A Repair Kit
for Grading
End-of-Book
Reflection
As I
conclude reading and discussing the 15 fixes for broken grades it opens my mind
to analyze and address my own practices in grading. The 15 fixes are evident in all grade books,
some are clear and understandably should not reflect a student’s grade while
others are just as muddy as a grade may muddy a student’s degree of mastery.
As
educators, we need to continue to grow in our field while keeping diversity in
mind. Even if we do not agree on how a
grade book should look or how a grade should be entered the “Repair Kit for
Grading” opens our eyes and gets us thinking about our practices. I feel the Rugby School District should adopt
a policy for grading that reveals the student’s degree of learning but also allowing
the teacher flexibility. In my 20+ years
of teaching and as a parent I have experienced some bad grades that have not
truly reflected the student’s learning or level of mastery.
In
constructing a district grading policy, I feel Fix 1 should be the first
addressed, Student Behavior. Student
Behavior is very important and should be addressed but not included in a
grade. A grade in the subject area
should reveal the level of mastery NOT behavior. The Rugby Grading Policy should reflect the
difference of Subject Grade of achievement and Behavior. Fix 2 Late Work, Fix 3 Extra Credit, Fix 4
Dishonesty, Fix 5 Attendance, Fix 6 Group Scores along with Fix 1 Behavior all
distort grades of achievement and should be clarified NOT to include in a grade
of achievement.
So where do
we address Fixes 1-6 because they are important and should be reflected in the
student’s grade report? That is where
the district needs to organize a grade report that reveals the separation of grades
of achievement with character of behavior.
This is not an easy FIX! As a
district, I feel this is where we need to start, separate Achievement from
Behavior. Once this separation is
clarified the other fixes 7-15 can be addressed in the computation of
assessment and what to assess.
O’Connor’s
Fixes 7-10 address methods of organizing evidence showing standards/learning
goals. I feel the district has already
begun tackling these fixes by introducing the PLC structure to create Power
Standards and “I Can Statements.” Now
the big fix will be to create a Grade Report that reflects to the student,
parent and others the grade, what is included and how obtained. Fixes 11-15 address calculation of that grade: mean, zeros, what assessments, student involvement
in the process.
Now the work
begins, creating a grading policy that truly reflects the student’s achievement
while satisfying honor roles, scholarships, college admittances, eligibility
guidelines. Hard work that needs to be
done. As educators we are changing the
way we address our subject objectives now the next step is assessment and how
to report the assessment. The old Report
Card does not satisfy this change so a new Grade Report with a clear policy should
be a Fix the Rugby School District needs to address in the future.
