Abstract:
This chapter discusses report cards and how to make them both reader/friendly for parents and colleges but so that they also give a fair assessment of a student's learning and progression. Parents want report cards that they understand at a glance, but unfortunately what parents understand is a report card that doesn't properly represent these things, as expressed through A's and F's.
Reflection:
My group agrees that if a classroom is differentiated and standards based then the report cards need to change, but we are torn about how the best way to do this is. If parents are overly confused about report cards there will be complaints, if colleges have to keep track of every school districts' grading policies there will be pandemonium when applying, and if students continue to be graded using the old ways then there will be less opportunities for growth and expansion. This is something that will be more of an issue as standards based learning looms ever nearer, and the decisions that are made will leave at least one group suffering.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Chapter 12 Assess
Abstract: Chapter 12 deals with grading scales. The chapter looks at the two main grading scales that most schools use which are the 4.0 scale and the 100 point scale. The smaller the scale the higher the inter-rater reliability will be for the grades. This happens because there are clear mutually agreed on descriptors that must be chosen for each aspect. This means that the smaller point scale and clear descriptions of proficiency keep the graders focused on credible justification. When using the 4.0 grading scale and rubrics the teacher actively looks for things that the student accomplished and rewards points for it. This does not always occur when not using rubrics.
Reflection: It makes sense to try to use rubrics as much as possible when grading assignments however it is not always feasible to use a rubric. Students should receive points for things that they do properly and the final answer isn’t always the clearest indication of proficiency. When using the 100 point scale the teacher doesn’t always follow guidelines and takes off as many points as they feel necessary on student mistakes. By using the four point scale the teacher is forced to be conservative with grading and are more likely to stick with the rubric.
Reflection: It makes sense to try to use rubrics as much as possible when grading assignments however it is not always feasible to use a rubric. Students should receive points for things that they do properly and the final answer isn’t always the clearest indication of proficiency. When using the 100 point scale the teacher doesn’t always follow guidelines and takes off as many points as they feel necessary on student mistakes. By using the four point scale the teacher is forced to be conservative with grading and are more likely to stick with the rubric.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Assess 7
Abstract
This Chapter looks at the idea of having kids focus on the work instead of the grade that they get. The main idea is to have them learn about ideas and concepts, not what it takes to get an A or a B. Grades should just be feedback on their way to understanding. The chapter gives reference to how students that work just to get an A often burn out and don't always understand the material. The chapter also talks about how a B is now average, and parents get concerned with C's.
Reflection
We talked about how it was interesting to see how colleges are now required to offer more remedial classes even when students are graduation high school with A's and B's. This is a major indicator of what is wrong with grading practices in schools. Some of the ideas that are presented by the "highly" educated also worried us. Not everyone knows how to work hard and change things when they don't like the outcomes. Students need to learn to be accountable and responsible for themselves so that they may be successful in whatever career they choose after high school.
This Chapter looks at the idea of having kids focus on the work instead of the grade that they get. The main idea is to have them learn about ideas and concepts, not what it takes to get an A or a B. Grades should just be feedback on their way to understanding. The chapter gives reference to how students that work just to get an A often burn out and don't always understand the material. The chapter also talks about how a B is now average, and parents get concerned with C's.
Reflection
We talked about how it was interesting to see how colleges are now required to offer more remedial classes even when students are graduation high school with A's and B's. This is a major indicator of what is wrong with grading practices in schools. Some of the ideas that are presented by the "highly" educated also worried us. Not everyone knows how to work hard and change things when they don't like the outcomes. Students need to learn to be accountable and responsible for themselves so that they may be successful in whatever career they choose after high school.
Assess Ch. 13
Abstract:
Chapter 13 described a few examples of grade book formats. The trick to keeping a good grade book is to constantly assess whether the one we are currently using is meeting our needs. The grade book must be organized to quickly track a student’s progress and have place to record both formative and summative assessments. It must provide a clear and accurate reporting of achievement and be responsive to differentiated education, with a focus on benchmarks. Grouping assignments can be based on objectives, by weight, by due dates, or by topics.
Reflection:
Schools are now integrating technology in the classroom through gradebooks. Online grading can be good for quick communication to students and parents as they check their own progress. An actual hard copy of a gradebook is beneficial however in that we can document notes and explanations as grades are made up and change. The online grades let students and parents calculate grades based on numbers. As teachers however we want the final say in designating final grades, so keeping a hardcopy allows us to keep formative grades that track over all mastery and pick and choose which ones we want to post.
