FIAE+B1+Chapter+7

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Amy
CH. 7 The role of grading systems in the classroom setting is to provide an accurate account of each student’s learning. Grades should be implications of what students are able to understand by the end of each unit. But, how is it possible to grade a student’s understanding? What determines the worth of an essay, or the amount of understanding a student has based on a multiple-choice exam. Just seeing a letter, A-F, or a number 1-4 on top of a piece of paper cannot accurately provide feedback of a student’s understanding, or mastery of a subject. Since every teacher has a different idea of what each symbol represents (by means of understanding), it is difficult for students to know what each symbol represents. For instance, in an English class, and “A” might mean the essay is flawless: no spelling/grammatical errors, meets the length requirement, answers the question being asked. In that same class, a “B” might mean that the student has spelling/grammatical errors, etc., but the content is exactly right. Why is the paper that answers the question to a tee, but has a few small errors not related to the topic, worse than a paper that “covers” the answer, but also has no errors. This is an example of the “wrong way to grade”, because grading is supposed to show that the student understands the objectives of the lesson. If the lesson included spelling words correctly, then the teacher would have been right to take into account spelling. Another important aspect to take into account when grading students’ papers, is, background information on each student. A student with a disability that keeps him from being able to spell correctly should not be evaluated based on spelling, but rather, the content. There are many situations that teachers should take into account when grading a student’s knowledge and understanding of specific content in order to grade fairly. In closing, one single teacher cannot accurately define grades, because everybody has different views of what a “good” or “bad” grade looks like based on students’ assignments, papers, and tests/quizzes, therefore grades are not usually accurate in determining what a student may or may not understand.

Dan
This chapter is so rich in information about grading. I think the biggest idea coming out of the chapter is about what our symbols mean. It is a well known fact that a teacher in the same grade, same school, same subject can have a different interpretation of an A to C, check plus to check minus, 100 to zero, and so on. How are we to put stock in a transcript for a student to move on to higher learning or get a job, when we have no idea what they know by getting a 3.5 in high school. There is no way to tell under the current system. What can we do about it? I think the only thing we can do right now is either find a new system or better define the one we have. Another problem that arose in the chapter was the student who had special needs. This student worked hard on an essay (the first he has ever written) has a language disability, and didn't master the content. Do they fail? Or do we as teachers have to take responsibility? And the same goes for a student without a disability. Should we change the way we grade because of a students background? I think this problem would become a smaller problem if we allowed students freedom of choice in product (so he wouldn't have to write the essay), and graded them solely on content mastery. This way you are at least grading students on the same playing field.

Jennifer
I found this quote from page 95 of //Fair Isn't Always Equal//,"Grades are inferences, personal interpretations on the part of the teacher, not infallible truths about students' mastery", to be very thought provoking. It got me thinking, what do grades mean? What does an A or a C mean exactly. I found that I do agree with this statement. Depending on what teacher you have, or where you "paper is placed" (pg. 95) an A is going to mean something different in every class, and because of this students are not going to know what to do to get a "good grade". As teachers, because of how vague grades are, and because we are going to need to differentiate the scale for different students, we are going to be spending so much time on grading we won't be focusing on the students understanding and application of the material. Grades are not the best way to show students proficiency. They cause students, parents, and teachers to become so focused on them that we forget what we as teachers are trying to do, help students gain the knowledge and skills they need in ways that they will understand best. Students do need feedback, but grades may not be the best form.

Cassandra
All students should be able to obtain an A using te clear guidlines provided by a teacher. A students shouldn't just be studnets who go above and beyond on their own. If students know what is "above and beyond" then they can all do it and earn an A. When the book asked what grade we would give to the student who wrote the essay on DNA, I honestly would have given them all atleast a B. For one, the book didn't say what the assignment was, it could have been one of many essay questions, and for two I didn't know the right answers so I wouldn't know if their information was lousy or not. So, it was kind of a bad example. I didn't know what the book was thinking of (a C+) until it said so.

