A few weeks\u00a0 back I spent a lot of time at the skating rink at our annual skating competition.\u00a0 There were parents from a variety rinks in attendance.\u00a0 The conversation in the stands was not only about skating but about grades.\u00a0 I few moms were sharing about the report cards that had just come out and were comparing ‘war’ stories.\u00a0 As an educator my ears picked up and I joined in.<\/p>\n
From the discussion I heard the typical comments.<\/p>\n
So and so is a tough grader.
\nThat teacher is easy.
\nNo one gets an A in that class.<\/p>\n
Even though I have been an educator for over 20 years I still have many questions surrounding grades. What do we grade?\u00a0\u00a0 Is it mastery of the standards? Are grades a mixture of compliance and successful demonstration of knowledge? Do the grades from one teacher mean the same as another?\u00a0 Are they just a snap shot in time?<\/p>\n
I know of some teachers who value HW at 20% and others as high as 50%. Some teachers provide a detailed syllabus with grading standards and expectations. These syllabi do not follow the report card or transcript with the child.\u00a0 How should we interpret what the grade represents.?\u00a0 Some schools use a standards based report cards.\u00a0 What happens if you have mastered the standards early on? Other schools give letter grades. Some schools have a school wide grading policy and others let each teacher determine the policy.<\/p>\n
We recognize the wide difference in how we grade yet we describe our students and children as a B student or a C student.\u00a0 In Massachusetts we are busy realigning our curriculum to the new core standards, maybe we should also take the time to have conversations about how we assess student learning.<\/p>\n
What are your thoughts on grading?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few weeks\u00a0 back I spent a lot of time at the skating rink at our annual skating competition.\u00a0 There were parents from a variety rinks in attendance.\u00a0 The conversation in the stands was not only about skating but about grades.\u00a0 I few moms were sharing about the report cards that had just come out and were comparing ‘war’ stories.\u00a0 As an educator my ears picked up and I joined in. From the discussion I heard the typical comments. So…<\/p>\n