Contract grading should be the default in college writing

Last semester, I approached my CORE 111 writing seminar class with apprehension. I had always heard how ruthless college writing courses could be. I expected unachievable grading standards, especially since I was in the Thematic Option program, which emphasizes scholarly writing.

However, my anxiety-fueled presuppositions were quickly subverted. My professor introduced her course and her grading style with something I had never seen before — a grading contract. My subsequent experiences with contract grading have inspired me to argue for this alternative grading style to become the norm in college writing courses.

What these grading contracts entail is rather simple: a list of requirements, agreed upon by both the professor and the student, that the latter must fulfill in order to earn an A in the course. These requirements may pertain to class etiquette, tardiness and attendance, participation, quality of writing, demonstrated improvement and a variety of other performance factors. California State University, Sacramento professor Lynda S. Radican credits grading contracts as being able to “essentially transform the grading process from teacher-developed criteria into an agreement between teacher and student, with considerable freedom for students to propose and assess work on their own initiative.” 

My CORE 112 professor this semester also uses a grading contract rather than traditional letter grades. The contract, which I agreed to at the start of the semester, promises students an A in the class if we: “turn up prepared;” “engage in class discussions;” “do the written work;” “cultivate a risk-taking sensibility;” “embrace failure;” “show care for [our] reader;” “give [ourselves] time to improve” and “are nice.”

This means that none of the papers, projects or assignments submitted by students earn letter grades. Rather, students solely receive constructive feedback on their work, cultivating a lower-stakes environment where taking risks is encouraged. Grading contracts alleviate stress in the classroom — rather than catering my submissions to what I think my professor wants to see, I am able to prioritize my own individual style and growth.

Contributors Dan Melzer, D.J. Quinn, Lisa Sperber and Sarah Faye of Writing Commons, a peer-reviewed collegiate education resource, explain that “students are often more concerned with how to get an ‘A’ than how to write effectively for different audiences, purposes, and genres,” continuing that “focusing on grades is not only less satisfying than focusing on learning, it’s also very stressful and can put students and teachers into an adversarial relationship rather than a learning partnership.” 

This is precisely why grading contracts should become the norm in writing courses. Especially with the egregious cost of attendance many USC students face, higher learning should be a rewarding, partnership-based process, not a patronizing system dependent on letter grades. Plus, nobody should be reduced to a letter on a scale — it’s dehumanizing. 

Old Dominion University professor Annette Finley-Croswhite wrote in a 2021 article for the school’s Center for Faculty Development News that “many faculty and students observe that efforts to improve writing via contract grading are increased because students must respond to instructor feedback to complete assignments, and they have more room to experiment without fear of a ‘bad grade.’”

I’ve certainly experienced this phenomenon myself, as I have noticed I am more receptive to feedback and less defensive to criticism of my work in classes that use grading contracts. I genuinely want to improve my writing in these courses, and my main goal is not to earn a certain grade.

I urge writing professors to consider switching their grading systems to contract grading for the benefit of their students, who may both perform better and experience less academic stress as a result. USC is an innovative institution that has changed greatly over time, and it’s time for the grading status quo to evolve with the University.