CHAPTER 10: Practices that value knowledge, not environment or behavior (Cont.)
Look back at Tangela and Isabelin Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward
Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority?
Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
Post your answer to the questions above in the comment section here by clicking "Enter you comment" > choose "name/URL" in the drop down menu and add your name before typing your comment and clicking publish.
Comment on two peers' posts by clicking "reply" > choose "name/URL" in the drop down menu underneath their posts and add your name. Participants are required to comment on one " I notice...." and one " I wonder..." on two peers' reflections in each chapter.
Due. April 1, 2022
1. Look back at Tangela and Isabel Chapter 4. If summative assessments were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward?
ReplyDeleteIf summative assessments were the only element in the grade, Tangela would receive a 60% or a D and Isabel would receive a 95% or an A. The implication is that the grades received are an accurate representation of both of their knowledge and learning. Tangela may have completed the class activities and homework and participated in class but may not have understood the material enough. She is receiving the message that completing formative assessments is more important than understanding the material. Tangela and her caregivers might work harder to understand the formative assessments to prepare her for the summative assessments. Doing so would provide Tangela with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to excel because she now sees the benefit of failing, practicing, growing, and mastering important concepts.
For Isabel, the content being taught may be too easy for her and may be getting the message that we are not challenging her enough. Isabel and her caregivers might have conversations with the teacher to discuss how more challenging assignments can be provided so that she sees the value in completing the formative assessments. Doing so would provide Isabel with the support and resources needed to keep growing as a learner.
2. Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you – that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority?
The responses I received from my students are exactly the same as the ones the author mentioned where students copy because they don’t have time, they forgot to do it, and they don’t understand the assignments. Personally, I want students to do as much of the homework they can on their own and take the initiative to seek out help from a supportive classmate or myself when they need extra assistance. As a music teacher, I have found that many students understand the correlation between practicing in order to master essential musical skills that prepare them for a music performance. One concept I knew but forgot and relearned is that middle school students often struggle staying organized and remembering what to do. I will implement Google Sheet trackers so that students may monitor their progress on the various formative and summative assessments that they are working on such as a particular solo piece, an ensemble piece their peers are practicing or a musical piece they recently started composing.
They say that practice makes perfect! As an athlete, the more I practiced the better my skills developed. I noticed you shared about reasons students copy homework. Students either don't have time or won't make time to fulfill their academic responsibilities. I always wonder about a child's life after they leave school and how is it that there's an imbalance for most kids. Chores, athletics, family time or whatever else is prioritized over homework for some. For others, homework is not even a thought, caring less to do much if anything. I wonder how the truly motivated students do it, for they could be as busy as the others yet they get their homework done. Much is to be said of family support, parenting, strict rules at home, high expectations, and so forth.
DeleteI appreciate your thoughts.
Zach, I agree what you said. The student Tangela would need to work with her parents on the formatives. For the other student, she gets an A, but maybe needs to be challenged more. I like how you really read into each students lives and tried to figure out what is happening. I wondering, if in real life, there are many students like this that we are mismanaging?
DeleteHi Zach,
DeleteI noticed that your students felt very similar to what my students commented on why they copy homework. Time is always their issue when the leave campus. I totally agree with you about middle school students not being able to organize their lives. From their backpacks to keeping papers safe and beyond, they just have a lot going on. Thank you for sharing!
Zachary Morita
ReplyDelete3. Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
There are a couple of more experienced students in 8th grade who choose to post minimal
progress updates, however, are very independent learners and can still make sufficient progress
to do well on the summative assessment playing exams. From reading this chapter, I learned that
I have to keep reinforcing the idea that the formative assessments prepare students for their
summative assessments. As the teacher, I must ensure that I am providing my students with
appropriate musical material (e.g. warm-ups, exercises, pieces) that meet the needs of their
current skill levels but also provide them room for growth. I do have many younger students who
have struggled this year to gain the foundational musical skills just because they don’t have the
opportunity to use the actual instruments to learn. For example, because of social distancing
guidelines, some students will use the actual mallet instruments (e.g. xylophone, marimba
vibraphone) while others will be doing online note naming exercises. The time they use an actual
instrument is cut in half. These students are doing a lot of the formative work but struggling to
transfer it to the summative tasks. I will be more careful in selecting material that meets the needs
of each student while also taking into consideration the limitations of our learning environment.
Also, a xylophone is not an instrument that students have at home and is not easily transported
between school and home.
4. Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
At my school, we are not allowed to use percentages to weight the various grading components. However, I did an experiment where I made the weight of formatives as 80% and summatives as 20% and then vice versa. The weighing system with the summatives as 80% and the formatives as 20% more accurately described my students’ level of content mastery and content knowledge. I also learned that by making the summative assessments 100% of each student’s grade, it would be an even more accurate representation of what they know and can do. I will advocate to other colleagues to focus on using only summative assessments in grading calculations.
