Abstract
Proficiency-based grading replaces a holistic letter grade with an analytical description of students’ level of writing mastery. Using the Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions as a conceptual framework, this qualitative study examined the achievement emotions that were most activated during secondary students’ most recent writing experience in an English Language Arts classroom that had been assessed using proficiency-based grading. Participants were 109 adolescents in grades 9-12 who responded to a nine-question open-ended reflective survey. Descriptive and in vivo coding of their responses generated five key themes: (1) respondents felt they had “some” or “high” control over their learning outcomes; (2) “some control” and “high control” positively correlated with disciplinary knowledge and a focus on a purpose for writing that moves beyond the transactional; (3) the writing process activated positive and negative achievement emotions equally; (4) the scoring of writing activated more positive than negative achievement emotions; and (5) students made mental translations of their work back to traditional grading systems to discuss their learning outcomes. These findings contribute to the field of writing assessment, leading to a call to action for teachers to employ pedagogical strategies that lessen negative achievement emotions and for continued reflection on the use of proficiency-based grading in secondary English Language Arts classrooms.