Remember the tv show "What Not to Wear" where the hosts restyled a person and gave them a new outlook (both interior and exterior)? This chapter helps us think about "what not to grade." We can develop a new outlook, both from a teacher point-of-view and in how students and parents view grades.
What has been your view of formative and summative assessments? What about retakes? How do you plan to adjust your feedback about learning to students?
What has been your view of formative and summative assessments? What about retakes? How do you plan to adjust your feedback about learning to students?
This way of grading is different, but I like the way it would align with out report cards. Students then would have common language and understand what independent, developing, and emerging means. I have always viewed formative assessment as a way for me to figure out who needs additional support and who needs to be challenged. I use the summative assessment as a final check of their skills/knowledge. At the 2nd grade level, I currently don't do retakes. I do believe that if a child needs to retake an assessment, there should be "hoops" or a reassessment ticket completed first. Going forward, I feel that if we're going to change to this form of "grading," it needs to be school wide to make an impact and for students/parents to understand.
ReplyDeleteWhat has been your view of formative and summative assessments? What about retakes? How do you plan to adjust your feedback about learning to students?
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I teach concepts in units and do a lot of class review with verbal formative assessments, such as calling on students and allowing them a chance to answer the questions. This gives me a good idea of how confident the student is with the concepts we are learning. Then after a few class periods of teaching and reviewing concepts that take the written summative assessment so I can get a better idea of what they do and do not know. We do a little more learning, but go deeper into the application of the concepts. Usually if the student did not understand during the summative assessment they will catch up as we move forward. Retakes are not necessary at the younger levels because the grades are standards based; they either meet the standard or they need to improve.
Older students are graded on a point system. I do allow for students to fix mistakes on assignments and prove that they have learned the concept that was being tested. I feel that there is no reason the student should be punished for learning a concept slower than others if they are willing to put in the work to improve their grade and have met the standard.
Middle school is a little different because there is a participation aspect to the grade and a percentage system in place. Tests are calculated with percentages rather than standards. Specific answers to fact-based questions should be answered, as well as critical thinking skills that should start to develop. Formative assessments are often projects and essays, and summative assessments are final unit tests. I allow students to fix the problems they miss on the summative assessments for partial credit if they are unhappy with the grade they received. They would learn the concepts and they would be happier with their grade in the end.
Grading music is much different from grading other subjects. It is standard, concept, and talent based and in many ways I do not feel like the information is passed along to students and parents on the report card we send out. There is so much more to music than the standards that are given on PowerSchool. It is also challenging because Parents do not usually visit me at conferences so I do not have a chance to talk with them about how their children are doing with music concepts. If I could change anything it would be to have more opportunity to communicate with the parents of my students.
At the middle school level, grades are currently based on percentages. In science, much of the classwork we do is formative assessment in our lab notebooks and is only graded for completion. I don't expect students to always have the concepts perfectly down yet. On occasion there are story questions that might be included in the grade book, but not much. At the end of each investigation, they answer the Focus Questions that were presented at the beginning and take a quiz. These are included in their grades. My students know that the Focus Questions are graded...and we often answer them multiple times before the "graded" one. They often ask me, "Is this the graded answer?" when we complete them.
ReplyDeleteStudents who score below a C- are allowed to retake tests, but they must first complete a retake request form and have it signed by a parent before they are allowed.
Our 6th graders can retake quizzes or tests as often as needed; our 8th graders, however, become more limited on the number of retakes allowed with each trimester, with only one allowed in the final trimester. The reason for this is because we know that most high school classes either do not allow any retakes or limit them to only one per trimester. Whether we agree with the policy or not, we feel that it is important to prepare them for this. A high school teacher told me that they used to allow retakes, but actually found that students' grades were worse because they prepared less for the first test and then just seemed to fall behind or not even bother to schedule a retake.
I have mixed feelings about retakes because there are many different reasons why students don't do well on the first attempt. In general, I think retakes are perfectly acceptable. If a student genuinely is working to do well and just isn't quite grasping the concepts, that student would work hard to learn and would likely be successful on a retake. They just need a little more time or one-on-one instruction. Other students, however, just don't study. Oftentimes, I see those students do just as poorly or even worse on the retake. I understand the concept of continuing to reteach and assess concepts until a student is successful, but that also seems challenging with some students who are reluctant learners. So how many retakes should that be? Are they expected to move on with the rest of the group before mastering the concept? When/For how long would reteaching take place if they continue to do poorly? Should they take the next assessment if they haven't passed the previous one? It's complicated.