Sean
Something that's very important when it comes to grading is to find a way to judge what a student learns and not how nice it looks. If two students can write the same quality blog or create the same heavy-content project, yet one is just a little less professional, should that student get a lower score for that reason alone? No, as teachers, we are grading them on content and knowledge, not grammar and spelling. If the whole paper looks like it was written by a first grader, then there should be something of an intervention maybe so they can up their writing level to the class. Otherwise, just point out the mistakes but don't let it have any effect on the final grade. Unless of course it's a quiz on languages or something, that would be the only exception. And then there's also the idea of two teachers having radically different ideas of what constitutes an A. One teacher could have a perfectly reasonable expectation of what a high school student can do, while another expects college level work. This can confuse the students, and in some cases, make them think that the reasonable teachers are just 'real easy' and they can coast by without really doing anything.

Ethan
Through reading all three books this semester it has become clear that one of the most complicated and difficult parts of teaching is the grading process. In this chapter Wormeli discusses the very nature of grades and what it is they really represent. For many subjects grades are simply a teacher’s opinion or view point on a student’s product. This applies especially to subjects like History and English. For this reason Wormeli talks about the need for more progressive assessment. Taking into account a student’s level in your class is a key to giving an accurate grade. Progress is what should be measured not necessarily the finished product. Wormeli also makes a great point that teachers should be positive in their grading. Putting a frowning face next to a poor grade only further insults the student and deters them from wanting to learn. He also gives the example of giving someone a negative 12 instead of an 88/100. Obviously the negative thinking teacher only sees the 12 points that were missed and not the 88 that the student got. I feel like I must take into account these ideas when I myself am grading my students. It will be very important for me to try to measure progress and not just the final product.

George
Chapter 7 addressed what might be one of the most important and difficult things in teaching and that's grading. The book provided examples of teachers having issues trying to come up with a grade. Especially when knowledge is there but the presentation is lacking. We are led onto such questions as “What's an A?” “What's a C?” “What's a check plus?” If we can't keep these straight in our own minds how can we expect students to be able to understand what we mean when we start scribbling with the almighty red pen? Personally I'd like to see some research into countries like Britain where they have done away with the concept of grading and look solely for mastery.

Jennifer
I found this quote from page 95 of //Fair Isn't Always Equal//,"Grades are inferences, personal interpretations on the part of the teacher, not infallible truths about students' mastery", to be very thought provoking. It got me thinking, what do grades mean? What does an A or a C mean exactly. I found that I do agree with this statement. Depending on what teacher you have, or where you "paper is placed" (pg. 95) an A is going to mean something different in every class, and because of this students are not going to know what to do to get a "good grade". As teachers, because of how vague grades are, and because we are going to need to differentiate the scale for different students, we are going to be spending so much time on grading we won't be focusing on the students understanding and application of the material. Grades are not the best way to show students proficiency. They cause students, parents, and teachers to become so focused on them that we forget what we as teachers are trying to do, help students gain the knowledge and skills they need in ways that they will understand best. Students do need feedback, but grades may not be the best form.

Darren
I've always speculated on the role of grades in the classroom. There was a college in New England that does not give grades, and coming to class is optional for the students. The assignments you do are not mandatory, and you can pick and choose exactly what you would like to get done. This is an interesting idea to me, because I feel that there are several downfalls in grading systems and what they determine. This chapter analyzes what an A means, and the author points out how these letters change definitions depending on the school that the children attend. For example, in my high school, I was once second in my class (freshman to junior year), but a student transferred from a school in a separate district, and her grades translated higher than they were in the old school. This actually positioned her as the first student in my high school class. This is one very good example of how the subjectivity of grading is important to consider when developing your own rubrics and standards. The symbols themselves reflect external motivation; by this, I mean that the idea of grading and getting good marks tends to make the student care much more about their grades than about the content. No matter how exciting your lesson can be, grades can provide a flaw because a student will be solely worried about "how well" they did.

