Some of you may not know that I launched a school—Odyssey Leadership Academy—in 2015 whose sole focus is on the flourishing of human beings in their most critical years of formation

**You can get a deep sense of OLA at our WEBSITE and by checking out this video:

Since founding Odyssey Leadership Academy in 2015, we have never once given a grade to any student on any assignment.

No numbers. No letters. No GPA. Not ever. Not for any reason.

And yet — our graduates boast a 100% college acceptance rate, with 96% admitted into their top colleges of choice, averaging six figures in scholarships!!!

This is not an accident.

It is the fruit of a conviction we have held from the beginning, and I want to share it with you in full — the why, the what, and the how — because I believe it could change everything about the way you see assessment.

To understand why we chose to go gradeless at OLA, you have to understand our North Star:

Human flourishing.

We are unapologetic in our pursuit of the well-being and formation of the whole person.

At OLA, we are convinced that education rooted in human flourishing begins not with information, but with the in-formation of persons committed to the well-being of themselves and their communities.

That conviction led us directly to a simple question: Does grading serve that North Star?

The research says no.

As Mary Rose O'Reilley writes in The Peaceable Classroom: "Grades are not part of the problem. Grades are the problem."

Research shows that grading for numbers and letters creates undue stress, anxiety, and disengagement.

In a national survey of school dropouts, nearly 50 percent said they left because their classes were boring and irrelevant.

As one article boldly says: “Grades Are at the Center of the Student Mental Health Crisis”

So we made a decision at OLA: We will never brand any student with a number or letter.

And here’s the best part! What we have found is that, when you take grades off the table, everything else gets put back on!

Without grades we get: Wonder. Discovery. Passion. Creativity. Purpose. Joy.

Without grades, our 6–12th graders do high-level original work — Freudian analyses of the Third Reich, Jungian archetypes in advertising, prostate cancer research, thermodynamics labs, graphic novels, speech performances as historical figures, original scholarship in Optics, building tiny homes with Euclidean geometry, studying paleontology, thesis work on how plastics impact marine migration patterns…and much more.

They do all of it not for a carrot on a stick, but because they are genuinely engaged and bought in.

So if we don't give grades — what do we give instead?

Narrative Transcripts

A narrative transcript is exactly what it sounds like: a narration of the student's academic journey, class by class, paper by paper, project by project. It tells the full story of who a student is as a learner and a human being — something no letter or number has ever been capable of doing.

Our narratives break into three sections, each roughly a third of a page:

1. A detailed description of the course itself — the topic, the readings, the big questions driving the class.

2. A detailed description of the student's specific work — the assignments they engaged, the thesis paper they wrote, the presentation they gave at our Celebrations of Learning student showcase.

3. An honest assessment of how well they did — we brag on students who grew in intellectual courage, and we narrate with authenticity when a student needed to be pushed further.

We also create space for students to narrate their own learning — what they discovered, what challenged them, what they learned about themselves.

This is not a softer or easier form of assessment. It is a richer one. It requires teachers to actually know their students — not as data points in a gradebook, but as whole persons on a real journey. Yes, that takes more work. But if human flourishing is our North Star, that work is worth it.

For those in traditional grade-based schools looking for a first step, here are three places to start:

The narrative transcript is the foundation.

But at OLA, we go further.

For every college-bound student, we build a Mastery Portfolio — a curated digital archive that gives admission reps a full picture of who the student is: not just academically, but as a leader, a creator, a community member, and a human being.

Each Mastery Portfolio lives in Google Drive and includes their narrative transcripts, photographs from their time at OLA, a sample thesis paper, letters of recommendation, and videos of their public presentations and Celebrations of Learning showcases.

When we send these portfolios to colleges, something remarkable happens. Admission reps who have never encountered our model almost universally respond with appreciation — because for the first time, they feel like they actually know the applicant.

Here is what they have said:

"They know how to research, they know how to write papers, they know how to cross over different subjects to discover real life solutions. Their hard work and skills developed in high school will pay off immensely at the college level." — Wichita State University

"An authentic passion for learning and strong communication skills are the two elements I most actively look for in prospective students, and I found those in abundance at OLA." — Hendrix College

“Odyssey nurtures creativity. Students are encouraged to be open-minded, yet intellectually humble.  They are encouraged to be rigorous and to persevere in learning, yet to love learning and to be creative in the course of pursuing their dreams." — University of Oklahoma

“I would take every student OLA sends me!” — St John’s College

These accolades, honors, scholarships, and awards did not come because of our students’ GPAs. They came because of the caliber of work our students do, the character they possess, and the creative way they excel

Going gradeless is not a fantasy. It is a decision — a decision that requires reimagining what assessment is for.

If you believe that education should serve the formation of whole, flourishing human beings, then you already have your North Star. The question is whether the systems in your school are walking in its direction.

I have spent two decades building a model that answers that question with a resounding yes. And I want to help you do the same.

Whether you are a classroom teacher looking for your first step, a principal exploring a schoolwide shift, or a leader ready to reimagine your school from the ground up — I would love to come alongside you.

Reach out to me directly at drscottamartin.com. From one-on-one coaching sessions to professional development workshops and keynotes, to whole school consulting, and year-long cohorts — I am passionate about helping you tell a better story in education on behalf of your students, your community, and the world.

The numbers have had their say long enough. It is time to tell the whole story.

When you are ready to see innovation come to life at your school…let’s chat!