Welcome to the Standard's Based Grading Blog for LaSalle and Aquin staff. We generated a lot of ideas and thoughts during our carousal of questions activity on October 12th. We appreciated your honest input.
This blog is set up so we can 'discuss' grading. It's not designed to force anyone to think a certain way, but we hope it will allow you to reflect on your own grading practices and to be open to how others see grading.
We all come with our own biases. Some based on being a student, a parent or a teacher. Those biases directly and indirectly impact what we do in the classroom and how we grade.
Expectations:
We ask that you blog at least ONE time by answering the posted question from the assigned chapter. We encourage you to go back now and then to read what others have posted. You certainly can reply to anyone's post if you so wish. We hope it's a great way to learn and expand your own thoughts on grading.
Happy reading!
October 26th Assignment (due by November 29):
This blog is set up so we can 'discuss' grading. It's not designed to force anyone to think a certain way, but we hope it will allow you to reflect on your own grading practices and to be open to how others see grading.
We all come with our own biases. Some based on being a student, a parent or a teacher. Those biases directly and indirectly impact what we do in the classroom and how we grade.
Expectations:
We ask that you blog at least ONE time by answering the posted question from the assigned chapter. We encourage you to go back now and then to read what others have posted. You certainly can reply to anyone's post if you so wish. We hope it's a great way to learn and expand your own thoughts on grading.
Happy reading!
October 26th Assignment (due by November 29):
- Read Introduction and Chapter 1.
- Please reflect and reply on the following question:
- How have your beliefs about grading (as a teacher) differed from your beliefs about grading as a student?
As an elementary student, I don't think I thought much about grades. We were given an S for satisfactory and a U for unsatisfactory. I remember not wanting to see Us on my report card. As a Junior High and High School student, I wanted to get good grades, but I don't remember having thoughts about what those grades represented. I knew that if I paid attention in class, worked hard, and studied, I could achieve the grades I wanted. I never questioned a teacher about his/her grading policy - that was not done when I was a student, and I was rarely if ever given the opportunity to redo an assignment or test to improve a grade.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I have a very different view on grades because now I am determining scores for a student's work. As a math teacher this year, my grading system is very different than it was a reading/language arts teacher. As a language arts teacher, I sometimes found grading to be too subjective even with the use of a rubric. Grading a paper written by Junior High students is not an easy task. Grading a math assignment has proven to be much easier - they have the correct answer or they don't. Yet, now I find myself analyzing why they don't have the right answer.
I have different views on grading daily assignments than I do tests. Daily work is formative, and I believe (especially for math) that is practicing a concept. Because it is practice, there should be some room for mistakes without much penalty in the final score. I also believe that students should have the opportunity to correct their mistakes and improve their grade on a daily assignment - considering it is practice for the summative assessment. I do this for tests as well considering learning is the goal.
In terms of what grades represent, I feel like they represent many different aspects of a student's academic life. Grades represent understanding, work ethic, motivation, application of skills, innate ability, and mastery.
I think you have to look at more than just the final grade. I think as teachers we should look at each assignment/test and determine the reason for the score. As teachers, we should understand the motivation, work ethic, and skill level of each of our students. In that way, we can analyze each one's grade/score, and we can have a better understanding of what that score represents. A letter grade is just that a letter; however, how that letter grade was earned is what really matters.
As a student, I always wanted good grades, so I would work hard to get them and tried my best on every assignment. My elementary grades were excellent, very good, good, or unsatisfactory. I felt my grades were a reflection of me and my abilities. Now that I'm a teacher, I do find myself taking effort and hard work into consideration when grading my students. At the 2nd grade level, sometimes giving grades can be challenging! I really like the comment section on the report card, because then I can explain myself if I need to. It allows me the opportunity to give the parents and student a clearer explanation than just an Independent, Developing, or Emerging grade.
ReplyDeleteI think the comments are huge as well for a parent to understand what the teacher was thinking when grading or marking if the student met or didn't meet the standard.
