3 Grading Practices That Should Change
For this week's blog assignment, I searched through Edutopia's assessment category and came across 3 Grading Practices That Should Change by Alexis Tamony. This article caught my eye because we used standards-based grading at my school, but many colleagues don't really understand what that means.
The article first discusses how teachers should move away from averaging scores over the semester and focus more on the recent scores. This is because their understanding of the material should grow over time. I agree with this statement; in fact, I have my grade books calculate the mean of the three most recent grades per standard. The mean better represents the students' understanding of the standard.
Next, she discusses how teachers should not "add elements other than content understanding into grading." For example, educators should not be reducing a grade simply because it is late. You are not assessing a student's organizational skills when providing assignments. Therefore, their grade should not be affected due to poor planning. "Elements" other than academic standards should be assessed under conduct or addressed with the student and/or parent. This idea is a topic that seems to cause a lot of discussions amongst my coworkers. Some will not allow a student to receive full credit (or any credit) if their assignment is late and some, like me, feel that if we are genuinely assessing the standard, then it doesn't matter when the work is turned in. Of course, this requires me to be flexible with the students, and it requires me to grade old assignments. It can be annoying, but it does provide a better idea of what the student knows.
The last idea Tamony shares is that teachers should be completely transparent with their grading. By saying the student scored a 71%, not much information is provided on their misconceptions. Instead, educators should use a proficiency scale, and each concept on the assessment should be scored separately. For example, if I give a math test covering multiple standards or concepts within a standard, each area should be scored independently. By doing this, the student, parent, and teacher will know what the student has mastered and what skills they are still developing.
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