Hi Zachary! I noticed that you believe that Isabella might need to be challenged more. I agree with you on that assumption and believe that she seems to not see the value of homework when she already knows the concepts. This tends to be a common issue in classrooms since we tend to have to teach to middle of the road kids. Parents tend to consider the homework given to their child as "busy work" if they already know all the concepts. I use to believe this as well, especially since my own Kindergartener gets a lot of homework that she can already do. But I now realize that the work is for continued practice because if you don't use it, you lose it. I wonder if we changed the name of homework to "independent study for the test" or "practice for the test work" that parents and students would take it more seriously.
DeleteHi Zachary! I noticed that you believe that Isabella might need to be challenged more. I agree with you on that assumption and believe that she seems to not see the value of homework when she already knows the concepts. This tends to be a common issue in classrooms since we tend to have to teach to middle of the road kids. Parents tend to consider the homework given to their child as "busy work" if they already know all the concepts. I use to believe this as well, especially since my own Kindergartener gets a lot of homework that she can already do. But I now realize that the work is for continued practice because if you don't use it, you lose it. I wonder if we changed the name of homework to "independent study for the test" or "practice for the test work" that parents and students would take it more seriously.
ReplyDeletepart 1
ReplyDeleteLook back at Tangela and Isabelin Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward
Looking back at Chapter 4 and the situation with Tangela and Isabel, I can reflect on the following:
Summative Based: If a summative assessment were the only grade, each girl would receive 60% for Tangela and 95% for Isabelin.
Implications: The implications for Tangela would be that her understanding of the concepts would be shown in her final grade. The implications for Isabel would be that even with all her effort shown in group practice and homework, she still did not truly understand the concepts taught.
Message: The message with this grade we send to Tangela is that the most important part of class is understanding the concepts and showing in on your final assessment. The message we send to Isabel is that even with diligent work, understanding the concepts is going to be the most important part of the class.
Student Progress: It affects the thoughts of student progress for Tangela by letting the parents know that their child may not be challenged enough and that she does not need to complete the homework to understand the concepts of the class. It affects the thoughts of student progress for Isabel by letting the parents know that Isabel may need further help in understanding the core concepts of the class she is taking. A more direct approach to her truly knowing the content may need to be taken.
Future: In the future, Tangela might respond by asking her teacher for more challenging homework to stimulate her to complete it. In the future, Isabel might respond by asking for tutoring to make sure the content of the class is sinking in.
part 2
ReplyDeleteAsk students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority?
What I find most important to me is students complete homework on their own or ask for help from their parents or teachers. To communicate this priority, I need to change the fact that homework is graded. Homework should just be for practice and repetition for the students to get all the concepts understood and memorized.
Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
Looking back in a gradebook, I find that a few students have higher summative assessment scores than homework scores. When I look and focus on one student, I see that homework tends to be messy and or half done. The student tested well on summative assessments. This shows me that this student understands the core concepts taught and the homework is not a good representation of that student.
Looking back in a gradebook, I find that many students have higher homework scores than summative assessment scores. When I look and focus on one student, I see that completing proficiency in homework has not taught them all the core concepts they needed to do well on the summative test.
Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
As I teach preschool, I asked my son’s 3rd grade teacher if I could have a copy of the grades from one of their previous quarters. I noticed that if I lowered the weight for homework and participation, many students’ grades went up a whole percentage. I believe that summative assessments should way higher than homework or participation. In the end, we want the students to know the concepts we are teaching.
I notice that in the way you discuss Tangela and Isabel, you have empathy for Tangela, who has done well on homework and effort but struggles on assessment. This is something that also bothers me as well. Many of the ELL students fit this mold. They try very hard, they ask questions, yet they still struggle on the assessments. While I do agree that it is most helpful to give them the grade that reflects their understanding of the content, it still tugs on my heart strings to do so.
DeleteI wonder if these type of students would benefit from alternative style assessments in which they have choice. My concern with this is the difficulty in ensuring that these alternative assessments are equal in quality and assessing the standards.
Aloha Beth. I notice you plan to re-examine giving grades for homework. I also plan to reevaluate this teaching practice. It is nearly impossible to gauge if students are cheating at home. I fear most high school students use google translate and or screen shot images and share their work with peers. This is not an accurate form of grading. I wonder how we can encourage our students to apply the concepts we teach them at home without assigning homework.