DeleteI remember being very satisfied with my whole student teaching experience (so many years ago....) except for the fact that I was in no way prepared to grade student performance and learning. I did not know what to grade or how to grade. Thank goodness I was working with some experienced and very kind mentor teachers that helped me through. I started out teaching all of the junior high language arts and, I agree with you Tracy, it was very subjective and time consuming. I literally graded everything.
ReplyDeleteAs far as how I felt about grades as an elementary and high school student, they were not a real motivation for me. My parents were not overly concerned about grades or report cards. I liked all of my classes except math--so I did well in all of them--except math. (Sorry, math teachers...) I did care about grades when I went to Loras College because my scholarships were dependent on them and I was getting deeply in debt to pay for those classes. Graduate school was a whole different experience because I was a teaching assistant and a student--I was grading freshmen and being graded on my own graduate work--very stressful. I do remember freshmen composition students coming to contest the grades they had received from me. They were very stressed also.
I have come a long way in regard to how I feel about grading today. Most of what we do in my fourth grade class is formative learning, so I am constantly checking to see if they understand what we are learning. We practice and review a lot before I give a summative assessment. They are interested in their grades, but they also have been exposed to how important a growth mindset is. They know that if they don't understand the concepts yet... they will. We just keep reviewing and practicing.
In high school, I can remember being very motivated by grades because I knew I wanted to go to college and I needed to get as much scholarship money as I could. In college, I also needed to work hard to keep my grades up so I could keep the scholarship money. Now as a current graduate student, I am still working hard to do well but I also realize I don't have to get an A in every class to finish my endorsement. I do find it frustrating when college professors are unclear on how they are grading an assignment and I don't like it when they won't explain why I got the grade I did.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I know we need to have the data to show if students are understanding and mastering the content that they are being taught. My views on grading have changed over the years because I now want to know if the students can demonstrate that they understand the skill. Do they know their letter sounds? Can they read fluently? Can they add, subtract, multiply, and divide? If they can't, then that is more worrisome to me then the fact that they are not a straight "A" student.
C's still earn degrees! haha. Good thing because I took a lot of math classes in college.
DeleteI cared a lot about my grades as a student. I remember waiting for my parents to come home from conferences because I would be so worried about what the teacher said and if I was doing well (I wonder where my kids get that from). I knew if I worked hard and gave my best, I would get good grades. Now as a teacher I still feel that if a student works hard and tries they will do well. I agree with Janice that the comment section on the report card gives parents more information then the letter grade. Sometimes I feel that the standard is too broad and doesn't really tell the parents what they want and need to know.
ReplyDeleteI agree Betsy, and while I don't want a 40 page report card, how is that we have so many standards and only "report" on 4 or so? I think our report cards should be more "fluid" so that I can change it to report on the standards I have covered with my students. This first trimester might have several NA boxes.
DeleteAs a student, I never realized how much thought teachers put into their grading practices. I really only remember being graded on tests and quizzes and homework was mostly did or didn't do grade. You realize in high school that sometimes grading is all about the teacher expectations and if you can figure out what is important to the teacher you could work hard on those particular areas. Now, as a teacher, I have come to the conclusion that grades really should reflect what students should be able to do. Participation is a lot of that because participation and learning usually go hand and hand. However, participation shouldn't make up most of the grade. Trying to be fair and concise with grading without pulling in personal thoughts on students is rather difficult.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember being worried about my grades in early years or ever thought much about how my teachers were grading. Grades were basically derived from my performance on tests and quizzes. I remember studying for hours before a test, passing, and a week later not even remembering what I was tested on. In high school I obediently did what I was asked and completed whatever tasks I was given. I aimed to please my teachers so good things were said about me at conferences. My parents were more pleased about teachers comments than if I had a C, B or A on my report card.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I know we need to have the documentation, data, and be accountable for what our students know, understand, and have mastered in the content areas that they are taught. But I also know that students need to be excited about school and involved in their learning. My students come into the classroom with a very wide range of ability. I try to look at the whole child and what they have achieved, what they know, along with their willingness to try when grading.
Also, like Andrea, trying to be fair and concise with grading without pulling in my personal thoughts on students is very difficult, especially with a small class.
