Grading+Practices+and+Assessment

Grading and Assessment is a complicated area in which teachers are often firmly set. Their beliefs are formed more from their personal experiences whether that be from attending school as a student or from practices that they develop as they become experienced. Seldom are teachers trained in university on the use of summative or formative assessments or how to set up a grade book based on standards and benchmarks rather than student behaviors. As is the case with curriculum delivery, teachers we revert to exclaiming that teaching (and grading) is an Art of which they have discretion. I would argue that to some extent this is true, however, just like in curriculum, their is still a science to grading that should be understood and examined closely. Currently, we are transforming learning in our community by asking ourselves several questions inspired by Ken O'Connor's 15 Fixes for Grading. We started by targeting the five most commonly misused grading practices in our school community and asked teachers to engage each other on what we believe and how our practice represents our believes. Over a 5 month discourse, we have made significant progress on these areas and have opened the door to formative and summative assessment conversations for the coming year. As we did with the communication protocols, we are tying these fixes back to our Mission and Vision statements and creating a //This We Believe// document to be published for our community. Below you will find some documents that were created and used throughout this process.

The attached power point was used to spark conversations on Grading Practices. Individuals were given a Lickert Scale of the 15 fixes so that they could evaluate their position on the fixes. These were not collected but teachers were encouraged to share with their team mates where they were on the issues and given the opportunity to defend their position.

After the presentation, the teams were asked to review five questions to ponder as a group. Below are some of the questions that we asked our teams to review and the answers they supplied.

1. __ How do you handle late work? Do you accept it at all, or do you accept and reduce credit? By how much if you do? __ · // I accept late work, but I do not reduce the credit. I talk with the student about why the work is not complete and watch for a pattern before notifying parents. If work is continually late, I ask students to have a working lunch time or stay after school to make it up. // · // Late work or non-completion of assigned homework is followed up with a note to the parents after the second occurrence. Over the last month I have issued 9 warnings. This does not affect/impact on the final grade. // · // Failure to turn in HW counts as a behavior report if it gets out of hand. HW is a type of formative assessment that highlights the work from class. They can turn it in (if it is even graded!) when they want – the goal is to be able to meet the standards for which the HW was designed. // · // I accept late work. If it is not turned in by the due date, the student is asked to take responsibility for their tardy-ness and complete/continue on the homework it at lunch time or after school to complete it and receive full credit for the work. // __ 2. Do you, or how do you, average in a O on assignments not turned in for your final grade average? Does it matter if it is a formative or a summative assessment? __ · // I see assignments as homework work that re-enforces the concepts being taught i.e formative assessment. If the student doesn't hand in the assignment then a note goes home to the parents but very often that is rare as they have check points along the way which allows me to track their progress. // · // Their assignment grade does not contribute to their overall grade. // · // No zeros are counted in my class as a grade during formative or summative assignments, That is until the time for a report card, then the student will receive an “I” for incomplete. I may give half the points available if the student never replaces the “I.” This still reflects unsatisfactory work, but still allows for a more accurate representation of their overall grade, unlike a 0. // · // I do not give 0s. I give "incomplete"s. //

· // I do not give Zeros. I do not include Zeros in my grade book. Incomplete assignments are treated the same as late work, outlined above. // · // Students who fail Summative Assessments are allowed a re-take of the test/assessment piece. Their new retake score (if improved) shall not be credited any higher than the mean class grade for that test. If it is below their original failing grade, the first grade will be credited. // __ 3. Can students make up O work for reduced credit at any point? __ · // Not at any point...Ideally usually during the relevant time frame that the unit or that part of the unit content, is being, or just been covered. // · // Students can always retry to meet the standards on their own time after we have finished that section. There is no penalty for when it is done. The goal is for them to meet the standards. Other issues of responsibility and time management are not graded or counted as part of their grade. These are simply mentioned to parents and students in progress reports. // __ 4. Do and/or how do you issue "extra credit"? __ · // I don't. // · // Rarely – maybe an impromptu point(s) on a summative ass. to lighten up the atmosphere // · //I have included bonus questions on a quiz, but I will not do so again. It inflates grades. I would rather give enrichment assignments or allow the students to choose an enrichment opportunity.// · // I do not issue/give extra credit. // · // In many cases it is the student who does not study diligently/effectively or who does less well on formative pieces of work due to poor study habits/class behaviors, who seeks extra credit in some way. // __ 5. Do you keep the same policies and practices throughout the year or do they change throughout as students adjust throughout the year? __ · // I keep the same policies throughout year. //
 * · ****// I monitor and adjust my procedures as needed, but I try not to change anything major in terms of my expectations, unless it is to ratchet them up! //**
 * · ****// Same throughout for assessment – other policies regarding syllabus may change as needed //**
 * After collating the information, the following grid was developed to allow for us to finalize our belief in these areas.**