DeleteHi Beth... I notice you share that homework should be for practice and making mistakes and that you want to emphasize this with students more to prevent them from cheating. I wonder if part of the struggle is not that the students fear failure but that they just want to complete the assignment quicker. If this is the case, I'm not sure if any conversation about failing would have an impact. I believe that it is the teacher's responsibility to create a personalized learning environment that doesn't allow for cheating to occur. For example in a music class, when a student has a performance assessment, it is impossible for them to copy their classmate. They are required to put in the time to practice their musical piece to achieve the results they want.
DeleteDear Jessica, I noticed your student did really well in participation in preschool. I am wondering if at that age, if we should give grades at all. I think in preschool, there are learning skills, but more social, behavioral norms that are more important that academics at that age?
DeleteLook back at Tangela and Isabelin Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward?
ReplyDeleteIf summative assessments were 100% of what each student’s grade is based on, their grades would be based on what they know and are able to do. We are sending the message that grades will represent your academic abilities and that learning the standards are important. For students on grade level or above, they would continue to be successful and earn the grades they were striving for, but I worry about the students below grade level. I want to believe that all students can meet the grade level standards with the right differentiation and support, but I am not sure. I have had students who are reading at the 1st and 2nd grade levels as 8th graders and struggle every day to grasp the standards. Some have worked really hard and grown a ton, but are still failing short of the grade level standards, so do these students fail? This type of grading would allow families a window into where their child truly is academically and everyone involved could make more informed decisions to see continued progress.
Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority?
The way I see it is that all classwork and homework assignments are part of the learning plan. These are opportunities for students to learn and practice the content. I have used grade trackers, reflections and learning logos to help students see the connection between assignments, assessments, and their final grade.
Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
ReplyDeleteI looked back at a gradebook from a few years ago when I was teaching social studies because my grading system included classwork & homework 30% and 70% for summative assessments. My current grading system is different. For the majority of my students their classwork/homework & summative grades were very similar, so what they were learning along the way translated to what they were able to do or knew at the end of a unit of study. I did have a handful of students who did better on the classwork/homework than the assessment. I wonder if these students struggled with test taking anxiety? They were my very hard working students, but were lacking some skills. I also had a few students that had higher scores on assessment than their classwork/homework assignments. All of these students had very difficult home situations. So for the majority, including classwork and homework in the grading system did not have a huge impact on the final grade, but for a handful it had either a positive or negative impact.
Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
When playing around with the percentages making summative assessments 100% of the grade lowers some students overall grade and increases other students overall grade. The question I am grappling with is what are the purpose of grades? If the answer is content mastery then it seems that basing grades on summative assessments makes sense. Seems simple, but it is way more complicated than just changing the percentages in your gradebook. Teachers must have a deep understanding of the standards and be able to translate this into strong instruction and well built differentiated assessments which is easier said than done. At the secondary level, for math & language arts, assessments are built into the curriculum, so teachers have something to work with. For science and social studies many times teachers are developing assessments on their own for the most part.
I notice that you are seeing a direct example of what the book was mentioning in that your students who have difficult home lives are the same ones who have lower homework scores but still may do well on the assessments, proving they have learned. I think this is good validation for reducing the amount that homework is worth.
DeleteI also agree that teachers need to have a deep understanding of the standards and how to assess them in order to make sure that the grades are reflective of whether the students have met those standards. I believe there is not enough support in schools aiding teachers in fully understanding and creating those assessments. I wonder what those supports would look like in implementation.
I noticed straight away your comment about the purpose of grades and content mastery. I also struggle with the way my teacher colleagues grade; many factors are involved and overcomplicates the way we are currently doing it =(. Yet, together, we collaborate to do better.
DeleteI wonder, however, for teachers who struggle with implementing strong instruction, where their grading practices truly come from if not reliant on their content. Perhaps their lessons consist of less rigorous activities therefore rendering less than ideal outcomes. The ripple effect continues: unprepared teacher, lack luster curriculum, low expectations and mediocre results. This is always a work in progress and thank you for sharing.
Christine, I noticed that you saw a big change when weighting summatives 100% in your gradebook. I agree that the fundamental question that must be answered is "What is the purpose?" If the purpose of grades is to be a reflection of content mastery, then yes, it is absolutely possible to make summative assessments 100% of what counts. If the purpose of grades is to help determine scholarships or admission, in order to fairly compare students, a national, even international, consensus would need to be determined, which though hopeful is near impossible.
Delete1. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, from Chapter 4, Isabel would have an A, and Tangela would have a D. It would send the message that Isabel is doing well and Tangela is struggling. We would likely see Isabel continue to operate the way she has been doing, and Tangela would most likely reach out to see if she can improve her grade through retakes or other types of work. That would be the most ideal scenario for Tangela. Hopefully she wouldn't give up and assume she will never understand, but that is unlikely.
