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Greetings Team! Thank you for a good morning of discussion, reflection, and action! The purpose of the session was to look at feedback as one of the most critical of all learning strategies, either in a positive or negative way. Please check out John Hattie's work on the subject of feedback at his "Visible Learning" website, https://visible-learning.org (Oh, by the way, check out the #1 learning strategy.)
For your online work this month, please read the following article and comment before Jan 14th and comment to one other post by Jan. 20.
When Grading Harms Student Learning
Instead of issuing zeros, penalizing late work, and grading formative assessments, teachers should make the classroom a place of hope instead of fear.
By Andrew Miller November 23, 2015
There are so many forces at work that make educators grade, and grade frequently. For sports eligibility, coaches constantly look at grades to see if a student is at an academic level that will allow him or her to play. Colleges review transcripts to examine what type of courses students took and their corresponding grades. Teachers must follow policy that demands them to enter a certain amount of grades every week, month, or marking period. There's no stopping it. However, we need to reflect upon policies and practices like this -- and possibly consider moderating them. Is grading the focus, or is learning the focus? Yes, grades should and can reflect student learning, but often they can get in the way and actually harm student learning.
The Dreaded Zero I used to give out zeros in the hopes that it would force students to do work and learn. This was a terrible idea! I'm so happy that I received the professional development and resources to challenge my thinking on how I was graded as a student. Myron Dueck notes that students need to care about consequences, and many students simply don't care about zeros. In fact, some of them will say, "Fine, I'll take the zero," which totally defeats the intended purpose and in fact destroys any leverage that I have to help students learn. Zeros do not reflect student learning. They reflect compliance. Instead of zeros, we should enter incompletes, and use these moments to correct behavioral errors and mistakes. Often, one zero can mathematically destroy a student's grade and pollute an overall metric that should reflect student learning. Here, grading is getting in the way of truly helping a student, as well as showing what that student really knows.
Points Off for Late Work I'm guilty of this one as well. Similar to using zeros, when students didn't turn in work on time, I threaten them with a deduction in points. Not only didn't this correct the behavior, but it also meant that behavioral issues were clouding the overall grade report. Instead of reflecting that students had learned, the grade served as an inaccurate reflection of the learning goal. Well, I certainly learned from this experience, and instead began using late work as a time to actually address the behavioral issue of turning in late work. It was a teachable moment. I had students reflect on what got in the way, apply their problem-solving skills to these issues, and set new goals. Students should learn the responsibility of turning in work on time, but not at the cost of a grade that doesn't actually represent learning.
Grading "Practice" Many of our assignments are "practice," assigned for students to build fluency and practice a content or skill. Students are often "coming to know" rather than truly knowing. Consequently, these assignments are formative assessments, reflecting a step in the learning process and not a final outcome or goal. Formative assessment should inform instruction. It should not be graded. If we assign a grade to failed practice, the overall grade won't reflect what they learned. It won't be a reflection of success, and it may even deter students from trying again and learning. Practice assignments and homework can be assessed, but they shouldn't be graded.
Grading Instead of Teaching As mentioned earlier, many teachers are required to enter grades on a frequent basis. While this policy may be well intended, in practice it can become a nightmare and run afoul to the intent. Districts and schools often call for frequent grades so that students, parents, and other stakeholders know what a child knows, and what he or she needs to learn next. This is a great intent. In fact, we should formatively assess our students and give everyone access to the "photo album" of learning rather than a single "snapshot." However, if we educators do nothing but grade, we rob ourselves of the time that we need to teach. We've all been in a situation where grading piles up, and so we put the class on a task to make time for grading. This is wrong, and it should be the other way around. Teaching and learning should take precedence over grading and entering grades into grade books. If educators are spending an inordinate amount of time grading rather than teaching and assessing students, then something needs to change.
Hope Our work as educators is providing hope to our students. If I use zeros, points off for late work, and the like as tools for compliance, I don't create hope. Instead, I create fear of failure and anxiety in learning. If we truly want our classrooms to be places for hope, then our grading practices must align with that mission. Luckily, standards-based grading, mastery-based grading, and competency-based learning are making strides in many schools, districts, and states. These methods more accurately align with the premise that "it's never too late to learn." If you want to learn more about equitable grading practices, read work by Ken O'Connor, Myron Dueck, Dylan Wiliam, and Rick Wormeli.
With that, I will leave you with an essential question to ponder: How can we grade and assess in a way that provides hope to all students?
Click and comment below.
Newbie/Veteran Observations:
Newbies: contact your Veteran partner for a classroom visit of a "feedback" protocol in action. The Itty Bitty Book has some very good feedback protocols for your consideration, but please contact your Veteran by Jan. 14 to set up the visit. All visits should be completed by Jan 31st. Please remember to use your Modern Learning Log for communication.
Veterans: please reach out to your Newbie partner if you do not hear from him/her. The Newbie should schedule a visit before Jan 31. In your observations, consider using these guiding questions to create conditions of meaningful feedback:
What evidences are present that students self-monitor/regulate in class?
How is the teacher using student feedback to adjust on-the-spot teaching?