As an elementary student I didn’t really think about my grades. They just happened. I did what I was asked, when I was asked, the way I was asked. But that is what my parents expected. “First Borns” are people pleasers and all about the rules.
ReplyDeleteHigh school was pretty much the same thing. I remember finding out the end of my senior year that there was something called a GPA…No one had mentioned it to me or I was gone to a golf meet that day. If I had known…I might have cracked a book and put some effort into my work. Fortunately for me, I had learned how to please the teachers, it was a lot of remember what we read and talked about and regurgitate it on a test. I do remember feeling cheated by people who had “better” GPAs and didn’t take the advanced classes and carry a full load all 4 years.
I did have to crack open books in college. I loved the classes that the professors graded on a curve. I didn’t have to get a perfect score to get an “A”; I just had to score better than the other students.
In my first teaching position, we had to use a percentage scale to determine letter grades. (90, 80, 70, 60, 59% and below was failure). I always felt badly for those who would score WELL below the 60% to pass or didn’t turn in an assignment. Greg told me how to use the percentages with a 12 point scale. The percentages were assigned a number 0-12. (A+ = 12, F = 0). With this scale, a 0% paper would not ruin their average. I felt it was so much more compassionate, and worked much better and was more representative of their actual performance on the work they completed.
A couple of years before we moved to Cascade/Aquin, I took a class called The Quality Classroom. After that, I started my “Redo” approach. Students can redo and go over assignments/test with me until they demonstrate understanding. My big take away from that class was “Who said you have to master it the first time you do/hear/see something new?” How often does that really happen in real life?
I do like the 4, 3, 2, 1 we currently use on our progress reports. I think it does allow for differences in students. I think it does give a good representation of how students are performing in reference to the standard. The hard part is getting parents to NOT erroneously correlate the digits to A, B, C, and D.
If I could change our progress reports; I would make them more fluid. I should be reporting on standards I have been working on with my students this trimester; rather than a random set selected as priorities. If all the standards are important, how can they be prioritized? I may have a lot of NA boxes on the T1 progress reports.
Grading
ReplyDeleteHow have your beliefs about grading (as a teacher) differed from your beliefs about grading as a student?
When I was growing up during my elementary school years, like most who become teachers, I was concerned about doing my best for my teachers and my parents. Doing well was expected, and I worked to achieve those grades. I have to admit, I didn’t understand why I received the grades I got. In retrospect, I believe the grades were a compilation of hard work and some mastery. Mostly, it was about behaving in the classroom and doing what the teacher wanted you to do.
As a teacher I have always struggled with grading because there are so many factors and variables that are a part of grading. We need to meet the needs of all of our students and then decide how the grade fits their learning. A big job for all educators! I always try to to help students understand that grading is a process. It develops over time as you learn. I try to grade what I see over time as students learn the concepts and skills. That also helps me to decide what I want to teach and what they are going to learn to get to that end result. I learned from the Madeline Hunter model many years ago that students learn more effectively when they know what they are supposed to be learning and why. She effectively modeled how to evaluate with easy methods to make grading manageable. It is so easy to grade the rote, the right and wrong answers. It is more difficult to grade the higher level and rigorous assignments, which expose students to the best learning. That learning is what students take with them, the times that they dig in and master content that might not be able to be measured. Although we have to have some way to measure learning and growth, it is really difficult. That is why I think learning is so much more important than the grades we give or the grades that students receive.
As an elementary student, I never struggled to get good grades, but I remember the comments I got from some of my teachers. Usually, the comments were about behaviors such as talking too much. In middle school, grades were very important to me. I cared more than a lot of students because my father was my teacher, so he could look at my grades at any moment. As I got older, I became a perfectionist. Grades were everything to me. My friends were all great students and learning was easy for them. I felt the need to keep up with my friends and I realized that it was more difficult to keep up the pace I had going in middle school. My favorite classes were the classes that gave me a chance to fix answers for partial credit. It gave me a chance to improve my grade as well as learning what I had missed the first time.
