In my dyad, my partner and I have been allowed in on the grading process. During their ‘final projects’ for their reading unit, we were asked to give grades on a scale of 1-4. Both of us came up with a similar pattern…. 4….4….4. We thought they were all fabulous because they were able to show what they were good at, and they really took ownership of it. However, this brought us to the question about grading. What if a student put in a lot more effort than usual, however it still does not reach the standard about what a 4 typically gets. Can teachers still give the student a 4 based on what they know about the student, and with the hopes that the grade will give them the confidence to always put effort into projects? I really believe that absolutely we should do this. However, what do we do when a parent complains that their child’s project was better than another’s who got a better grade? There is a quote on the wall at my dyad that says something along the lines “Fair doesn’t mean equal. Fair means getting each child what he or she needs”. Could we just relay this to the parents?
I would love to hear from actual parents. How would you feel about this?
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3 years ago
1 comment:
This is one of my biggest beefs, and a personal reason for my becoming a teacher. I'm sick of 10 year olds who think they will always be a "2".
If a child performs way above their "standard", they should be rewarded for it, whether or not it meets the criteria. Kids need to feel capable and hopeful, not shutdown.
Those kiddos who have issues with neatness, handwriting and organizing get lost in the long term projects. I remember the formatted book reports of 3rd grade which were part art project, part report--what a nightmare. I helped my kids at home with nice erasers, drawing guidelines on paper, etc. but for one of my sons, the final project was always a bit disheveled. He dreaded the whole project the moment it was assigned, because he knew the final draft wouldn't be "perfect". Where's the learning?
Struggling students, need to know that they are capable of earning a 4 on a project, and when they get that 4, raise the bar for them on the next project. Move them along, the way we talk about moving student writers along in their process.
Of course, the other side of the coin is the student who does the assignment, follows the rubric and is given a 3. My oldest was one of those in elementary school. He did exactly as he was told, and the end product was neat. He would be crushed when he didn't get a 4.
My DYAD teacher staples a parent signature note over the grade, and hand delivers assessments to try to alleviate the grade comparison in class, but we know they do it on the bus home. She does something else I like. Big projects are given a number, a wish, and a star-- meaning something to work on and something that was great.
I'm struggling to end this post because there is no right answer.
Your classroom quote is a good one. The bottom line for me is were here to motivate our students and decisions on assessment rubrics are part of that.
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