My views on assessments are very close to Janice’s. Everyday I use formative assessments to figure out who is getting the concepts and who needs more help. These “scores”are never recorded. The summative assessments are chapter math tests and reading tests. I do record these scores and use them along with the formative assessments to decide on their “letter grade” on the report card. I don’t do retakes in 1st grade. I always review the test with each student and go over the questions they missed and explain the correct answer.
ReplyDeleteI don't use the words formative assessment or summative assessment because they bring back very vivid memories of a parent that I just couldn't keep happy. If Jeff were reading this he would be laughing, and say that he remembers this meeting very vividly as well.
ReplyDeleteI consider classwork and homework to be practice for the test. I use the scores from tests and projects to determine grades. If a student scores belows 70% I have them retake their test. However, this year in particular I'm wondering (like Gina) how many times I need to let a student retake a test as some students still don't get a passing score after retaking their test, and I'm finding it difficult to keep up with all the retakes.
Almost all of the work we do in the computer lab is formative assessment. Rarely ever do I have a test or quiz that would be considered summative assessment because the environment in the computer lab is more standards-based assessment. Sometimes this is tricky because I am creating my own standards for each grade level. Summative assessment in the computer lab consists of more project-based assessment. The only summative assessment I do have is when it comes to typing WPM or accuracy. Middle school students set goals at the beginning of each trimester and try to reach that goal by the end of the trimester. By 7th or 8th grade they should be achieving 98% accuracy.
ReplyDeleteStudents continue to work on their project until they are finished. If they do not reach the goal set for them, then they might not get a chance to redo the project until the next rotation is available for them. Projects in the computer lab are on a group rotation. Usually, if someone in the group is not meeting their goals or doing their share of the work, the others let me know. Or it is obvious because the project is not completed on time.
The younger students I have a different approach because the standards for them consist of being able to use their resources to gather and display information. There is no way to really have a retake approach. Once we finish one project, we move on to the next. They can show me mastery in the next project if possible.
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ReplyDeleteAs many of you have written, my day to day work in the class is usually formative and, although I correct it and give them feedback, it is not how I get my final grade in that subject. The day to day work is teaching the material I plan to assess for their grade. I do give a retake on summative tests because I always feel that students should have at least a 70% mastery of the material that we have studied in that unit. I often adapt a test the second time around to help them zero in on the most important information that I want them to master. I have to admit that getting the updated standards on our report card in reading did make me shift what I emphasize in reading. My assessments have shifted to a greater emphasis on having them write longer pieces to prove their understanding of material--for example: how to compare and contrast similar themes from different cultures, or why point of view is so important in any piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteI second most of what has already been said. My day-to-day lessons and assignments are formative assessments. I do grade the students daily math work, but most of the grade is based on completion not accuracy because I think daily practice of the skill is more important than the final score. The chapter tests would be considered summative assessments with retakes given for those who score less than 70%. Gina has already explained our retake policy in the middle school.
ReplyDeleteLike her I have mixed feelings about retakes. I agree that mastery is the goal, and reteaching and a new assessment needs to be given for some students to achieve mastery. However, I know that retakes aren't going to be available for the rest of a student's academic career, so my goal is to have them prepared for the first test. I have increased the time I spend reviewing concepts, and I have also found that I modify or create test questions so they fully match my teaching. Sometimes the assessments that come with the curriculum aren't a good measure of what was taught. I can't accurately assess learning if the instruction and assessment aren't aligned.
What, how, and when to grade
ReplyDeleteWhen implementing standards-based grading, I think it’s important that you don’t only look at the way “grades” and report cards work. There has to be a whole shift to adopt a standards-based approach. That’s where the term “mindset” comes into play. Just like we work with students to develop a growth mindset, we as teachers need to develop a mindshift to the development of standards-based grading to standards-based mindset. Like any mindset work, that change in language helps keep the focus off of the grading process while keeping the focus on the standards. I have been working to develop student learning that focuses on the process and not the actual assignment that is due the next day. That change comes with also providing feedback for students, letting them know what they did right and what still needs to be improved upon.