ReplyDeleteIn college, I was constantly worried about my grades. I was extremely stressed until I realized that I was worrying too much. It was not healthy. Grades are important, but they are not everything. In my own classroom, I look for progress within each student. Progress is much more important to me than a number or a letter. I recognize each student learns in a different way and at a different speed. Students need different forms of assessment, just as they need different forms of instruction. I do many informal assessments by observation. I have the ability to do this because of the structure of my music classroom. I also use written exams to get a better idea of what each individual student knows already and what they still have to learn. I hope that my grading system will help students recognize that learning is a continuous process, and does not begin and end with each assessment.
Grades have always been a big deal to me. I really want the A and would study and study to get the A to get the high grade point. When I enrolled in college I was determined to graduate with honors...and I did. As an adult taking classes for recertification, I am still driven by the grade. While I appreciate the learning process a whole lot more now, I still want that A. As a parent however, I am more concerned about the learning process and the comments teachers make about my children so I don't focus on the grades.
ReplyDeleteI think the grading system is always going to be a work in progress. The progress reports have changed at least 4-5 times since I have been in education, and I have no doubt it will change again before I retire.
As an elementary student we were given the following grades E, G, S, and U. E was Excellent, G was Good, S was Satisfactory, and U was Unsatisfactory. I remember my report card being filled with S's and U's. I wanted higher grades, but it wasn't until I was diagnosed with ADD, put on medication, and worked hard to figure out what I needed to do learn and how I needed to study that my grades changed. When I got to high school I was getting A's and B's and I was always on the honor roll.
ReplyDeleteThis school year I took a class for recertification credit through Keystone, and I was afraid I was going to fail. The first two weeks of the class I got 100% on both of my homework assignments. The third week I received a 100% and a 93.75%, but on the fourth week I received a 81.25% and a 68.75%. I was freaking out about this last grade. I knew I had one final assignment to do, but I was convinced I'd fail it. I scored 100% on the fifth and final week's assignment. However, this showed me the importance of feedback.
When I grade something such as essay using a rubric, I put feedback on the rubric to let my students know why they were given the grades that they received. The class I took this year provided us with a rubric, but we were never given any feedback about our homework. Rather we were only given our score. I felt like they cheated me out of learning what I did wrong as well as learning how I could have changed what I submitted to get a better score.
Like some of you have already said I like the comment section of the report card because I feel it gives feedback to let students know what they did well as well as what they can do to improve.
As a student growing up I always tried hard and did all the required work. My parents were always more concerned about the effort we put into things verses the "grade". As long as they knew we tried our hardest the letter grade was not as important. However, if they felt we were not giving 100% than that was a totally different story. I always felt this with my own children as well. We expected them to give their very best effort. They learned that in the long run that paid off. As a teacher, I still find myself focusing on the effort. Even in first grade. For example, spelling tests. We discuss the results of practicing the words every night and the results on the final test on Friday. If they put forth the effort and see the results, they will continue to push themselves to be the best they can be.
ReplyDeleteAs a student I struggled with reading and writing which affected my grades. I grew up in Florida, and most of the teachers down there cared about your grade and if you could pass the standardized test. Many did not care if you understood what is being taught. My parents rather had me try my best then be concerned about being a straight A student. However, I always strived for being a straight A student. I saw that all my classmates (from elementary to high school) were doing so well that I worked hard to try to do the same. However, I struggled with certain subjects. I was always dissapointed when I got a B or missed an A by one point. I was also never a good test taker. So if I did good throughout a lesson but not on a test, my grade would reflect negatively. All that time I never knew I was doing well and thought I was not smart enough, even though I understood most of what was being taught and I put in a lot of effort.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I tell my students about me as a student so that way they know that not always getting an "A" is a bad grade. I believe that grades do not always reflect what a student knows because some students may not be a test taker or at that moment of the assignment may not understand the concept. I still think grades are a reflection of what they know but I also look for effort and how they do throughout the whole unit with practice, worksheets, activities, and tests. I look for their progress over a unit.
