What is grading? What is its purpose? What does it represent? How should it be done?

What is the purpose of grading? To DOCUMENT progress—both of the student and the teacher To COMMUNICATE feedback to the student and parent To ENCOURAGE learning success

The purpose of grading should NOT be: To motivate students To punish students To create competition amongst students

Avoid, “learn or I will hurt you” measures --Nancy Doda (Wormeli PowerPoint)

What do grades represent? “A grade represents a clear and accurate indicator of what a student knows and is able to do—mastery” -- Rick Wormeli

With that in mind.. Should teachers grade things like – Participation – Effort (Dr. Mel Levine’s Myth of Laziness) – Behavior Should teachers give students zeros? – Instead I for incomplete

Temperature Readings for Norfolk, VA: 85, 87, 88, 84, 0 (Forgot to take the reading) Average: 68.8 degrees This is inaccurate for what really happened, and therefore, unusable. -- (Wormeli PowerPoint)

How should we grade? Grading based on clearly specified goals and performance standards – Rubrics Grading based on valid evidence – Not penmanship, forgetting name on the paper Grading should not be based on averages – Grades shouldn’t be “calculated” but “determined”

“The score a student receives on a test is more dependent on who scores the test and how they score it than it is on what the student knows and understands.” --Marzano, Classroom Assessment & Grading That Work(CAGTW), p. 30

What is the difference between grading and assessment?

What is Assessment ? Main focus is to gather information on student achievement Not included in grades Helps teacher plan a lesson It is something a teacher does with or for student

“Vehicle for gathering information about students” achievement or behavior” --Robert J. Marzano Anything that helps a teacher get information on students

Types of assessment Diagnostic Assessment or Pre- Assessment Formative Assessment

Assessment provides…… Diagnostic Assessment and Formative Assessment provide “along the way” information Assessment becomes responsive when students are given appropriate options An opportunity for students to process information

Differentiated Grading Should students with different abilities be graded differently?

Switching to a grading system for students competing with themselves Most likely to encounter initial difficulty: high ability students who haven’t had to work hard Teach children to “reach high” Teachers do favor by helping them face challenges when they are younger

Create a New Grading System Based on individual goal setting – Students graded against themselves rather than other students. Traditional ways with additional information – Traditional – A, B, C, etc. – Superscript – 1, 2, 3, etc. – Example: A 3 – A = student is working hard and progressing well – 3= work is not on grade level norms Offers more information than traditional report cards

Another Approach to Recording Grades Giving two grades: Personal and Traditional grade Example – Struggling learner receives a “B” on progress towards reaching personal learner goals – “D” when compared with the class Example 2 – Advanced learner who is not “pushing his on ceiling” might get “C” towards personal goals – An “A” in comparison with class

Have Fun with it. Not everything has to be graded. Ex. A soccer player is not consistently graded after every shot he takes in practice. He is later assessed during the game. Assignments can just be to be, not necessarily to grade

Creating Differentiated Objectives Any system that encourages personal growth in every student should be the goal.

Do we sometimes grade differently for certain students? Is it wise to do this? To the first question: Yes, we are human. To the second question: Sometimes – Kids who have a rough household – Who are not able to do their homework and struggle socially – This is where PARTICIPATION comes into a grade – Allow students to show mastery through active learning in class – Homework isn’t an avenue for students like this, so as teachers we must choose a different route that won’t limit the expression of his/her knowledge

“In a differentiated classroom, we choose to do what’s fair, not equal.” Grades for gifted students will require special considerations. With these gifted students who excel, compact the curriculum to a shorter time frame, then do something different, often something connected to the unit of study that everyone else is studying, while the rest of the class continues with the regular unit. As teachers, assess these students by providing feedback regarding their work with the advanced material; but for the assessment that impacts the report card grade, we focus on those regular education, essential understandings and their inherent content, concepts, and skills.

Different Objectives For advanced students who understand the content: – Allow them to finished the material first assigned to the class – If they finish early provide them extra exercises to do during their free time or to take home to work on outside of the classroom – During lessons, if they understand and the teacher is simply reviewing for the kids who do not understand, allow them to work in a group of their own on advanced material of the same subject or skill

Different Objectives For struggling students in the classroom: – Work in small groups to help explanation and one-to- one instruction – Have review sessions – While working in class, call on the students who are struggling to help answer the question, work it out with the student as they go through the problem – Slow down, if necessary, as teachers we would rather have the students understand the material than to simply have it thrown at them to figure it out on their own