Are students accepting feedback in a constructive manner?
How often within a period was formative assessment used?
See you in February!
For your online work this month, please read the following article and comment before Jan 14th and comment to one other post by Jan. 20.
When Grading Harms Student Learning
Instead of issuing zeros, penalizing late work, and grading formative assessments, teachers should make the classroom a place of hope instead of fear.
By Andrew Miller November 23, 2015
There are so many forces at work that make educators grade, and grade frequently. For sports eligibility, coaches constantly look at grades to see if a student is at an academic level that will allow him or her to play. Colleges review transcripts to examine what type of courses students took and their corresponding grades. Teachers must follow policy that demands them to enter a certain amount of grades every week, month, or marking period. There's no stopping it. However, we need to reflect upon policies and practices like this -- and possibly consider moderating them. Is grading the focus, or is learning the focus? Yes, grades should and can reflect student learning, but often they can get in the way and actually harm student learning.
The Dreaded Zero I used to give out zeros in the hopes that it would force students to do work and learn. This was a terrible idea! I'm so happy that I received the professional development and resources to challenge my thinking on how I was graded as a student. Myron Dueck notes that students need to care about consequences, and many students simply don't care about zeros. In fact, some of them will say, "Fine, I'll take the zero," which totally defeats the intended purpose and in fact destroys any leverage that I have to help students learn. Zeros do not reflect student learning. They reflect compliance. Instead of zeros, we should enter incompletes, and use these moments to correct behavioral errors and mistakes. Often, one zero can mathematically destroy a student's grade and pollute an overall metric that should reflect student learning. Here, grading is getting in the way of truly helping a student, as well as showing what that student really knows.
Points Off for Late Work I'm guilty of this one as well. Similar to using zeros, when students didn't turn in work on time, I threaten them with a deduction in points. Not only didn't this correct the behavior, but it also meant that behavioral issues were clouding the overall grade report. Instead of reflecting that students had learned, the grade served as an inaccurate reflection of the learning goal. Well, I certainly learned from this experience, and instead began using late work as a time to actually address the behavioral issue of turning in late work. It was a teachable moment. I had students reflect on what got in the way, apply their problem-solving skills to these issues, and set new goals. Students should learn the responsibility of turning in work on time, but not at the cost of a grade that doesn't actually represent learning.
Grading "Practice" Many of our assignments are "practice," assigned for students to build fluency and practice a content or skill. Students are often "coming to know" rather than truly knowing. Consequently, these assignments are formative assessments, reflecting a step in the learning process and not a final outcome or goal. Formative assessment should inform instruction. It should not be graded. If we assign a grade to failed practice, the overall grade won't reflect what they learned. It won't be a reflection of success, and it may even deter students from trying again and learning. Practice assignments and homework can be assessed, but they shouldn't be graded.
Grading Instead of Teaching As mentioned earlier, many teachers are required to enter grades on a frequent basis. While this policy may be well intended, in practice it can become a nightmare and run afoul to the intent. Districts and schools often call for frequent grades so that students, parents, and other stakeholders know what a child knows, and what he or she needs to learn next. This is a great intent. In fact, we should formatively assess our students and give everyone access to the "photo album" of learning rather than a single "snapshot." However, if we educators do nothing but grade, we rob ourselves of the time that we need to teach. We've all been in a situation where grading piles up, and so we put the class on a task to make time for grading. This is wrong, and it should be the other way around. Teaching and learning should take precedence over grading and entering grades into grade books. If educators are spending an inordinate amount of time grading rather than teaching and assessing students, then something needs to change.
Hope Our work as educators is providing hope to our students. If I use zeros, points off for late work, and the like as tools for compliance, I don't create hope. Instead, I create fear of failure and anxiety in learning. If we truly want our classrooms to be places for hope, then our grading practices must align with that mission. Luckily, standards-based grading, mastery-based grading, and competency-based learning are making strides in many schools, districts, and states. These methods more accurately align with the premise that "it's never too late to learn." If you want to learn more about equitable grading practices, read work by Ken O'Connor, Myron Dueck, Dylan Wiliam, and Rick Wormeli.
With that, I will leave you with an essential question to ponder: How can we grade and assess in a way that provides hope to all students?
Click and comment below.
Newbie/Veteran Observations:
Newbies: contact your Veteran partner for a classroom visit of a "feedback" protocol in action. The Itty Bitty Book has some very good feedback protocols for your consideration, but please contact your Veteran by Jan. 14 to set up the visit. All visits should be completed by Jan 31st. Please remember to use your Modern Learning Log for communication.
Veterans: please reach out to your Newbie partner if you do not hear from him/her. The Newbie should schedule a visit before Jan 31. In your observations, consider using these guiding questions to create conditions of meaningful feedback:
What evidences are present that students self-monitor/regulate in class?
How is the teacher using student feedback to adjust on-the-spot teaching?
Are students accepting feedback in a constructive manner?
How often within a period was formative assessment used?
See you in February!
Imagine if health inspectors gave restaurants grades in order to "provide hope for all owners"?