As an elementary school student I struggled to keep b, d, p, and q all going in their right directions. I could read them correctly, I just mixed them up when I tried to write them. (Luckily, I have it figured out now.) This must have set the bar a little low for my parents because I don't remember my grades being an issue. They were far more concerned with the amount of effort I put into my work and whether or not I was being a "social butterfly". 🙄 I was a good test taker and my standardized test scores led my parents to believe that I wasn't working up to my potential. I had to struggle and fail a few times on my own, and It wasn't until I was in college that I became motivated to really try to achieve academically. Strange, isn't it, that I chose to become a teacher?
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I have a very different perspective on things. I have high expectations for my students. I expect them to work hard to understand the content and to demonstrate their understanding with quality work. As a teacher, I try to instill the importance of hard work and persistence. I know that grades are not always a true indication of a student's knowledge. Students often have a lot of other stuff going on in their lives. They have different abilities, interests, and family situations. Some students are simply not ready to learn what is being taught at the time, but achieve an a-ha moment later once the concept has had time to marinate. Grades are definitely a reflection of their knowledge, but not always a true indication of the progress they are making on their educational journey.
As an elementary student I received E, G, and U and they really did not mean anything to me at the time. I often looked at the percents as more of an indication of how I was doing than the letter equivalent. I worked hard and was a teacher pleaser. There were a few cases were retakes were allowed, but the score had to be under a 60% and if it was above there was no chance in retaking. I did not perform well when it came to tests, but on everything else I was able to show that I understood the content. As a high school student, grades mattered to me as this was a sign of being able to participate in other activities. It took until freshman year to really see the importance of why putting in my full effort was important. I was doing fine, but knew that more effort would prove to be better. My parents were more concerned with the amount of effort that I was put into my work than the overall grades, but if the comments from the teachers showed lack of effort then that is when my parents would push harder.
ReplyDeleteNow as a teacher, it is important that I look at the whole child (family situations, ability, etc.). All of the aspects of a child need to be taken into account when their performance is not where I would like to see it. I have to evaluate what is going on, what can I change, what can the student change or not change. Students learn at all different speeds and some may not be ready to fully engage and understand the content, but if they are working as hard as they can and putting forth the effort that is more important than the grade that is assigned.
I really did not care about grades in Elementary school. I don't even remember what letters were given. The only thing that I can remember about grades was a test given in math class and I wanted a 100% on that particular test. Yes, I know that is a test not a grade on report card, but that is all I can remember about grades.
ReplyDeleteIn Junior High still don't remember and we were given the A,B,C,D, and F. I know that I wanted better than a C, but I don't recall my grades.
In High School that is when they were important to me. I can remember my grades and I wanted to do my best. I knew that it counted to go onto college.
As a teacher, grading is so difficult. I want my students to do their best. I want them to see that because they worked hard the grade can reflect that. If they didn't work so hard the grade also reflects on that. I want them to be better students. I want them to succeed. When grading Kindergarten students do they comprehend what they are getting.
In Elementary school I remember thinking that it doesn't really matter what I recieved. To me they just letters/numbers on a piece of paper. My parents would usually tell me that they were proud of how I did but never really emphasized the importance of grades. It wasn't until high school that I really started caring about grades and that was mostly because of Football. After football season my grades would normally drop because I knew it wouldn't impact football anymore. Very bad way to think but to me that was the only importance to getting good grades. Eventually I realized that I needed good grades to get into college but it still didn't motivate me to work any harder at the time. Looking back now I see how foolish that was.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher I am constantly battling between should I grade the student on how they are doing compared to the mastery of the standard or do I grade them on that child's ability to master that standard. It is a hard thing to decide every time I fill out the grades. Another thing I find myself taking into consideration is the child's work ethic. I guess I believe if a student is working hard and continue to work on eventually they will understand the concept. I hear all the time from students (especially for math) saying they aren't good at something. I often wonder if that is due to them seeing there grades in that subject and I never want a student to give up because of that. It is a very complicated thing to understand in teaching but at the same time can be the most impactful for students and parents.