ReplyDelete2. My students copy homework because they either forgot to do it, or they were busy doing an after school activity, work, or working at home on other homework. For me it is more important that they try the homework themselves, not copy, so I am definitely on board with taking out the homework grade. I do believe that it needs to be verbally explained and constantly connected how the homework completing and practice will ultimately impact how well they understand the material. I do wonder how the authors of this book feel about homework at all, or whether they are on the camp of classwork only. Most of the time I allow students to start their homework in class for the last 10-15 minutes with the expectation that they will finish most of it in class. I do like this method because it takes out the need for students to have a place to study, and a calm environment at home in order for them to focus because they have that in the classroom.
3. I actually did this for quarter 3. I had stopped adding in many homework grades, although I did still have some labs and classwork, I made sure that their final grade very closely reflected their assessment grade, and it seemed to work out well. I liked it because it seemed to be a more accurate reflection of where they stand with the actual material. The only problem I ran into was giving 50% for students who had missing assignments, some of these students never took a couple of the assessments due to absences, so it is hard to really determine their level of understanding for those subjects.
4. My alteration to the way I input grades has done this already. By adding in less homework grades I got their final grades to pretty much match their assessment grades. I believe this is a more accurate depiction of their understanding of the material.
Jessica,
DeleteI noticed that you said you had a few students not complete assessments due to absences, so it was hard to determine their level of understanding for those subjects. I am wondering if in these cases if there was no time for students to make up these assessments if we could use formative assessment data to determine the students understanding. Would this be more accurate then just giving a 50% due to missing the assessment?
I noticed you mentioned providing class time for students to start and possibly complete their homework as a positive gesture. I like how you referred to the classroom as a calm environment and a place to study. This is definitely true as some student populations have less than optimal environments to study in at home; the school in these cases would be the best place for learning. I wonder what can be done to provide homework time in school, without taking away class time to do so. Thank you for sharing!
DeleteHi Jessica,
DeleteI noticed that your students copy because of time issues or absentmindedness. Most of my students fall into these categories for why they copy other’s work. I have difficulty assigning homework at all because many of my students have a huge load from all of their other classes. I also give my students class time to complete all of their tasks and if they run out of time they can take it home. Most of my students will finish it in class because they know they will not do it once they leave. I also wonder how the authors of our text view homework. Do most of your students complete their assignments before they leave class? For those who do not finish, do you find that they are good about bringing their work back? Thank you for sharing! :)
Aloha,
DeleteI noticed that you too had mentioned that students will not complete assignments and turn to cheating because of the busy schedules that occur in their lives. There are many factors outside that prevent them from completing assignments. We just have to take in these events as things to consider when assessing students.
Hi Christine. I notice you and I agree we need to continue assigning homework assessments. Students must practice the content outside of the classroom. If we do not assign any homework, the likelihood of them discussing or practicing our subject is very slim. I also provide students some class time to begin their homework. I circulate around the classroom and support those who are struggling. Most are able to complete the work at home and on-time. I wonder how students feel about completing homework in all 7 classes, after practicing sports, working, family time, dinner, etc. I think our high school students are completely overwhelmed with activities that have nothing to do with academics. Perhaps we need to consider this and figure out a better way to manage their needs.
ReplyDeleteLook back at Tangela and Isabelin Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward
ReplyDeleteIf summative assessment were the only factor in the grades for both students, Tangela would have earned a D, 60% and Isabelin an A, 95%. Their grades imply Isabelin would have successfully understood the course material, whereas Tangela did not fully comprehend the content. If teachers and caregivers of each student took the time to carefully evaluate each student’s progress, performance, and environmental influences, they would have a clearer picture of why each earned the A or D grade. Students may shut down and try even less when they earn a D. Students who earn an A tend to keep working just as hard to maintain their A grade.
Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority?
I actually had a fun conversation with students in my period 7 regarding cheating and copying work. The daily agenda stated, “fotocopia” for a worksheet/comprehension assessment following direct instruction. Oddly enough, I witnessed one student grab another student’s paper and begin copying right in front of me during class time. I asked the student why they were copying and her response was a classic, “Well, it says fotocopia, so that means we copy, right?” We all laughed and then I paused the rest of my students and asked them why in certain circumstances they choose to copy. The majority of responses were because they are lazy and or simply do not understand a few of the translation words. It is more important for students to do their own work in order to accurately prove what they understand or still need to learn. Students should have a clear understanding from the first day of class that cheating is inappropriate and not tolerated for any point value. I plan to clearly state these words on my course syllabus next school year.
I noticed you purposefully assigned a worksheet that prompted students to copy. I love it! Actually, I appreciate you sharing your story because I feel the best way to educate students about “copying” is to just talk and teach them about it. I wonder what would happen if we just gave our students the same textbook we’re reading? Sometimes it’s ok to just be blunt about what we’re trying to teach instead of beating around the bush to get to the same outcome. Thank you again for your insights!
