By Sarah Peeden, Middle School Head, and Dr. John Stegeman, Upper School Head

Eastside Preparatory School inspires its students to innovate wisely as one pillar of our Mission. Meanwhile, teachers and school leaders strive to wisely innovate our teaching practice and academic program continuously. As part of our process, we first identify and articulate the problem or challenge to be solved. Then we test our thinking by observing, sharing, and listening to members of our community. This last winter, we utilized the divisional Parent/Guardian Coffee Series to share our thinking and ask for input from parents and guardians on two subjects: grading and assessment practices and program innovations for juniors and seniors.

Grading & Assessment

Over the last two years, EPS faculty and leadership have engaged in an intensive study of grading and assessment practices within the program. This reflective and investigatory project was borne out of two strategic priorities:

• 2.4: Reimagining student assessment practices to ensure mission alignment and promote student well-being

• 2.5: Ensuring the EPS curriculum remains modern and relevant in order to equip students to navigate the future with confidence.

In division and discipline groups, teachers have audited and inventoried their assessment practices and philosophies; they have looked at longitudinal data related to grade distribution, and they have explored non-traditional and innovative grading methods being used across the world in both secondary and higher education spaces. Currently, EPS faculty are partnering with the Mastery Transcript Consortium as a vehicle for exploring school-specific competencies that might eventually accompany letter grades.

Recently, in an effort to gain insight into the grading experiences of students and families, we hosted listening groups for families of students across the fifth through twelfth grade spectrum. In these meetings, we asked adults to share their perceptions of the impact of grades on their families as well as reflect upon the way that evaluation and assessment show up in their own lives beyond schooling.

Adults generally shared how much they value the school’s focus on learning over grades, in addition to the way in which course offerings allow for real-world application of curriculum and individualized teacher support. At the same time, many adults spoke to their own experiences of assessment and grading. Given the range of domestic and international experiences present in our community, the responses were diverse—with some parents/guardians sharing experiences of make-or-break exams while others told stories about growing up in non-graded environments.

In addition to these reflections, some parents/guardians presented individual concerns about the ways that stress and competition impact their students, with some calling for more social-emotional support in helping students navigate realities of the world beyond EPS, while others wondered about the efficacy of structural changes to grading systems. These were lively and fruitful discussions, and while responses varied, families provided new lenses through which EPS faculty can continue to reflect upon and improve their practice.

Junior-Senior Program

The origins of this set of program innovations go back to our founding Head of School, Dr. Terry Macaluso, who once observed, “Why is it that our oldest and most mature students spend their days learning in the same configuration of time and space as fifth graders?” Indeed, all of our academic classes at EPS follow the same schedule, and there are lots of logistical reasons for that. But maybe we could find ways to shape logistics around the needs of learning in new and innovative ways if we freed our thinking from the constraints of tradition. Such thinking led to the development of strategic priorities like:

• 2.2: Expand independent education capacity and options for juniors and seniors to modernize the senior year experience.

Our program already offers several options for students as they approach the end of their secondary school experience and prepare for college and adulthood, including Independent Studies, Independent Projects, and the Senior Thesis. This year we are also piloting a new configuration, the Impact Project, which is conceived as a group independent study/project to make some meaningful and positive change for the community. So, one goal of the listening sessions was to better understand the experience of current students in these areas. At the same time, anticipating future initiatives aligned with the Strategic Priorities, we asked for perspective about the following subjects:

Parents consistently reported that their students have had deep, meaningful learning experiences through our Independent Curriculum. Independent Studies provide students with the freedom to explore areas of intellectual curiosity with individualized support from faculty. This freedom also enables students to think and study across the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines. The ability to connect several studies in a sequence that leads to a capstone Senior Thesis extends those positive impacts. Many found these to represent signature accomplishments that have led students to identify a course of study they want to pursue in college, provide distinctive learning experiences to speak about in the college application process, and, in some cases, find connections for summer internships.

At the same time, parents shared our recognition that this is an area that is fertile for continued innovation. Could we develop a program to connect students with internship options, maybe during the school year, and provide some kind of oversight or offer academic credit for such experiences? What about bringing experts to campus to connect with our students here to elevate their awareness of career opportunities? What community connections already exist within EPS professional networks that we might be able to tap in service of student learning? These questions, and more, surfaced in our discussions and provided much food for thought.

Next Steps

In the coming weeks, we will engage in listening group sessions to gather information from students about their experience and understanding of these topics. Ultimately, those insights, paired with the ones surfaced by the EPS adult community, will directly inform our work to meet the institutional goals set out in the school’s strategic plan.