When I was in elementary school, I don't remember thinking much about my grades. I know my parents would tell me that they were proud of how well I was doing, and that was my motivation. Like Lisa said, the first-born tends to be people-pleasers. :) In high school, though, I cared very much about my grades. I was always a good student and at the top of my class, so grading was very competitive for me and a couple of other students. I was motivated to have better grades than others, but I also cared about my education and enjoyed learning. I also knew how important it was for me to do well if I wanted to get college scholarships.
ReplyDeleteIn both college and graduate college, I continued to strive for high grades, but this time it was more because I was competing with myself. To me, the grade was visible evidence of my hard work and validated my efforts.
As a teacher, grading is hard, especially when we expect students to learn more deeply than ever before rather than simple rote learning. Grades are complicated. They reflect natural ability, effort, motivation, skill learning, and conceptual understanding all rolled into one. So, since there is so much that goes into a grade, I think there has to be some supplemental information that helps to explain a grade. Sometimes grades are good motivators for students - We received an email from a 6th grade parent this year telling us that her child didn't really think much of getting 60% on a test as a 5th grader, but seeing a D as a 6th grader has made her child care more and work harder. So in that sense, grades can be a good motivator and help a student want to do more. On the other hand, some students earn good grades without having to work very hard, while other students work as hard as they can and still can't earn those high grades. In that case, grades don't reflect effort and can actually be demotivating to some students. And of course, other students just don't care about grades at all, one way or the other. To me, effort and work ethic matter more than As on a report card. I tell my students this and my own children this. As long as you are working hard and doing your best, then the final grade is acceptable, no matter what it is.
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ReplyDeleteWho wrote this? Author unknown :)
DeleteThis is Sue's post.....we can't figure out why it posted as "Unknown." ??
DeleteI don't remember grades being particularly important to me in elementary school. I loved school, I received straight As, and all of my friends shared a similar attitude and philosophy. In high school, I realized the importance of maintaining a high grade point average and getting into the college of my choice, but I definitely did not work to my full potential. My first experience with college was a whole new world for me; I honestly was more focused on meeting people and having fun than I was on making the dean's list. The bell-curve was my friend :) I think it took returning later in life to college open my eyes to the relevance of grades. As an adult, I feel I worked harder than other students because I wanted to prove that I could and I wanted to meet the expectations I had set for myself.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, grading is my least favorite part of my job. A large part of it is simple because points, percentages, and grading scales are pretty concrete. Often it is the intangible elements that I agree with many of you that there are always going to be students who coast through school and those who survive by the skin of their teeth. It is a challenge to evaluate the importance of effort vs. natural ability.
As Gina mentioned, we have a 6th grade student who is experiencing some anxiety due to her grades. I am glad to see that kids at this age are placing importance on getting good grades, but it also saddens me to see the way society stresses being number one. I have met many people who were not outstanding in the classroom, but turned out to be be extremely successful in the outside world. I try to stress to my students that an A should always be their goal, but their job right now is to try their best in all that they do.
As an elementary student, I really only remember comparisons with how other students in my class were doing. I remember discussing report cards with classmates and discovering that we were ability grouped. We talked about our report cards and figured out who was "smart" and who was in the "low" group. My parents were never huge into my grades and report cards until high school. When the book talked about getting a discount on car insurance for good grades...that was totally my stepdad. He was in it for the discount and if we earned that, then it was a job well done.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I have discovered just how hard grading is. I want all my students to do well. I want them to see that if they work hard and work up to their natural ability, they can do well. But I also want them to see that lack of effort and not working up to their natural ability can result in a poor grade. As a 6th grade teacher the past two years, I saw a wide range of effort and 'care' when it came to grades. Some students were very motivated to get good grades and others did not put in any effort. Now as a 1st grade teacher, my students are motivated by a stamp that says "Mrs. Ameche is so proud of you!"
Sending home report cards this week was also interesting- I had students who were genuinely worried about their report card and I had another student saying "my mom doesn't care about my report cards." To be 6 years old and to know (or be under the impression) that your parents don't care about your grades is concerning and seems to be setting that student up for failure due to lack of effort.