DeleteHi Melissa,
DeleteI noticed you had a discussion with your students about why they feel the need to copy others and they said that they were “lazy” or didn’t understand some of the material. How do you encourage your students to complete assignments on their own? I wonder how many of your students are actually “lazy” or they do not see the significance of the work and why they need to do it for themselves. I find that some of my students play the “lazy” card but most times it is something else that is stopping them from doing their own work. Thanks for sharing! :)
Hi Melissa.. I notice that you shared about how you will more clearly state how cheating is inappropriate in your course syllabus. I wonder if teachers could change the narrative around this topic and look at how we can create assessments where students are not able to cheat. For example, as a music teacher, instead of giving note naming assignments where students could just copy their friends, I have students create their own compositions and then name the notes. No two compositions are the same so there is no way that a student could copy off of their classmate.
DeleteLook at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
ReplyDeleteSome students perform better on class assignments and homework practice compared to exams simply because they get nervous or forget to study prior to taking an exam. I find when students study prior to taking an exam, they perform better. If a student proves they understand the material, I suppose it really does not matter a great deal if they complete the homework. Some of my students with 504/IEP plans do need extra time on both homework and exams, therefore having the extra practice in class with the teacher’s guidance can be valuable. I truly want my students to use the Spanish language outside of the classroom. Most will not speak, read, write, or practice Spanish at home, unless there is a task to do. Personally it is just as important for students to try their best on all tasks and assessments in order to acquire necessary second language skills.
Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
I do not give grades for participation therefore there is not really anything to change. I have never used the weighted grading scale in Infinite Campus. Instead, all classwork assignments are worth less points than exams and projects. Summative assessments which include presentations and that the student is capable of sitting down with me at the end of the school year and have a 5 minute comprehensive spanish-only conversation proves their knowledge.
I too had a hard time relating to this questions as I don't know use the weighted grading scale in my grading. I too also do not use homework scores as part of their final grades. Assessments, it could be end of the lesson tests or quizzes, I feel help me to see know what students' understand of what is being taught or what they know about a subject.
DeleteAloha, Melissa, I noticed that you mentioned how students get nervous before an exam, and that's a great point! There are so many factors involved in summative performance beyond just whether students completed classwork and formative assignments, although in a perfect world there would be a perfect correlation! The book asked if a student completed their homework but did poorly on the summative, what does that suggest about whether homework served its purpose, and I completely agree with you that they aren't always a 1:1 translation. Sleep, family situations, outside extracurriculars, support from outside, effort, nerves, so many things play into their summative scores! But that is also why the book advocates for redo's since we don't want just a snapshot of their learning or their mood on that one day, we really want to give them time to demonstrate their learning.
DeleteMelissa,
ReplyDeleteI notice that you don't use the weighing system in IC and instead use a point systems. I am wondering if you have an equal amount of points for each standard broken up by classwork/homework & assessments. Creating a grading system that is simple, transparent, accurate and designed with purpose is complicated. I have lots of thinking to do.
Tangela and Isabelin are students that perform differently in the varying categories on a traditional graded report; homework, tests and projects, class activities, and participation. The text referred to Tangela as “The Teacher’s Dream” due to her effort and participation in performing as a “good” student, whereas Isabelin is referred to as “The Teacher’s Nightmare” due to her behavior and disobedience in class. If grades were solely based on summative assessments, Tangela would receive a 60% and Isabelin would receive a 90%, which is opposite of their efforts in class. The bottom line is grades are based on what a student knows at the end of the day, not what growth the student has made. It may seem unfair to Tangela as her efforts are not counted in the final grade, but the reality is, school is for learning content, which is what reflects in the final end grade. As caregivers might be appalled by the final grade that Tangela receives, the message should be unbiased, should not include environmental settings of students’ homelife, participation, etc. The grade should be based on hard evidence that paints a clear black and white boundary.
ReplyDeleteThe reasons for copied homework vary from availability after school, support from home, understanding and learning the content during class, and laziness. I’ve always believed that homework is practice, and practice equates to proper learning. Homework has never been a part of my final grades in the majority of years I’ve been teaching. I’ve always preached to my students and parents that homework is practice and is expected of them to promote responsibility, and not as a part of the grade. I communicate my expectations with families from the beginning of the school year with a sensical explanation of “why”. The feedback, I believe, has been positive in the relationship I have had with my students and is a part of the connections I’ve made with my students when it comes to encouraging grit, a can-do attitude, and the never give up/always try your best philosophy.
