A No-Zeroes Grading Policy That...Works?

Many teachers and educators have strong feelings about “no-zeroes” or minimum grading policies. Quite often of late, strong negative feelings.

A few weeks ago, Matt Brady wrote a piece for his newsletter called “The 100-Point Scale Is a Design Flaw,” which outlined not just the thinking about his own classroom policy but why it was working so well for his students.

“The room is not more permissive,” he wrote. “It is more hopeful.”

A high school science teacher in his second decade of teaching, Matt joins The Broken Copier in today’s episode to share more about this policy, and—because almost all conversations that on the surface are about grading ultimately are about the mindsets and values undergirding them—so much else about teaching overall in this moment.

To follow Matt’s work, you can (and should!) check out his two newsletters—Teacher, Teacher and The Science Of—and also, especially if you’re a Rick and Morty fan, his science book around the popular television show.

Thanks, as always, to Alberto Lugo, one of Jim’s former students, for writing and recording original intro music; and Tom Csatari for allowing us to use his band’s recording of “Woodstock” from their 2020 album, Garden.

* Find Tom’s work at uncivilizedtom.com, and on Instagram @banduncivilized.

* Find Alberto’s work at djsynchro.weebly.com, and on Instagram @djsynchro.

You can email us here with feedback or any other questions as well: thebrokencopier@substack.com.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebrokencopier.substack.com