Chris Cannon Sandy Creek High School Fayette County Redos, Corrections, and Retakes: The Most Important Assessment Strategy? Chris Cannon Sandy Creek High School Fayette County By PresenterMedia.com

Discussion Topics Review of last year’s presentation/overview of topic 2nd Examples 3rd Practical Implementation Issues 4th Questions/Discussion

Semantics? Redos, retakes, retests, and corrections have slightly different meanings in some situations Cannon’s distinction: Redo: a complete revision of an assignment/section, usually starting from the beginning of the assignment Corrections: making changes to specific components of an assignment BOTH REQUIRE EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK!

What, Exactly AM I Talking About? Correcting wrong answers/responses Re-Doing assignments Re-Taking tests in some cases Re-Writing papers OR doing multiple drafts Re-Explaining Content in a new/different way

Why even consider this? Current Research Occurs in other content areas Students learn from corrections Feedback strongly tied to learning Current Research Revisions in language arts Lab redos in science Occurs in other content areas More common on college syllabi 68% of professors open to the idea Increasing Occurrences in College Most licensing tests allow retakes Most job evals allow for fixing mistakes Real World Application

Why even consider this? Other personal observations: Fewer incidences of cheating Improved test scores (studying now) Students are more interested in understanding WHY they are making the mistakes they are making Most commonly referenced thing on my end of year surveys

What does this look like? Students submit assignment Graded closely and meticulously for content primarily Feedback is returned to students Students correct portions where they missed points Re-submit for full credit No timeline for returning work Student Performance Tasks

Interdependence Student Example – Original Answer My feedback: *Keiria, this is a great start, but you are missing the actual language associated with interdependence. How do these actions relate to consequences, both intended and unintended? If the government forces Barnes & Noble to set a price ceiling, the government is telling them to sell below the equilibrium price. Because of the low prices on books, the demand for books increases. The price ceiling would cause a shortage since the store is not able to supply the books as quickly with such great demand. If the government forces Barnes & Noble to set a price floor, the government is assigning them to sell above the equilibrium price. When consumers see the high prices , demand decreases for books. The price floor causes a surplus since consumers aren’t buying the books because of the high prices.

Corrections Cont. Student Example – Corrected answer Graphs corrected on paper Slide 9&10- If the government forces Barnes & Noble to set a price ceiling, the intended consequence is to lower prices for the buyers. The unintended consequence is the price ceiling would cause a shortage since the store is not able to supply the books as quickly with such great demand. If the government forces Barnes & Noble to set a price floor, the intended consequence is increased profits for the sellers . The unintended consequence is the price floor causes a surplus since consumers aren’t buying the books because of the high prices.

What does this look like? Tests mixture of MC and FR Tests are returned, brief re-teaching of commonly missed items ½ credit and full credit options One or two class days allotted to begin corrections, remainder done at home Tests

What does this look like? MOST HW assignments not graded, therefore no need for corrections Some assignments not correctable Quizzes typically follow test procedures Group work often must be corrected individually Quizzes/HW/Groups

Common Issues Point Students won’t study the first time Counterpoint Corrections done AT TEACHER DISCRETION Corrections not “easy” to do Implies students have existing effective study habits Even if true, redos allow for long-term motivation

Common Issues Point They won’t get this in college/real world Counterpoint Poor instruction later is not a justification for poor practices now There are examples of this in higher ed and real world High school is NOT real world/college

Common Issues Point It takes too much time Counterpoint Grading is quicker than you might think Don’t correct everything Corrections done outside of class

Practical Implementation Steps Clarify your policy What can be corrected? Tests only? Projects only? Writing assignments? All assignments? Are corrections “allowed” or “required?” Grade improvement Full credit? Half credit? Steps to correct Random submission? Parent signature on original? Meeting with you? Pre-written correction sheet? Steps same for all assignments? How long do students have? AT TEACHER’S DISCRETION!!!!! (Wormeli)

Practical Implementation Steps Don’t try it all at once! Try it with one assignment GIVE IT A CHANCE TO WORK! Learn from peers Let your students in on the process Remind them this is a privilege, not a right

Ideally, you will focus on “learning” more than “grading” How will allowing students to correct their work make me a better teacher? Ideally, you will focus on “learning” more than “grading” You will give your students an opportunity to improve - something they DO get in the real world Your will motivate your students to improve themselves You will build a class culture where students will want to know WHY things are wrong

In closing… Final thoughts? Thank you for coming, I do appreciate your time and comments! This presentation will be posted to www.teachercannon.com under teacher resources cannon.chris@mail.fcboe.org