An integrated mixed-methods study of contract grading's impact on adolescents' perceptions of stress in high school English: a pilot study

Achieving High Goals: The Impact of Contract Grading on High School Students' Academic Performance, Avoidance Orientation, and Social Comparison

“…Ultimately, the result was a 62% decrease in grades C or lower and an 11% increase in grades B or higher. Supporting the grade improvements observed in college students under the contract (Fairbanks, 1992;Lindemann & Harbke, 2011), the findings of this study also reveal that decreased workload alone did not improve academic performance, as the pilot study suggested (Ward, 2021a).…”

“…To intentionally highlight the subjective nature of assessment, the lead teacher of the pilot study (Ward, 2021a) taught the instructors to grade holistically using a checkmark system (see Table 2) for each contract item to arrive at a number for the grade book (see Table 3). The goal was to shift mindsets and mitigate teachers exercising their authority over the final grade and 'throwing students off the contract' due to perceived low quality.…”

“…This research was conducted with full institutional consent and formal ethical clearance from the Department of Educational Research's Research Ethics Officer. My current courses, as well as my students in my course during the pilot study (Ward, 2021a), were excluded to minimize my positionality as a researcher studying students at my institution. Parents could opt their children out for any reason, and all interviews were scheduled after parents signed consent forms.…”

“…I offered no incentives and took great care to exert no informal or formal pressure on the students to mitigate the influence of my positionality as a teacher at the school at which I was researching. In the pilot study (Ward, 2021a), which had a similar participation rate, more students supplied their final grades than completed the surveys, yet grades were comparable in both groups.…”

“…The pilot study (Ward, 2021a) revealed that among 12th graders with a history of low or failing grades on the assessment, those who received the contracts showed a statistically significant decrease in their perception of workload demands while also earning significantly higher grades compared to the traditional grading group. The present study took place in Spring 2020 when all grade (9-12) and course levels (i.e., regular, AP/honors, and those accommodated for learning disabilities) adopted the grading contract, instead of an analytical rubric, for a high-stakes writing assessment.…”