Zack
One grade does not determine what a student actually does or does not know about a subject. This is because a student may know one faucet of what is taught but does not know the other in this case they deserve an A on part of it a F on the other part of it. A student should be well rounded yes, but to jeopardize a students grade for not knowing one part of something is very unfair to the student. Therefore a teacher should be grading from the beginning to the end in this case than the teacher actually has some idea on what the student has learned. Secondly without a standard to start from a teacher can not grade on what a student has learned. This is the case because if the student would have received a C in the beginning and on the end test they receive a C the teacher than realizes that the student has had no learning.

Brian
Chapter seven focuses on the grading system, and how it can differ from educator to educator, and even school to school. I feel as a math teacher, we have our work cut out for us. On the one hand, we can simply take a problem and see if the final product is correct. If it is, the question is right, and we move on right? Wrong! One huge piece of math assessment I’ve picked up over the years is that students need to be able use a formula, or a process. For instance we all remember PEMDAS, the proper order of operations, Parenthesis, Exponent, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction. By remembering this process, or order, students can easily simplify complex math equations. This may seem incredibly obvious, but to many students, it’s hard to remember a process. PEMDAS, the acronym makes it easier for students to remember; therefore they nail the process down pat. Try creating an acronym for how to derive the integral of cosine cubed theta, over sine theta times tangent theta, and I won’t forget it, I promise. Point being, that sometimes math teachers only assess the answer, and not the process. Even sometimes the process maybe flawless but is limited because it’s a memorization of a single problem. We need to assess the mastery of the PROCESS of our content.

Liz
What does a grade signify to a student? What does a student's work tell a teacher? How do we convey our messages? Chapter 7 addresses that a student's work with out prior knowledge of the student tells the teacher nothing. It is however the teacher's job to provide useful information for the students to improve upon. The particular problem isn't that feedback should be given it is how it is delivered. In the modern education system the letters take all precedence: A is good. F is bad. It is not the letter grade that is needed but the accompanying dialogue from the teacher. Does the feedback outline what was good but also what needs improvement? Does the teacher sound harsh? Does the teacher respect the learner? The possibility that we could ever just not give grades seems very far away but in some cases grades are so much ingrained that the removal wouldn't be possible.

Josh
In this chapter, Wormeli discusses how to give grades meaning. It is argued that letter and number grades in many systems do not accurately describe mastery, and that too much emphasis is put on grades. There were two major points in this chapter that I found particularly interesting. The first in the results of a test that Wormeli quoted, that was taken of A and B students at an impoverished school. It turns out that they tested the same as C and D students at an affluent school. These schools are help to the same state learning standards so why is this? Wormeli claims that it could be because the teachers of the impoverished school have lower expectations. This is unacceptable, it discriminates upon students based on their socioeconomic status. This is no basis for lowering the level of education that is available to students. Another problem described by Wormeli is the idea of a "passing grade". If a student gets by with a D, the lowest grade they need to move on the the next level, then the student does not have mastery of the content. That is the flaw with the system, when we allow students who have not built the skills set forth in the course, to leave without meeting the standards.

Damian
So, what are we grading? Regretfully, teachers are required to grade their students so that the curriculum and the students can be neatly regimented in file cabinets. Administration can then quantify to tax payers and the government funding sources, what the hard earned dollars are spent on. Students aren’t blind to this fact either. Many know that they will never get an A in a certain class, but their knowledge in the content is vaster than many of their peers. Why can’t they get a good grade? Perhaps they believe that they are in school to learn and not get a grade and so they forsake the grading process in lieu of a dedication to learning. Many would disagree with this, but ask a high school student who consistently pulls C and D grades why they score as they do. Then ask them if they have learned anything. I guarantee that the answers you receive will not be the typical reflection one would expect.