What's your take on grades?
I've done a lot of looking at grades while in my placement. My CE has me grade papers on Monday mornings while the students are working on morning work and then record them in the grade book. I spend a lot of time in the classroom throughout the school week and I have seen students demonstrate the skills that they are tested on. Sometimes when I am grading I don't think that the grade a student receives accurately matches the understanding that they demonstrate during the week on practice problems. This led me to do a little research on other ways to grade student work.
The first thought that came to my mind was performance based assessment. We learned about this last semester in Social Studies Methods. I think that this form of assessment gives a better picture to teachers of what their students understand and can do rather than if they can pick the right answer out of a group of answers.
I then did a google search to see what else I could find.
Apparently everyone has ideas about the grading system and scale.
There are two main "sides" of the debate.
Traditional vs. Standards Based
What is traditional grading?
Traditional grading is the type of grading that we are accustomed to. With traditional grading, students are given a numerical percent which translates into a letter grade A, B, C, or D.
This type of grading scale is what we are used to, but is it effective?
Does this type of grading scale show us what students know?
Does this type of work show students what they really know and what areas they need improvement?
What is standards-based grading?
Standards-based grading uses objectives and measures if a student has met those objectives yet. A student is graded with Advanced, Proficient, Partially Proficient, etc. This type of grading allows students to see that there are specific areas of content that they have not mastered yet, while there are some areas that they have mastered.
This type of scale is unfamiliar, but is it a good idea?
Could this type of grading scale work in the classroom?
How would you determine at which level of mastery a student is classified?
Could this type of scale be translated into a letter grade if those are required?
What do I think?
I liked the idea of the standards-based grading where grades are based off of demonstration of proficiency rather than a numerical value. I found a youtube video that describes Standards-Based Grading (SBG) as allowing teachers and students to "focus more on skills rather than [numerical] points." I like the idea that students work towards being successful in a particular content area or skill rather than working toward getting a 100 on a test. However, I think that the traditional way can be beneficial as well. I found an article about two high schools in Kentucky that are switching to a new grading system that I think blends these two ideas together.
The goal of the new grading scale is to ditch the traditional grading system in favor of a system that provides more fair and meaningful grades. At these schools students will not be allowed to raise their grades by completing extra credit or getting a participation grade. Teachers will not be allowed to take away points for late work or to give zeroes for cheating. According to the school's principal, "Learning takes time" and teachers need to teach their students this concept. The principal also stresses that students should be graded based on their "individual achievement." Switching from a "GPA based system to an emphasis on knowledge acquisition is monumental."
While there are some things that I like about the ideas from the Kentucky schools, there are some points that I disagree with. Students are allowed to retake tests that they fail in order to replace their low grade. They are only allowed to retake the test when they have completed homework assignments and shown that they have practiced the material and are ready for a second try. I do not believe that this is fair to the students who studied and got a high score the first go round. I like that the students get another chance to prove themselves but I do not think that the original grade should be wiped away. I think that this could promote a lack of motivation and effort because students would know that they get a second shot. I also think that there has to be some penalty for late work. Again it goes back to the fairness side of the situation. It is not fair to the student who turns their work in on time if another student's work is late. It also does not prepare students for the real world. In the real world, if a boss asks for something on Monday at 9 and you bring it to them on Tuesday there would be negative repercussions. The same has to be true in the classroom.
The truth is there is no answer to the grade delima, at least not right now. However, sharing our ideas and thoughts in a professional manner and working in our schools to find a grading system that works best for out students helps us lead the profession (NCTCS 1d). Trying different grading practices within our own classroom in order to benefit our students and school as a whole show that we are advocates for out students (NCTCS 1e) and taking the time to reflect on how we grade and what we could change in order to help our students be the most successful (NCTCS 5) definitely show teacher leader skills.
So...What do you think???
I have included links to the articles I used and the youtube video that I found in case you want to read more about SBG. I hope this made you think and question why we grade the way we grade and how you want to grade your students work one day.
Apparently everyone has ideas about the grading system and scale.
There are two main "sides" of the debate.
Traditional vs. Standards Based
What is traditional grading?
Traditional grading is the type of grading that we are accustomed to. With traditional grading, students are given a numerical percent which translates into a letter grade A, B, C, or D.
This type of grading scale is what we are used to, but is it effective?
Does this type of grading scale show us what students know?
Does this type of work show students what they really know and what areas they need improvement?
What is standards-based grading?
Standards-based grading uses objectives and measures if a student has met those objectives yet. A student is graded with Advanced, Proficient, Partially Proficient, etc. This type of grading allows students to see that there are specific areas of content that they have not mastered yet, while there are some areas that they have mastered.
This type of scale is unfamiliar, but is it a good idea?
Could this type of grading scale work in the classroom?
How would you determine at which level of mastery a student is classified?
Could this type of scale be translated into a letter grade if those are required?
What do I think?
