personally attest to having a better relationship with a teacher or teachers after having the ability to see your live grade? “Yes, for example, with live grading, I realized I was not satisfied with my math grade, so I reached out to my teacher to improve, and now I feel open about improving my work and effort in class. Realizing I have a chance to improve on my mistakes and anything I failed to understand.” Sanya has been a student at Montrose for one year; she is a sophomore now and expressed that at her local public school they had live grading when she attended, and she had less anxiety about how she was represented in her class.
Through casual conversation, I have addressed live grading. Constantly, I have heard mixed comments. Liesl-Ann Vaz ‘25 has expressed that “it [live grading] can be more stressful since it makes me obsessive over my grades and I begin to worry about my grade becoming lower,” and seniors still cannot decide if they have lucked out of live grading. They have decided that only having it for one year is a blessing.
Overall, I think live grading has been a blessing for me. Instead of worrying if my bad homework grade will affect my ability to get into any college, I can see the impact and now work harder on future assignments. At my last school, I had live grading and loved the tool. I also believe my relationships with teachers have improved, and there is a higher level of understanding from both perspectives after having live grading, even after a couple of weeks. Time will only tell if I get to see more smiles or frowns about live grading.
By Monica Ronayne ‘25, Staff Writer
