FIAE+B2+Chapter+12

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Jordan
In this chapter, Wormeli dicusses the advantages and disadvantages of the ever-popular 100-point scale. As teachers, we generally opt to use a 100 point scale because it is efficient and easy to determine a grade at the end of a unit, but even administrators realize that "'If teachers are just mathematically averaging grades..." (Wormeli 153), the grade is not an accurate determination of mastery. The suggested route for an accurate grade is to use a smaller, less definitive scale, such as a 4.0 or a 3.0 scale. By using a scale like this, students are less likely to focus on "what grade did I get?" and more likely to focus on "what material do I need to earn in order to master the material?". A smaller scale also allows for more objective grading and aligns better with differentiated instruction practices in the classroom. You can use a rubric to score the same benchmarks in several different way, however a student's grade is more likely to be distorted when using a 100-point scale. The 4.0 scale (and similar scales) aim for mastery because students are less likely to correlate a letter grade with the numbers and they become more focused on what it is they need to learn. As a teacher, I would like to see a 4.0 scale because it gives me a better overall perspective of the progress of my students.

Leah
There are two very popular scales when it comes to grading: the 100 point scale, and the smaller scale which is usually a 4-point scale. Wormeli discusses the advantages to using the 4 point scale over the 100 point scale, though not completely dismissing the latter. The 4-point scale is easier for faculty members to agree upon each point's value. Students are less likely to focus only on letter grades a more likely to focus on the material required for a project when given a 4-point rating scale. I've noticed that this is true with myself. In Dr. T's class many projects are assigned with the 4-point rating scale and I've noticed that I tend to look directly at the feed back written on the paper instead of the letter grade. Using the 4-point scale it is easier to give students credit for understanding of concepts, and isn't that what we should be grading anyway?

Mykayla
I cannot imagine making a rubric for every single assignment that I give my students. No matter how many times I make a rubric, it is going to be time consuming and pointless for some tasks. I don’t even see how I can use a rubric to grade a math test. On a math test, a student can get an answer wrong or right, but there is nothing in between. I feel that a 100-point scale is better for math because I can give partial credit for steps that they get right. I do not think that a rubric can obtain this same effect.

Ryan
This chapter discusses two ways to grade students assessments. One way allows students feedback and breaks the assessment down allowing the student to know what is expected in the assessment. This way is called the 4-point scale and is usually represented by a rubric. A more common way to grade an assessment is the 100 point scale. The 100 point scale usually allows a grade and is what students first look for when they receive there assessment back. The 100 point scale doesn’t allow for much feedback, but it does save a lot of time and if the teacher wants feedback can be given. In my class I will use both methods because I feel that both are rather useful and the 4-point scale seems to be more useful for projects. This is home I will incorporate both types of grading into my classroom.

Cara
I like how Wormeli discusses both the 100 point grading scale and the 4-point (rubric) scale. Being an English major, I feel like the 4-point scale would benefit my students greatly. I can see using the 100 point scale for vocabulary or grammar quizzes (if any were given), though. Students really do focus more on the quality of their assignment when they are given a 4-point rubric. Although I hate creating rubrics, I feel that they help the students reach mastery quicker and with more ease than if I used a 100 point scale for everything.

Brittany
In the quest to find the most accurate way to reflect a student’s learning, teachers need to look at the scale and format they are using to grade assignments. More and more teachers are using rubrics to try and pin point grades determined by accuracy. Rubrics contain clear descriptions to assess different aspects of assignments on. When students receive a rubric for an assignment, they know exactly what is expected of them and what they need to do to achieve the grade they desire. Through using these rubrics, students most likely only receive credit for the work they have successfully completed. This results in a more accurate grade of the actual learning that has occurred. I plan on using rubrics in my future classroom because they are accurate grade assessors, precise, and contain clear expectations for the students.

Scott
As the title of the chapter would suggest, we are told about grading scaled in this chapter. We as teachers tend to use the the 100% grade scale since it is traditional and most efficient to use. Wormeli however suggests using the 4.o scale since it's more subjective and puts less of an emphasis on the grade. Since there is less variation in the smaller scale it is easier for faculty to agree upon what criteria is required for each grade. This provides more consistency for students and teachers. Making rubrics, which is something that is required for the 4.0 scale can seem daunting but it will be worth it in providing students and teachers with a more accurate reflection of student achievement.

Tim
Wormeli in chapter 12 discusses the two most popular grading scales used by teachers: the ever popular 100 point scale and the emerging 4 points scale. The book makes the case for using the 4 point scale as much as possible saying it removes some of the emphasis that is placed on the grade and prevents the teacher from “fudging” the numbers. Using a 4 point scale also appears to place the focus more on feedback as opposed to just giving a grade. Using a 4 point scale also means the teacher must create a rubric for most assignments. While this will help both the student and teacher attain a more accurate grade with better feedback, I would hate to have to create a rubric for a plethora of assignments. Rubrics will be used in my classroom but I honestly can’t see myself switching from the traditional 100 point scale to the 4.0 scale.