In my experience, grading is based on summative assessments and the students’ ability to portray consistent understanding of the content. The bottom line is, I do not include formative assessments in my final grades as it represents the students’ learning progress that includes their mistakes along the way. The summative assessments, tested in diverse ways, is the attempt my students’ have to prove their understanding. Now, depending on the type of assessment, say for example, a multiplication fluency assessment, I won’t just give one final assessment to prove their mastery, but I’ll possibly give the students up to 3 similar assessments to ensure their understanding of the content. Homework is assigned as practice for the students, and a way to formatively guide future instruction for the teacher.
Weighing categories allows for a precise mathematical outcome, but is not precise in evaluating student understanding. If I were to include participation and homework into the final grades, it will definitely skew the portrayal of a students’ understanding. The only mathematical formula would be to evaluate their final attempt, or couple attempts at mastering the skill. It should never include the work and mistakes and errors done along the way to assessing the final content.
Aloha Matthew, I noticed that you said you've "always preached to [your] students and parents that homework is practice and is expected of them to promote responsibility"--I love that! It sounds like your school is already standards based, as is our school, however, I find that a lot of students still have the traditional method in their minds, even though they're only middle schoolers, and I think it also comes from their parents because they grew up with traditional grades. Parents have a hard time understanding that classwork doesn't factor in to their quarterly grade, but I love how you explain it to both parents and students, and I think that is something I'd like to incorporate into future open houses. Do you feel like families at your school understand the standards based grading system? Even though I'm an 8th grade teacher and most families have been at our school for 2 years by the time they get to me, I still field a lot of questions about how scoring and grading works!
Delete1)Tangela would receive a D, 60%, and Isabel would receive an A, 90%, if the summative assessment were the only element in the grade. This implies that although Tangela demonstrates effort, she is not meeting the standards whereas Isabel’s score demonstrates that she does understand the standards. The message we are sending is an accurate account of their knowledge of the material and not their behavior when receiving the material. I think this would definitely concern Tangela’s guardians and herself. Hopefully, it will signal that Tangela needs more support in this area and she can get the help she needs to meet the standards. Isabel might dee that she is capable and try even harder. If supported correctly, Tangela would feel that she needs assistance and work on her skills.
ReplyDelete2)I have asked my students about why they copy homework or do not complete it on time and most of them say they have busy lives outside of school. Many of my students take care of younger siblings, play sports, and work other jobs. Time seems to be the biggest factor as to why students copy homework or just don’t do it at all. I would like my students to do as much as they can by themselves so we can understand what needs to be reviewed in class. I think students are worried about their homework grades and want to get points rather than understand the material. It would be beneficial for homework to not be graded. Students should see it as an opportunity to practice and make mistakes.
3)I do not assign homework in my class because most of my students have explained that they do not have the time. I looked at my colleagues' gradebook to see how students who scored high on summatives did on their scores for homework. Most students who score high on their summatives do have high scores on their homework, but there are some that have higher summative scores than homework scores. These students seem to have either not turned in their homework or turned in the bare minimum. If the student had already learned the material, homework might be unnecessary, but it is a good way for everyone to get extra practice in and hone their skills. For students who have the reversed situation, low summative scores, high homework scores, it is clear that homework is not helping the students succeed. The students with low summative scores but high homework scores were able to get extra help from peers or copy. If students are struggling with the summative assessment, homework did not serve its purpose of honing student skills.
4) Final grades under the weighing system that relies on summative scores rather than homework and participation describe students’ level of content mastery more accurately. It is less accurate when homework grades and participation grades are weighed heavily. These grades do not demonstrate the students skill level in specific content standards. I can see that it is important to really focus on the summative assessments when assigning grades. I understand that I can get a better account of students’ strengths and weaknesses if summative assessments reflected the students’ grades. I used to have homework and participation weighed, but now I understand that it does not help me get an accurate account of what my students can accomplish.
Hi J! I noticed that you believe that weighing grades, the more equitable way is to just grade the summative scores. This then shows if a student really understands the concepts taught. I believe you are correct in saying this and I am also changing my grading based on the teachings from the book. I wonder if we can someway still give incentives for homework completed since homework is hopefully supporting the learning happening in the classroom and just solidifying the information into their longterm memory. I know my child's kindergarten class receives more homework than my 3rd grade son's class. This is for the repetition of work to support memorization of information. Kindergarteners have so much to memorize and I think homework plays a big role in having the parents understand what their child is learning.
DeleteHi J,
DeleteI noticed that you mentioned that many kids are in charge of taking care of their younger siblings and have other responsibilities. Similar to my students they seemed to have gotten more responsibilities since Covid. I also say that you mentioned that students would benefit from homework not being graded. I also agree with you, that it shouldn't be added into the grading scale. Instead of adding the homework grades I tend to grade students heavily with the GLOs. Thanks for sharing!