I liked the idea of the standards-based grading where grades are based off of demonstration of proficiency rather than a numerical value. I found a youtube video that describes Standards-Based Grading (SBG) as allowing teachers and students to "focus more on skills rather than [numerical] points." I like the idea that students work towards being successful in a particular content area or skill rather than working toward getting a 100 on a test. However, I think that the traditional way can be beneficial as well. I found an article about two high schools in Kentucky that are switching to a new grading system that I think blends these two ideas together.
The goal of the new grading scale is to ditch the traditional grading system in favor of a system that provides more fair and meaningful grades. At these schools students will not be allowed to raise their grades by completing extra credit or getting a participation grade. Teachers will not be allowed to take away points for late work or to give zeroes for cheating. According to the school's principal, "Learning takes time" and teachers need to teach their students this concept. The principal also stresses that students should be graded based on their "individual achievement." Switching from a "GPA based system to an emphasis on knowledge acquisition is monumental."
While there are some things that I like about the ideas from the Kentucky schools, there are some points that I disagree with. Students are allowed to retake tests that they fail in order to replace their low grade. They are only allowed to retake the test when they have completed homework assignments and shown that they have practiced the material and are ready for a second try. I do not believe that this is fair to the students who studied and got a high score the first go round. I like that the students get another chance to prove themselves but I do not think that the original grade should be wiped away. I think that this could promote a lack of motivation and effort because students would know that they get a second shot. I also think that there has to be some penalty for late work. Again it goes back to the fairness side of the situation. It is not fair to the student who turns their work in on time if another student's work is late. It also does not prepare students for the real world. In the real world, if a boss asks for something on Monday at 9 and you bring it to them on Tuesday there would be negative repercussions. The same has to be true in the classroom.
The truth is there is no answer to the grade delima, at least not right now. However, sharing our ideas and thoughts in a professional manner and working in our schools to find a grading system that works best for out students helps us lead the profession (NCTCS 1d). Trying different grading practices within our own classroom in order to benefit our students and school as a whole show that we are advocates for out students (NCTCS 1e) and taking the time to reflect on how we grade and what we could change in order to help our students be the most successful (NCTCS 5) definitely show teacher leader skills.
So...What do you think???
I have included links to the articles I used and the youtube video that I found in case you want to read more about SBG. I hope this made you think and question why we grade the way we grade and how you want to grade your students work one day.
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog. I also get to grade papers for my CE and record them in the grade book. For 1st grade, students only get grades for spelling, reading and Math. The other grades are considered as participation grades. However, I think that it's great that you decided to research the difference between traditional and standard-based grading. I think that the traditional isn't very helpful when it comes to students knowing what they did wrong and how to improve. They just look at it as a letter or a number. So, I think the standard-based would be very beneficial to use in the upper grades. It would help students be able to see how well or how poorly they do in a specific area. Both grading strategies work, I think, it just depends on how you approach them. Great Blog!
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteYour research was very interesting for me. I have always measured my performance and understanding based on the number of points I received on that particular assignment. I can see both sides of the argument as to which grading system is best to use. I see how the traditional grading system is a way to measure students up against the "norm" or "grade level" expectations based on their numerical scores. However, the standards based grading system would be more efficient for ensuring the students understand the material by giving them individual and specific feedback. This would allow the students to be more accountable for correcting or completing their assignments with accuracy. I like both of the grading systems, I like the traditional because I know the expectations and am familiar with it, but I also like the standard based because it is more detailed.
Grading is such a huge part of what we do. Our students are graded, we are graded, our school is graded. I honestly have not given this much consideration Leslea. I like the points you made about fairness and accountability to our students. You are right that if we haphazardly extend assignments or if we don't give grades at all (we may upset administration and parents who "Need" that aspect) we may not be as effective as teachers.
ReplyDeleteI feel that each way has it's own merits. Traditional can give us an idea of what students know point blank. They should not be the be all end all of student understanding and development. They become a hindrance when that is ALL the student (parents and admin) focus on. On the other hand, a PBA can encourage a more meaningful and long lasting understanding of the content. It can also help those who are over achievers to think even bigger. It can also add that encouragement factors to those unmotivated students that they can actually achieve something and see success. I really liked that you brought this up and I will certainly keep it on my radar throughout this experience and use both to see how they function in harmony with one another.
Great post again Leslea!!!
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you so much for taking the initiative to conduct this research, and share it with the rest of us in a way that is easy to understand! I have often thought about the current grading system, and whether it is an accurate representation of student understanding, or not. I am teaching in first grade this year, and one problem I have observed that could impact the quality of student work is the fact that many of my students have a difficult time keeping their eyes on their own paper. We have dividers to help quell this issue, but our sweet first graders sometimes struggle not to play with the dividers/knock them down. Sometimes, I will collect student writing/work that looks suspiciously similar to their neighbors' work. I would love to brainstorm and experiment with different types of activities and assessments that require individual knowledge/critical thinking, similar to the ones you suggested. Thank you so much for sharing the resources! I am eager to dig in, and begin forming my own thoughts and philosophy of grading. Have a wonderful weekend, sweet friend! Awesome, awesome post!
-Meredith
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a blog post. I really appreciate the way you are already thinking about grading in your future classroom. How many experienced teachers have thought about grading this way?