Most of the assessment in Heroic University is activity-based rather than evaluative assessment. That is, for most activities, if students post the assignment in the Canvas website by the deadline and have followed the directions, all students will get 100% percent credit for that activity rather than 95% for “excellent” work, 85% for “above average” work, 75% for “average” work, etc.

Our reasons for having this approach to assessment are:

Encouraging A Supportive Student Community

Educational systems with traditional A-F grading create an atmosphere of competition and judgement rather than collaboration and cooperation. When students don’t feel like they are being “judged” compared to their peers, it frees them up to work together and support each other in contributing in their own individual ways.

Accommodates Individual Differences

Classes in Heroic University students typically have a range of ages, prior educational experience, abilities, and life circumstances. We suggest that students choose individual goals based on their individual circumstances. This allows all students to work towards a goal that is an appropriate challenge for them without being judged against the standards of other students with different abilities or circumstances.

Develops Student Responsibility

The 100%-if-done-correctly-and-on-time approach puts students in the driver’s seat of achieving their individual goals. That is, if they do the work, they get the points—period. The number of points they get is not based on somebody else’s judgement of their work; it is based solely on their work output. This makes the students entirely responsible for their own point totals.

On the other hand, the students are also responsible for recording their work on the class website in order to earn the points. For example, if students don’t post their analyses on the website, they will not get any points for that EVEN if they presented their analyses in class. The computer grade book only knows what you input into it.

Promotes A Good Work Ethic

The points-based non-evaluative system supports students to develop a good work ethic. In this system, students are not penalized for being beginners, and can reach a high point total based on their persistent efforts instead of previous experiences or abilities.

Quantitative Assessment

The need for a letter-based grade for transcripts is a reality for most Middle and High School students. The Canvas Grade book generates a quantitative score that can be used as a basis for assigning a grade at the end of the year. Some families don’t care about the Canvas point totals and determine their own grades, and that is fine. But it is an option for families that are looking for some kind of external assessment of their students’ performance.