If summative assessments were the only element in the grade, Tangela would fare a ‘D’ grade and an ‘A’ for Isabel. This’ll shed light on how each child progresses - but would it send the accurate picture of each child’s actual abilities and potential? Isabel would continue this way if grading changes aren’t made and Tangela is left to prove her worth over and over again.
ReplyDeleteLately, I get a lot of shoulder shrugs when students are asked about completing homework. In this day and age, pandemic or otherwise, plenty of extracurricular activities take precedence over homework. I’d prefer students not to copy homework but our students are also encouraged to participate in after school tutoring and Final Fridays where our students are given the period to complete missing work, engage in homework, finish projects or assessments, and work on upcoming assignments. I encourage open communication and that there is no shame in asking for more time to finish an assignment. However, many students are embarrassed to admit that they don’t know what to do. We teach with plenty of application practice which I hope students can develop their skill with that as well.
In this case, I offer summatives in two parts. Part one is done with much guidance and practice in hopes to develop my students' content and soft skills as well. With part two of the summative, there is a culminating portion that rests on its own laurels and doesn’t affect a child’s 'part one' grade at all nor does it sway the overall grade as much necessarily. The bulk of standards-based curriculum was placed in 'part one' of the summatives coupled with teacher strategies that well supports students' demonstration of content standards. What I have found is that time allowance, well-planned curriculum mapping and implementation is hard to balance but proves useful in assessing all of my students. I just do my best and am still running into problems that present themselves often.
For this one, I placed a larger emphasis on summative assessments and it proved to work. Students’ final grades were a true reflection of their assessment grade results. I’ve been trying to work this way for some time now and have been collaborating with a colleague on this. It is refreshing to know that we are moving towards student accuracy of content knowledge. I believe it shares a clearer picture of how each child functions in our English class and that we can expect the same kind of application of their skills in other content areas too.
Looking back at Tangela and Isabel and if summative assessments were the only element in the grade, Tangela would be getting a “DP” grade and Isabel would be getting an “MP” grade. Even thought Tangela is the “The teacher’s dream” student she is obviously struggling with what she is learning. If we were to only grade her on her assessment she might just give up even after working hard. The opposite would be taken for Isabel. Are there other types of assessments or ways we can assess to help each child show what they really know?
DeleteThe main reason I asked students that I asked about not completing homework is and has always been time. They mentioned that they are so busy after school with errands, extracurricular or other activities that occupy their time after school. I have always tried to assign homework at its minimum because I have always believed that family time is very important. I usually assign a page of work that we worked on that day this is merely extra practice. I don’t use any homework for the students’ grades.
Unfortunately I don’t have any grades for homework. I merely have a checklist of completion of homework assignments or not. I only help students with homework who had a challenge as it is another indicator for me that the students did not understand the day’s concept that we covered. I weigh heavily on students’ performance at the end of the lesson. Short quizzes or lesson quizzes help me to understand what the students know.
When the weight of a students’ final grade heavily accounts for participation and homework an accurate picture of students' knowledge will be taken. Giving students the opportunity to show what they know with use of appropriate assessments and giving them opportunities to show what they know would more accurately assess the students’ understanding of the content.
Part 1
ReplyDelete1.Looking back at chapter 4, if summative assessment were the only element in their grade, Tangela would have earned a D (60%), while Isabel would have earned an A (90%). This would likely frustrate Tangela, who tries really hard and participates, and is diligent to complete her work. It would possibly encourage her to learn how to study better or possibly to get help on her summatives if possible. Isabel would likely continue her trajectory, but may have a better attitude coming in to class, and may therefore be more likely to participate and enjoy the class overall. For their caregivers, it would send a message saying that Tangela may need extra support, or there may be something else going on cognitively, and trigger that she may need to be tested, while Isabel is actually really quick to learn.
2. Students copy because they don’t understand the assignment, they may get zeroes for late work, they don't have enough time (extracurriculars, family time), they forgot to do it, or they just don’t want to get in trouble with their teachers or their parents and wanted to turn something in (teachers contact home for lots of missing work). I would rather students complete the homework as much as possible–I always tell them that turning in something is better than turning in nothing, because then at least I can see what they understand. There are no homework points at our school (as far as I’m aware) since we are standards based, but students still try to copy because the formatives bump up their grade if they’re borderline between an A/B or B/C.
Aloha Jennifer- I noticed that you mentioned several reasons why students copy and all the students I spoke with had to agree with every single one of them. Several students mentioned in my classes that the only class they feel that they do their homework for to really practice a skill is in math. And even then, some of them take turns with their classmates and copy each otherʻs work, like one kid does evens and one does odds. I wonder what we can do to get students to realize that homework is really to prepare them to understand the material and do well on a summative assessment, not just to get points.