One of the hard things that comes as part of this shift is when you have a student who is not motivated to that learning process. The retakes come often and not because they don’t have the ability, they just aren’t motivated to learn as much, as often, and as well as they could. Teachers also have the large task of differentiating because of student abilities in many different areas and their readiness to learn. So lots of planning, developing lessons, and readjusting has to be made. For me, I will try to remember that it is a process of implementation. I always want to keep in mind that the parts and pieces eventually come together to make that process meaningful, and that the ultimate goal is to always provide the best learning environment for our students.
Everything is formative! Even the summative…because it leads me to change. Either how or what the students are expected to know/retain or it changes the way I present it.
ReplyDelete“Retakes” in my room are basically, me and the student one-on-one, going back over the questions they missed. I have them explain to me why (on multiple choice) they chose the answer they did. This is where we clear up the misconceptions and they get another chance to answer the question. Sometimes this includes me recovering the class discussion or reminding them what the page looked like when we were discussing this issue. For the vocabulary matching portion, sometimes, I just ask them to tell me what a word means. They define and I match. For the essay portions, I ask, they dictate, I write. It takes out that messy mind to pencil issue that a lot of them seem to have. I usually only have them go over the tests until they reach a 70% or better. We can’t wait for them to finish and have already gone on to the next chapter. Those that struggle can’t handle too many different chapter themes at the same time, so after a “retest attempt or 2” we are done.
One of the great things about third grade is that it is really an “introductory year”. They get tons of new info and skills thrown at them and we assess (check to see what sticks), but if it doesn’t…they will see it again in 4th, 5th, etc. Sometime it just takes them a little longer to “brew” the information.
I use formative assessments to figure out who is understanding the day-to-day concepts I am teaching and who needs more help or guidance. I record some of these scores, but only for my own personal record, they do not go on report cards, etc. The summative assessments are reading tests and chapter math tests. I use the summative assessments along with the formative assessments to decide on their “letter grade” (Independent, Developing, Emergent) on the report card. I review tests with each student, go over the questions they missed, and explain the correct answer.
ReplyDeleteI use formative assessments to really look at what the students are understanding and what we need to work on in class more. For the most part students seem to struggle with the same questions as other students have in their work. As Lisa said 3rd grade is a introductory year so I don't worry as much about "mastery" as I do about them getting the general knowledge and a good foundation with what they need to do. I use summative assessments to look at maybe what I need to go over better in coming days/next year. One thing I have thought about doing to help with this is make documents of each test and mark which questions each student gets wrong so I can keep a record of it for next year. I have not done it yet due to the time it would take to implement it and because I'm trying to figure out the best way to do it. I do allow retakes on tests just so we can get that extra look at the questions and so students can think through why they didn't get the correct answer.
ReplyDeleteEverything that I do each day is formative assessment. I am reteaching or aiding students in areas they lack certain skills and getting them closer to where they need to be in a certain skill area. If there are skills areas that come up when teaching certain concepts, I make note of it so I can go back and strengthen that area as well. I am constantly discussing their progress with them and what we are doing to get to the end goal. Having these discussions with the students help them take ownership in their work. I use summative assessment when we are at the end of the concept to see the mastery of the focus skill, and if more work needs to be done in that area. I am doing some form of assessment each day I meet with students so I know how they are progressing.
ReplyDeleteIn kindergarten everyday I use formative assessments. We first do work together as a group and then we do independent work. When they are doing the independent work I walk around the room and help the students who are in need of help.
ReplyDeleteI use summative assessments in reading and in math. These test I do record. I use these scores to help on the report card. I also have written notes from the formative to also help with their grade on the report card.
I do not usually do retakes unless the whole class did not do very well. So before the retake we go over the chapter to see where the problem is.
I think that there is constant formative assessment that takes place throughout the school day and week. In reading at the middle school level a lot of this is done by observation and participation in discussion. Student response tells me a lot about who comprehends what is being read and their level of connection and higher order thinking. The questions they present help me to know what areas I need to focus on with more detail during instruction. I do grade most of the practice skill assignments and they are usually very reflective of my daily observations. Summative assessments are used after each unit in reading and grammar/writing .