 * || **Grade 6** || **Grade 7** || **Grade 8** || **PE/Health** || **Global Language** || **__Proposed__ changes for**

|| Counts towards behavior. No reduced credit. || Some do, some do not. Some reduced credit. || Very mixed response. Generally accepted for reduced percentage per day. || Late work is accepted for 50% off. || Late work is accepted. Up to 15-20% off per day. || || Students are given an “I” for incomplete. || Zeros are averaged into grades. Zeros are given for formative and/or summative assessments. || Zeros are given for formative but not summative. || Rarely happens. If students fail to submit after student and parent reminders, then a zero is entered. || Zeros are given if not submitted after a week. Zeros for HW but not for assignments. || || The goal is for students to meet the standards. || Within a reasonable amount of time. || Yes they can by the end of a quarter. || Yes, up until the end of the quarter. || Most do not. || || ||
 * **1.** **How do you handle late work? Reduced credit? How much?** || Late work is accepted.
 * **2.** **Do you average in zeros? What about if it’s formative vs. summative?** || No 0’s are given.
 * **3.** **Can students make up zero work at any point?** || Not at any point, but within the relevant time frame.
 * **4.** **Do you or how do you issue extra credit?** || No. || For the most part, but the team is adaptable. || Not really. || No extra credit || Most teachers do not. ||
 * **5.** **Same policies and practice all year?** || Same year round. || Usually start easy and then get more stringent throughout the year. || They remain the same unless expectations become greater. || Easier at the beginning of the year until students understand and follow the expectations. || Easier at the beginning of the year until students understand and follow the expectations. || ||

**__ Other proposed items for discussion __**

Changing the weighting and categories for Formative and Summative assessments. Currently, the weighting is backwards. Proposed changes are as follows: · **__ Classroom participation is an expectation for all students __**, however a grade for this is too subjective, therefore it will not count towards grades. Class discussions and one-on-one questions, reflective journal writing are all forms of frequent formative assessments that help reveal work habits and learning. · ** Homework ** will count for grades in the **//Formative category//** **for 5%.** //Completing homework is an expectation// and any homework assigned will be relevant and formative in nature and not just busy work. Homework will be assigned a score of five points, with points being taken off daily until the deadline. Students can always earn a point for submission. An “I” for incomplete will be entered for homework submitted after the deadline. · ** Assignments ** are larger items that a student may work on at home and/or in class. It is counted in the **Formative category for 15%.** · ** Quizzes ** are formative in nature and will not count toward their grades. A score will be entered under the **Formative category, but weighted as zero.** Frequent, relevant feedback should be given early to make learning meaningful. · ** Summative assessments will count for 80%. ** Three to four summative assessments should be given each quarter. //Students do have the opportunity to re-take a summative assessment.// The goal is to provide students the opportunity to achieve the standards and benchmarks. __ Physical Education __ · Participation is objectively measured in Physical Education as students use Heart Rate Monitors. Participation and Attitude will continue to be weighted in one category. Students can earn 20 points per day with their time in zone, but can lose points for ‘Attitude’ related items (dressing out, lateness, effort (as related to attitude). · We are currently discussing the weighting for the **Participation & Attitude category**. Should PE students get to have classes three out of every four days, then, we think it should be weighted as **60%.** If PE classes happen two out of every four days, then it will be weighted at **70%** of the overall grade.  · Fitness is a major component of our program. Currently, fitness is assessed according to created fitness standards. It is weighted as **30 – 40%,** in the **Skills category** (Depending on the number of days that students have PE in the cycle during the year.)  · All other units will be assessed for skills, when relevant to do so. They will not count for grades; rather they will be assessed with a checklist according to curricular standards.