Throughout my entire school career, I pushed myself the hardest to get good grades. Grades were important to me, sometimes too important. I received recognition from my peers and teachers so I am sure that is a part of what motivated me to always work my hardest. I knew that if I put in the effort, that I could succeed. As I got older (in high school and college), I focused more on effort than ability.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I think grading can be too subjective sometimes. Tests and math papers are easy to grade because there is usually a right and wrong answer. However, I look at writing, practice activities, and other learning activities as formative learning. This is where the subjectiveness comes in. They are just learning the skill. To me it is important if the students correct their mistakes so they can learn the correct answers or the correct wayto do something. I do take effort into account and hold high expectations for my students. I also take into account what is going on in their lives and try to be a little more flexible if I know the kids have a lot on their plates. Grading is a tricky thing!
I see myself in several of my Aquin students, in that I cared more than I probably should have about grades when I was a student. I say "more than I probably should have" because I often cared more about the grade I received than the learning that took place, particularly in classes I didn't like. For example, I took a trigonometry/pre-calculus class in my junior year of high school, and because I was never fond of math, I certainly didn't care for this class, so I cared more about just getting through it with a decent grade than learning anything about trigonometry. As I got older, I focused much more on what I was learning, and what I truly wanted to learn, than about the grades I was receiving. In college, I earned enough credits to graduate by my junior year, but I continued to take on 18-19 credits each semester, just to fit in more classes, and to learn as much as I could before my senior year. I remember taking an Irish Literature course that didn't count towards either of my majors, but I wanted to learn about this topic, so I took it anyway. I don't remember what I received for a grade in that course, but I remember enjoying it a lot. :)
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I've always been torn on how to properly grade my students. A part of me looks at how I grew up and thinks, "Well, that was good enough for us, it worked for us, we must have something valuable here that works!" Another part of me thinks that maybe the entire A,B,C,D,F system really needs to change--this is not the first time I've read about or heard about standards-based grading, and it's an interesting concept. If we're going to teach to the standards, it makes sense that we grade to them, too. But I think that our current system represents more than just those letters--an "A," for instance, not only shows that a student grasped and utilized the taught concepts successfully, but also shows that the student showed up to class, completed the homework on time, put for the needed effort, studied, perhaps collaborated with peers well, and so on. Likewise, lower graded show that a student wasn't as successful in more ways than just grasping the concepts being taught.
I watched a TED video the other day, featuring a speaker who believes that we should grade based on progress, and his main argument was that the kids who are failing in school never quite catch up, and never learn all that they need to know before graduating high school. He continued to this point of grading on progress, the idea of giving a child as much time as he or she needs to really learn something, and monitoring their progress as they build on their knowledge. I listened to this video, enraptured by this speaker, but I asked myself afterwards, "How much time can we reasonably give our students?" and "How much time should we give our students to learn something?" As a teacher, it's very easy to see the flaws in our current grading system; however, I believe that, flaws and all, it teaches our students some very valuable lessons about life beyond school: lessons like how to meet deadlines, how to prepare for upcoming tests, how to do your best with the time you have, how to learn from your failures, and so on.
As a young child I remember grades being very important to how my parents and family as well as teachers thought of me. I tried very hard and it was very important to me to make them happy about the work I performed. As I grew older and my work became more difficult, I had a harder time performing at a level of all my peers and knew that I was in a different ability group than other students. I became frustrated and sometime embarrassed to let my teacher and family know that I did not perform so well. The grade represented an in ability rather than my abilities. I wanted to show them my effort and let them know that I always tried my best. It was not until I reached high school and college when I was able to perform in "elective" classes where I could choose and actually do well at. I could play sports, join clubs, participate in clubs and join groups because of my job performance in grades.
ReplyDeleteLooking back I wish that along the way my growth would have been reflected by the way that I held interest and could want to learn rather than the pace of my learning in comparison with my peers. In the way that a grade is shared and reflected much influence is held for a student. The faith and influence of a student is gathered from all involved in the students life. Knowing that a rubric or a letter grade can affect a self esteem, will to perform and drive for personal growth. Once an educator forms an opinion that the students growth is measured by the progress that they make and the effort or lack of that they might possess then a true impact can be made on the students will and continued learning.