Kirsten
This chapter covers two different types of grading scales, 4-point and 100-point. The chapter explains that the 4-point grade scale is more accurate and allows teachers to provide more specific explanations of students grades. It also puts the focus of grading on the mastery of work, not on differences in grades based on decimal points. It also helps do away with ranking of students. I like the idea of using a 4-point grading scale, and the only thing that bothers me about the idea is the fact that the authors suggest we alter it to suit the tastes of our students parents. I don't like the idea of catering to parents because they aren't comfortable with a grading style. If it's fair and working to their child's benefit, who cares if it's not traditional?

Drew
This chapter centralizes on the topic of grading scales. The two popular scales discussed include the 100 point scale and the 4-point scale. I am familiar with both. I find that the 4-point scale takes the focus away from the grade and puts more emphasis on the importance of the feedback given and the mastery of the content. The 100 point scale is something that seems to be more useful in the case of a standard summative assessment like a test, quiz, or exam. For the progressing student in the middle of a unit, the 4-point scale seems more useful. Also, in the case of a lower grade, it is far less painful and morale-taking on a small scale than on a larger scale.

Ryan Snowman
This chapter discusses grading scales and how consistently they measure mastery. Wormeli suggests that the “case can be made for the 4 – point scale as the more prudent choice in most assessments in all subjects” (p. 152). I agree that 4 – point scales are better at judging mastery than the 100 point scales. This is because smaller scales make individual misrepresentations far less likely than larger scales. Teachers can all agree on what each descriptor of a 4 – point scale is, making it more consistent. Grading scales often have a lot to do with school policy too, so a teacher who wants to differentiate must be careful and take into consideration the schools grading culture. When I’m out in the real world teaching, I hope to be in a district that allows and defends differentiated instruction and the grading policies that accompany DI.

Jennie
This chapter discusses different grading scales such as the 100 point scale and the four point scale. It is discusses whether or not each of these grading scales show mastery. The four point scale seems to be the most accurate scale. It lets teachers look for a couple of different things so students get graded based on if they understand the concept not whether or not they got the question right. Wormeli talks about a group of readers that may see the idea of letting students get credit for the process rather than the end result being a bad idea. They think that "we can't give students the notion that htey can follow only some of the proper procedures, get the answer wrong and still be given credit for doing the problem" (page 157). I agree but if we give them a zero on a problem then what's to say they will actually go back and figure out what they did wrong. If the procedure is graded and they get that right then they can look and see "okay I did this right and this right. Ah, here is where I went wrong."

Rachel
Grading is not about reducing students to numbers but trying to assess the student’s level of understanding in the most accurate way possible. Some teachers use the basic “out of 100” grading scale regardless of the assignment, but this may not be the most accurate way of assessing skill. For example, if a student is taking a math quiz and writes out his/her work and makes one tiny error that results in the wrong answer, grading using a regular point scale will mean that this question is wrong and the student gets a zero. Using a different system, like a rubric, ensures that the student will at least get partial credit for the part of the equation that he/she knew how to solve.

Sarah
In chapter 12, Wormeli discusses the grading scales of points out of 100 and points out of 4.0. Although grading on a 4.0 makes grading simpler and somewhat eliminates the need to crunch numbers to the nearest hundredths of a decimal point, I do believe it is more convoluted for students to grasp. As a student, if I was to receive a rubric which I scored mostly twos and threes on, and recieved an overall grade of a two, I would want to know what factors made my grade trunkate to that two and why my grade was not a number inbetween two and three. At the same time, I support this system because measuring academic progress on a 4.0 scale prepares students for collegiate grading systems. Overall, I am not sure which method I support more or which I will be more likely to employ in my own classroom.

Corinne
This chapter is all about different types of grading scales. Grading scales are either used in a 4 point system or a 100 point system. This causes teachers to justify their grades mathematically; what the math comes out to is the fair grade for the student. However, this does not take mastery into account, and more justification for students grade than just mathematical reasoning is called for. Armstrong suggests using rubrics for assignments, which help to justify a grade clearly to students, but is also mathematically correct, and uses a point system. Armstrong used a lot of different point systems in the chapter, to stress that interpretation of grades is not always universal. I did not like the 100 point grading system that went 94-100 and so on. A 93 as a B+ does not make sense to me, and feel as though this hurts students since most other schools on the 100 point scale use 90-100 as an A. This skews the other school because a person in the first school with a 90 only has a B, while the student in the other school with the same grade has an A.