Grades. This one word can conjure up feelings of excitement, frustration, or depression. It seems that most students already have an idea of how he/she ranks academically within a classroom setting. They also are aware of Who makes the "best" grades and who struggles. Parents, too, either stress over their child making "below average" grades & how many "A's" OR they seem to not show much interest either way.
How should grades really be used, other than to label someone a success, just average, or a failure?
I believe grades should provide feedback about student's understanding.
They should reflect the student's ability to correctly use their acquired knowledge.
They should come from a variety of examples from the student.
Grades should show growth made and reflect progress made from a stimulating and appropriately challenging environment.
Grades should come from meaningful experiences for the student.
I love the idea of combining traditional letter grades with and additional piece of information!
The A - 1, A - 2, A - 3 along with using a portfolio of the student's work would be a better representation of the Whole Student (successes and struggles, work to take pride in and work to improve on). This gives the parents a clearer picture of where their child is on their educational journey.
Ok, so students are all working at different paces and levels. Now we have a new dilemma! What do you do about grades? Chapter 14 provides you with four approaches to this problem that have proven to be useful. After reading the chapter, please select one of the following topics to address on your blog.
- Generate a list of descriptors for how you feel grades should be used. How can you get closer to that in your classroom? What do you feel the effects would be if you were able to achieve your ideal?
No comments:
Post a Comment