For "Children Who Vary from the Normal Type" identifies four main rationales for these programs: the need to isolate children whose behavior or background elicited fear and/or contempt among school and civic authorities; the need to ensure efficiency in the administration of the schools; the need to facilitate the operation of individual classrooms; and the desire to provide a specialized pedagogy to individual children identified as requiring one. Each program is examined in depth, including the overlap, interplay, and friction within the dynamic matrix of needs, fears, hopes, and opportunities that spurred its creation."--Jacket.

The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen educators write about their diverse experiences going gradeless. Some contributors are new to the practice and some have been engaging in it for decades. Some are in humanities and social sciences, some in STEM fields. Some are in higher education, but some are the K-12 pioneers who led the way. Based on rigorous and replicated research, this is the first book to show why and how faculty who wish to focus on learning, rather than sorting or judging, might proceed. It includes honest reflection on what makes ungrading challenging, and testimonials about what makes it transformative. CONTRIBUTORS: Aaron Blackwelder Susan D. Blum Arthur Chiaravalli Gary Chu Cathy N. Davidson Laura Gibbs Christina Katopodis Joy Kirr Alfie Kohn Christopher Riesbeck Starr Sackstein Marcus Schultz-Bergin Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh Jesse Stommel John Warner