Feedback Goals
So, here we go....time to up the ante and GO FOR THE GOAL!
At the end of last year, I had set a goal to focus on grades representing standards, not just numbers that were somewhat randomly assigned to work. Oh, OK, we had rubrics, we could justify the numbers - but a student would just see an 80%, not how they got it. Were conventions an issue? Was organization letting them down? Was there evidence and elaboration? Who knew? I knew as I was grading, but after that, work had a value given - and that was it. It wasn't working for me.
I hate grades.
Period.
They cause issues. They create unnecessary concerns or put a band-aid on a real issue. Students work for grades and not for learning. Parents hone in on the number and not why the number was realized. We all fall into the trap of using grades like candy. We find ourselves describing children as a number. It's wrong. So very wrong.
Think about a world where students pay attention to feedback and it matters. Contemplate it being safe for a student to experiment with his/her work, to try something new - because there was no immediate 'grade' to worry about. Work is done to show learning. I want that world.
So, I had put it out there. I had asked questions. I found support from my administration and the Twittersphere - to include a friend at the county office. Next thing I knew, we had a formal PLN with principal support - and even permission to take the opportunity to lead a program where formative work no longer needed to be graded.
Why do we grade formative work? How can a number be put on something that is part of the learning? That has NEVER made sense to me anyway!
So, it's October, and the plan is moving forward. The first essay was divided by 3 grades. Still grading formatives, I am ensuring that every rubric is defined by standards. And here is what is cool, because the ELA team uses what I create, their students are benefiting too! How cool is that?
So, step 1 - grading by standards using single point rubrics - ✔
At the end of last year, I had set a goal to focus on grades representing standards, not just numbers that were somewhat randomly assigned to work. Oh, OK, we had rubrics, we could justify the numbers - but a student would just see an 80%, not how they got it. Were conventions an issue? Was organization letting them down? Was there evidence and elaboration? Who knew? I knew as I was grading, but after that, work had a value given - and that was it. It wasn't working for me.
I hate grades.
Period.
They cause issues. They create unnecessary concerns or put a band-aid on a real issue. Students work for grades and not for learning. Parents hone in on the number and not why the number was realized. We all fall into the trap of using grades like candy. We find ourselves describing children as a number. It's wrong. So very wrong.
Think about a world where students pay attention to feedback and it matters. Contemplate it being safe for a student to experiment with his/her work, to try something new - because there was no immediate 'grade' to worry about. Work is done to show learning. I want that world.
So, I had put it out there. I had asked questions. I found support from my administration and the Twittersphere - to include a friend at the county office. Next thing I knew, we had a formal PLN with principal support - and even permission to take the opportunity to lead a program where formative work no longer needed to be graded.
Why do we grade formative work? How can a number be put on something that is part of the learning? That has NEVER made sense to me anyway!
So, it's October, and the plan is moving forward. The first essay was divided by 3 grades. Still grading formatives, I am ensuring that every rubric is defined by standards. And here is what is cool, because the ELA team uses what I create, their students are benefiting too! How cool is that?
So, step 1 - grading by standards using single point rubrics - ✔
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