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# Going Gradeless? Portfolios And Feedback As A Running Record

The "gradeless" movement in education focuses on replacing traditional percentage and letter grades with extensive, ongoing feedback. This article explores how digital portfolios serve as a running record of student growth and achievement in a gradeless environment.

###### Before You Start

* Understand that "gradeless" does not mean a lack of assessment; it means a shift toward qualitative feedback.
* Ensure you are familiar with using curriculum tags in SpacesEDU to organize work.
* Identify the key stakeholders (teachers, students, and families) who will be participating in the feedback loop.
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###### The Role of Portfolios in a Gradeless Classroom

In the absence of a traditional gradebook, digital portfolios provide the necessary structure to track, report, and celebrate student progress.

| Feature | Application in a Gradeless Environment |
| ---- |
| **Evidence of Learning** | Portfolios act as a central repository where students compile and store diverse evidence of their learning journey. |
| **Stakeholder Feedback** | Evidence is enriched by ongoing feedback from teachers, peers, and family members, all accessible in one online space. |
| **Growth Tracking** | Instead of a single grade, the portfolio provides a chronological "running record" of how a student's skills have evolved over time. |

**Using Curriculum Tags for Assessment**

Curriculum tags are essential for maintaining academic rigor in a gradeless classroom. They allow you to:

1. **Organize Work:** Categorize student posts by specific learning standards or competencies.
2. **Determine Proficiency:** Use the tags as a benchmark to assess a student's current level of understanding.
3. **Guide Next Steps:** When providing feedback or prompting student reflection, explicitly reference the learning objective within the tag to identify exactly what the student needs to do to reach mastery.
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###### Good to Know

* **Accessibility:** Because portfolios are online, evidence of learning and feedback are available to all stakeholders at any time, fostering transparency.
* **Reflective Practice:** Explicitly linking feedback to curriculum tags helps students develop a deeper understanding of the learning goals they are working toward.
* **Continuous Improvement:** The focus remains on the process of learning and the "next steps" rather than a final, static grade.