Not Yet

I learned something interesting in my graduate class the other night and I think I might adopt it next year.

When a student fails a test or quiz, instead of scoring the work with a numerical or letter grade - ie 56% or F, the idea is to simply write “not yet.”

In other words, to tell the student that they have not mastered the topic - yet. It’s a more positive way of responding to a failing score. It implies that it’s only a matter of time and work before the student understands the material.

The big, red “F” is thought to be so final and depressing that students end up feeling that they’re incapable of understanding the material. 

The theory is that by using “not yet” it encourages students to keep working towards understanding. I usually write “see me” and maybe the students perceive that as a punishment or something, I don’t know.

Using “not yet” makes sense to me. Of course, I’m going to do it in red pen, so I might be damaging their self-esteem anyway.