As long as nations rank state education systems, as long as states grade individual school achievement (NC Report Card), as long as universities bestow Latin honors, as long as academic scholarships are awarded, there will be grades. It will take a lot of snowflakes to create the avalanche needed to demolish these facets of American education.
Instead, I believe it creates an atmosphere of hopelessness. Most of my experience have not been with students fearful of their academic environment but rather apathetic about that environment and the work that has been assigned. Giving that work no value will not help create meaning but lessen its importance for the student even more. We do not do this with adults do we? Do I get paid when I do not show up to work repeatedly? Do I get credit for only doing half my job? Do I then get praised for such inaction? Miller says that learning something new should never be graded. I have known teachers who were learning their jobs assessed, and in some cases fired. Is this really a real-world approach to education? These academic theories have been around for some time. They are the foundation of such policies as not giving students lower than X on their report card in a given grading period, giving dubious curves on state tests where one student only gets 3 points and another 24 with absolutely NO explanation in sight, and using the 10 point scale to increase graduation rates and lessen class failures. If someone can show me this working consistently at a traditional school in North Carolina with common socioeconomic variables and improving national tests such as AP exams, SAT, and/or ACT scores - then I would definitely like to listen to more. Right now, those are the engines motoring colleges and universities. I have not seen that. In fact, as schools have used more of this, national scores in our state have grown very little – if at all. We remain near the bottom nationally. Many argue that many variables go into this deficit in academic growth, but I believe that this kind of thinking has been paramount in that decline and/or stagnation.
So, how does one create an environment where there is hope rather than fear? It needs to be a place where mutual respect for each other and each other's roles exists, AND a place where a grade has meaning beyond its numerical being. If I do nothing and have an A, then how on earth can that be special to me at all? If national test scores show little or no growth, then the practice has been a failure. Grades are measures of growth. When they improve with meaning, students have hope. I cannot think of any field where this kind of thinking has been given any plausible reinforcement. Not in sports, entertainment, business, higher education, politics, agriculture, and the list just goes on and on. To me this is some kind of educational socialism. Karl Marx wrote, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Where is the accountability, motivation, and dedication to strive, achieve, and better oneself when grades and tried and true work habits are minimalized to nothing more than mere carrots discarded with educational disdain and contempt? When the significance of grades is removed, so is the drive to excel. All that is left is a choking sea of apathy that encroaches further and further into the land of learning. Now, this does not mean that a teacher can NOT count a grade occasionally to reinforce some relevant learning in the classroom or take something late as well, but these should always be done at the discretion of the teacher when he or she thinks it is needed. They are always the experts in the educational process.
I would also like to add one further thought. Andrew Miller gives no conclusive evidence that any of these strategies work. I did look up some biographical info on him. He did teach in a comprehensive school at some time though that length of that tenure is never mentioned. He seems to have spent the better part of his educational career as an instructional coach and education consultant(not a classroom teacher). He tells us what he did and how it did not work but not how these newer strategies DO work. Where is the empirical evidence to back up what he is advocating? On one of the websites detailing his personal history, he mentioned how happy he was to learn these things in a professional development. I got the impression he was an instructional coach at the time of this pedagogical and philosophical transition. He also mentions some authors at the end that one might read to learn more about equitable grading measures. One, Myron Dueck, is Canadian and has never taught as a classroom teacher – as far as I can tell – in the United States. A very dubious resource if yo
What Ms. Merritt has stated goes along with our mission statement at CCECHS. We are to "... prepare students for their future by developing relationships, responsibility, and respect through relevant and rigorous coursework." Students will find little or no success in college or career if we focus on preparing the road for them instead of preparing them for the road ahead. Students need authentic feedback for actual work submitted. This is a tool for the teacher to motivate and emphasize that there are ups and downs but that there is always a way to improve oneself. At the same time, students need to know that the job of learning / progressing is not one that can be paused. If consistent effort is not put forth, the progress gained will become progress lost.
Fundamentally, in a perfect world, I agree with what he says, but I also live in the real world and this just isn't tenable.
I had a professor in college who would not give any grades. Everyone got an A. But you had to submit A-level work. If something was submitted that was not A-level, you redid it until it was A-level. I have even considered implementing this, but it is far too time consuming and pie-in-the-sky to successfully implement. If I didn't have to worry about proficiency and growth, maybe, but we do have to worry about those factors.
I don't like giving zeroes, but they are effective motivators with our population. This group is so grades-centered that it is an effective form of motivation. And I will work with students to bring them back up to speed on things and make sure they can recover, but there must be consequences for actions. You can only get so many "zeroes" at your workplace before your boss tells you to clean out your desk.
My research papers are both formative and summative in their nature. I have to score the formative parts because the process is as important as the product. I get what he's saying about not grading "practice," but, as someone who struggled in Math, the practice being scored was what kept me alive.
It's a tough one because we do want to create a culture of positivity and belief that students can achieve, but we can't allow perfection to become the enemy of the good. Some students just need to learn the all important words - "You lost. You failed. You get nothing." We learn so much more about ourselves from our failures than our successes, especially if those successes ring hollow.