ReplyDeleteGina and Tracy mentioned the middle school test retake policy. I agree that there are circumstances when they should be allowed but also worry that students my rely on them for a crutch. If they know that they can always retake a test they are less likely to put all of their effort into studying and mastering the subject the first time.
I use daily assignments as formative assessments. I record grades for some, but not all assignments. I do that mostly for my own record keeping and to track student progress. I use chapter and unit tests at summative assessments. All students correct the mistakes on their tests and students who score below 70% are able to retake the entire test. Often times this process requires a lot of time spent with individual students and going over their tests to try and understand what additional help they need to be successful. I have mixed feelings on the retake process. It seems as though some very capable students lack the motivation to study and prepare for tests. I feel that they should be held to a different standard than a student who works hard to prepare and study, but isn't as academically capable. It seems as though there is never enough time to make sure every student is at the same level before we need to move on to the next topic.
ReplyDeleteIn English, there are several opportunities for formative assessments within daily work--discussions, daily reading quizzes, reflections on readings, and so forth. These quicker, on-hand assessments help me see how kids are doing as we're going through a unit, and often help me determine what I can do to help kids who are struggling during a lesson. For instance, the 8th graders are finishing up a novel unit now, and throughout this unit, I've given them daily reading quizzes at the beginning of class. The quizzes were always 2-3 questions long, so short enough that, while the kids were turning them in, I could quickly figure out where the kids had understood the reading, and where they hadn't. I rely on these quicker, formative assessments to help me guide my instruction.
ReplyDeleteI agree that circumstances must be considered when determining if a student should be able to retake a test or assignment. Like several others have mentioned here, there are students who are totally capable of performing well on a test or assignment the first time they take it, but lack the motivation to study or put their full effort into the task. On the other hand, we certainly have students who want to do well, who study very hard, but struggle to achieve high scores the first time they take a test. I feel better about allowing students to retake tests when they actually tried the first time they took it, but perhaps were having a tough week/day, or got sidetracked with a family issue, or something else out of their control.
What has been your view of formative and summative assessments? What about retakes? How do you plan to adjust your feedback about learning to students?
ReplyDeleteI am in a constant moment of verbal and observatory formative assessments. In Kindergarten the students have had plenty of opportunities prior to be immersed into a world literature rich and full of confidence building and applying knowledge. I feel that in the day to day work that is part of a developmental natural progression our students have a life full of formative assessments and praise to foster. When it comes to a summative assessment I enjoy being able to see further into the students cognition and ability to perform a task in a more quiet isolated way. This can usually demonstrate whether or not a child has gained enough independence and know how to independently and without peer influence on a skil we are learning. With a summative assessment I am able to see the maturity, developmental growth completing an independent task and knowledge of my students.
I do a variety of each time of assessment in first grade. The only scores I record are their spelling tests, end of unit reading tests, end of topic math tests and end of unit religion tests. These scores help me see the progress as a whole through out the year. They help guide me in my instruction. I do not offer "retakes" in first grade. I make adjustments as needed along the way. I may change the amount of spelling words they have or their timing goal in rocket math. I like the idea of retakes as students get older. My own children were offered some of these in high school. They had things they needed to do before they could retake. I feel students today have a lot on their plate, above and beyond their grades. More so than we did as kids. I feel this may relieve a little of the stress they may be feeling at times in their lives. It would be more of a community of learners verses high and low students.
ReplyDeleteAs I read the chapter, I wondered if the retakes for tests needed to be focused more on just the content that the student didn't understand rather than redoing the entire test. Then we would be able to check for mastery on those skills. Another alternative for a retake might be to do oral testing to see if the student can demonstrate their knowledge that way, maybe it is like Lisa V. mentioned and it is stuck in the mind to pencil situation. I think all of this is going to take awhile for us to shift our mindsets since this is a lot different than the way we have graded in the past.
ReplyDeleteI use formative assessment daily in my instruction. I can tell by their responses, questions and how they do on practice activities who understands and who needs more assistance. Summarize assessments are the end of the unit tests. These show me how much progress each child has made on the skills taught in class. However, they also can be used as formative assessment. If a number of children don’t do well on the same skill, I will teach it again in a mini lesson or do a small group reteach. If kids get below an 80% on tests, I allow them to correct their mistakes and earn a half point for each correction that is right.
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