Abolishing grades in elementary schools showed no statistically significant effects on achievement, self-concepts, anxiety, joy of learning, well-being, or classroom climate by end of Grade 3, except math interest¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-21 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i? Aside from math interest, no statistically significant differences emerged between trial-school and control-school students by the end of Grade 3 after accounting for baseline differences. → Nicolas Hübner 2026

Evidence¶

Nicolas Hübner 2026¶

Nicolas Hübner, Juliane Rutsch, Ann-Kathrin Schnelle, Mia Herkommer, Evelin Ruth-Herbein, Benjamin Fauth. (2026). To Grade or Not To Grade? Demystifying a Centuries-Old Debate. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10156-1

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Longitudinal quasi-experimental field trial in Baden-Württemberg with 2,342 students (1,218 in 35 trial schools, 1,124 in 40 control schools) across three assessments from beginning of Grade 2 to end of Grade 3. The trial abolished grades and mandated competency grids, learning-development meetings, and formative feedback. "Aside from math interest, we found no statistically significant differences" across ten outcomes. No effect sizes printed for the null findings.

"Aside from math interest, we found no statistically significant differences between students in trial schools and those in control schools by the end of Grade 3, after accounting for baseline differences."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

Academic Anxiety — outcome: instruction changes it
Academic Self-Concept — outcome: instruction changes it

Abolishing grades increased mathematics interest in the LPF trial, the sole significant outcome difference — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
Graded versus verbal-report elementary students showed no systematic differences except declining joy of learning in mathematics for graded students (review-reported) — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`lpf-trial-no-effects-except-math-interest`
`title`	`Abolishing grades in elementary schools showed no statistically significant effects on achievement, self-concepts, anxiety, joy of learning, well-being, or classroom climate by end of Grade 3, except math interest`
`description`	`Abolishing grades in elementary schools showed no statistically significant effects on achievement, self-concepts, anxiety, joy of learning, well-being, or classroom climate by end of Grade 3, except math interest`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2026`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-21`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-21`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `nicolas-hübner-2026`

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