Chapter 13 described a few examples of grade book formats. The trick to keeping a good grade book is to constantly assess whether the one we are currently using is meeting our needs. The grade book must be organized to quickly track a student’s progress and have place to record both formative and summative assessments. It must provide a clear and accurate reporting of achievement and be responsive to differentiated education, with a focus on benchmarks. Grouping assignments can be based on objectives, by weight, by due dates, or by topics.
Reflection:
Schools are now integrating technology in the classroom through gradebooks. Online grading can be good for quick communication to students and parents as they check their own progress. An actual hard copy of a gradebook is beneficial however in that we can document notes and explanations as grades are made up and change. The online grades let students and parents calculate grades based on numbers. As teachers however we want the final say in designating final grades, so keeping a hardcopy allows us to keep formative grades that track over all mastery and pick and choose which ones we want to post.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Assess Ch. 9
Abstract:
Chapter 9 talked about the top ten practices to avoid when differentiating instruction and assessment. If we want to provide helpful feedback, document progress, and inform our instructional decisions, we must make sure grades are accurate reflections of learning. For example, grades can show inaccurate reflections when they incorporate non academic factors such as effort and behavior. Another thing to avoid is grading practice homework and inaccurate indications of mastery. We need to avoid inflating grades with extra credit, and avoid giving zeros for incomplete work since they drastically change averages.
Reflection:
Most of the grading instances to avoid were commonsense things like avoiding group grades, because obviously those don’t reflect each individual. It is important to remember that school is about the learning not the grades. Show no mercy when initially giving grades, but be merciful with meaningful revisions to the grades. After reading this chapter, we were more aware of things to avoid while grading, we do not want to corner ourselves, since parents get very involved with grades.
Chapter 9 talked about the top ten practices to avoid when differentiating instruction and assessment. If we want to provide helpful feedback, document progress, and inform our instructional decisions, we must make sure grades are accurate reflections of learning. For example, grades can show inaccurate reflections when they incorporate non academic factors such as effort and behavior. Another thing to avoid is grading practice homework and inaccurate indications of mastery. We need to avoid inflating grades with extra credit, and avoid giving zeros for incomplete work since they drastically change averages.
Reflection:
Most of the grading instances to avoid were commonsense things like avoiding group grades, because obviously those don’t reflect each individual. It is important to remember that school is about the learning not the grades. Show no mercy when initially giving grades, but be merciful with meaningful revisions to the grades. After reading this chapter, we were more aware of things to avoid while grading, we do not want to corner ourselves, since parents get very involved with grades.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Assess 10
Chapter ten looks at giving students multiple attempts to master the work that they are doing for class. If students repeatedly need to redo work it may point to other problems and the teacher needs to schedule a time with the student to find out what the problem might be and to find a solution to fix this problem. Any redone work that the students want to do needs to go home and be signed by the parents so that they know what the child is doing in the classroom and also allows them to know how they are doing in classroom. An important part of the chapter dealt with having the teacher reserve the right to change the format of tests or not allowing students to redo projects. This makes the most sense for tests because during forced choice students are able to memorize the answer pattern. This will not help them with mastery but only with their grade. Students also need to have rework done and handed back within a week and are not allowed to wait until the end of the grading period to get the work back in. Teachers also need to help the student set up a schedule because this will help the student complete the task on time and help them with time management.
This is something that should be considered for all classrooms as long as there are certain rules and guidelines set up. Students should not be allowed to make up ALL work or be able to badger the teacher into letting them make up work. As the chapter stated if students are consistently redoing work there is a larger problem at hand and it is up to the teacher to discuss the problem with the student. Sending the paper home to have parents sign can be both a positive and negative thing. Having the parents in the loop about student work is good but some students maybe turned off with having to have their parents sign their work and will not retry to show their mastery.
This is something that should be considered for all classrooms as long as there are certain rules and guidelines set up. Students should not be allowed to make up ALL work or be able to badger the teacher into letting them make up work. As the chapter stated if students are consistently redoing work there is a larger problem at hand and it is up to the teacher to discuss the problem with the student. Sending the paper home to have parents sign can be both a positive and negative thing. Having the parents in the loop about student work is good but some students maybe turned off with having to have their parents sign their work and will not retry to show their mastery.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Assess Chapter 11
Abstract: Chapter eleven focuses on different grading issues. The first one is the use of zeros in grading. Another issue brought up was how to the grade gifted or special needs students without cheating others or treating them differently. Thirdly, the use of weighting grades and what should be weighted certain amounts. The chapter presents several different issues that teachers face with grading.
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