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

Abstract

This study analyzed the impact of contract grading on adolescents’ perceptions of stress amid Good Shepherd High School’s annual research paper unit. While college instructors have employed contract grading since the 1970s, the alternative assessment approach appears underused and under-analyzed in contemporary high school classrooms. In spring 2019, participants (n = 53) enrolled in one of seven senior-level English courses with identical prompts and teaching materials. While three maintained a traditional grading rubric, four sections were evaluated with mastery-based grading contracts for A or B. The qualitative and quantitative datasets revealed that the Contract Grading Group was significantly more likely to perceive the workload and time constraints as less demanding. Additionally, despite a history of low grades, the majority (84%) fulfilled the contract’s requirements, and the Contract Grading Group earned six times as many As and 2.5 times as many Bs as those in the Traditional Grading Group. Within this context, the grading contract reduced the stress of workload demands while significantly improving grades for students with prior experience with each requirement on the contract.