Pedagogy Oct 2024

Just One More Thing?

Catherine Gabor

Abstract

Abstract This study addresses the paucity of literature on the impact of ungrading — contract grading, specifically — on international students at American colleges. Over the course of four semesters, 307 international and domestic students were surveyed (anonymously) about their perceptions of grading contracts in their writing (and writing-heavy) classes. Specifically, the survey was designed to find out if grading contracts serve as “just another thing” to navigate as international students transition into the Western educational setting and, furthermore, to find out if grading contracts inadvertently do more harm than good. Ultimately, international students perceive more overall benefits than drawbacks of ungrading. However, the data show that international students do find contract grading confusing — especially at first. This article analyzes the sources of confusion along with mitigating topics named by the survey participants, such as fairness, student agency, and stress reduction. The data also show that ungrading practices can serve as a transitional tool to ease international students into American education; a portion of students identify the grading contract as a means of facilitating the transition into American education, rather than as a barrier to it.

Journal
Pedagogy
Published
2024-10-01
DOI
10.1215/15314200-11246351
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (7)

  1. Inoue (2019)
    2019 CCCC Chair’s Address: How Do We Language So People Stop Killing Each Other…
    College Composition and Communication
  2. Inoue (2019)
    Classroom Writing Assessment as an Antiracist Practice
    Pedagogy
  3. Albracht et al. (2019)
    Interchanges: Response to Joyce Olewski Inman and Rebecca A. Powell’s “In the A…
    College Composition and Communication
  4. Inman et al. (2018)
    In the Absence of Grades: Dissonance and Desire in Course-Contract Classrooms
    College Composition and Communication
  5. Lee (2016)
    Beyond Translingual Writing
    College English
Show all 7 →
  1. Poe et al. (2016)
    Guest Editors’ Introduction: Toward Writing Assessment as Social Justice: An Id…
    College English
  2. Zamel (1995)
    Strangers in Academia: The Experiences of Faculty and ESL Students Across the C…
    College Composition and Communication
Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓
  1. Carillo (2021)
    The Hidden Inequities in Labor-Based Contract Grading.
     ↗
  2. Inoue Asao B . 2022. Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and …
     ↗
  3. Jackson (2013)
    International Students in the U.S.: Social and Psychological Adjustment
    Journal of International Students  ↗
  4. Litterio Lisa . 2018. “Contract Grading in the Technical Writing Classro…
     ↗
  5. Luo (2019)
    International Students’ Perceived Language Competence, Domestic Student Support, and Psyc…
    Journal of International Students  ↗
  6. Vandrick (2015)
    No “Knapsack of Invisible Privilege” for ESL University Students
    Journal of Language, Identity, and Education  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network →

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