DeleteJennifer, I noticed that you acknowledge that many times students do not tend to their homework due to circumstances beyond their control. Like you, I would rather the students complete the work rather than trying to copy for correctness so that we have the information we need to help them. I liked how the book encouraged us to build into the school day the time and support the students who are unable to complete the homework may need, however I wonder how practical that is to structure...
DeletePart 2/2
ReplyDelete3. Overall, when looking at my gradebook and comparing summative assessment to homework scores, students who complete the formatives diligently are more likely to perform well on the summative, whereas students with spotty formative work are more likely to not do as well.
I do have one student who did not complete most of the formatives, and he still earned a B on his summative, demonstrating he still learned even though he didn't turn in his work (assuming the summative accurately matches the formative learning). Failing to turn in his classwork did not affect his overall grade, as we use standards based grading.
There are two students who completed most of the formative work, demonstrated some competency (medium to high marks) and still earned low scores on their summatives, however. For both of these students, their summatives were turned in incomplete, and for one of these students, I know full well that he has a private tutor who helps him with his assignments, so when it comes to working on a summative in class or on his own, he is less likely to perform well. I agree that completing the formatives allows students to practice and learn, and they are set up to help them on their summatives, however, most of the summative was done outside of class since we offered a variety of ways to show their learning (painting, song, dance, sculpture, book, poster, etc), and these two students did not complete it. Looking back, it could be an equity issue since I know both students do compete in sports and may have had less time, however, they were allowed to turn in late work as well, and they did not choose to finish it–the parts they turned in were completed during class. Typically, if students don’t perform well on the summative but do complete all the formatives well, there may be a couple things that have happened–one, the formatives don’t align well with the summative, or two, there may be outside underlying factors at play (like lack of time, or family problems, or family trip).
4. I am unable to print out a gradebook with changed percentage weights, and compare weighting formatives vs. summatives because we use standards based grading, so we don’t use percentages or weighting. We would hope that our final grades do accurately reflect their learning for that reason, however, we do see through this course that there are still ways to be biased in our grading, and the kind of summative assessments we provide can also lend themselves to inequity. My last summative, for instance, gave students a lot of choice in how to represent their learning (poster, painting, sculpture, poem, storybook, etc), but because it was so varied, we couldn’t support the entire process in the classroom, so we only offered a few work days in class, and therefore if students didn’t have time outside of school, they were at a disadvantage (which I see now). I certainly agree, however, with not including classwork and homework in their overall grade, as I do see it generally demonstrates their knowledge and understanding, as long as they complete the summative.
Aloha Jennifer- I noticed that you said that for your last summative you gave students varied options and choice in how to represent their learning. I have been working on giving students a voice and a choice in how to demonstrate learning. I wonder what can be done to give more student voice and choice in demonstrating mastery of content.
DeleteLook back at Tangela and Isabelin Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward
ReplyDeleteTangela would have earned a D (60%), while Isabel would have earned an A (90%) The implications in this type of grading is that the bias and inequity would show in the final grade. This type of grading could send a conflicting message to each student when they compare their effort and product in daily class and homework with their summative assessment. This may alter their view of homework and formative assessments, one student may feel the need to improve and complete their daily work to help with their summative assessment score, and one student may feel that the daily work is unnecessary as long as they get a good grade on the summative.
Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority? Students I interviewed had a variety of responses about why they copy homework and what gets in the way. Some said they were just so busy with all the work given by teachers from each class and their extracurriculars, they just had too much to keep up. Others said they just donÊ»t allot enough time and are cramming before it is due. For me, it is more important for students to be present in class learning new material and practicing. I do not assign homework so there are no points in my gradebook for homework.
Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose? I do not assign homework therefore I do not include homework points in my gradebook.
Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments? I do not assign homework therefore I do not include homework points in my gradebook.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteLook back at Tangela and Isabelin Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward
ReplyDeleteIf scores were based only on summatives, Isabelin would score an A and Tangela a D. This implies that grades are based on what you learned and if you can show it. No longer are participation or behaviors going to affect your final score. To Isabelin, it will reinforce her to keep learning and doing her best. Her caregiver might think, okay Isabelin might mouth off, but I know she is doing her job at school! She is getting good grades and needs to learn people skills Tangela would actually have to ask herself, what am I not getting or understanding? What concepts am I learning? Her parents would have to look at what skills or concepts is being taught and why/how she is not mastering them. For Isabelin, she might not change much, because she has proven to get good scores on her summative. For Isabelin, she might have to work on her formatives and ask the teacher for help.
Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority?
To me, I would like students just to do the work, and not copy. I am an art teacher, and I do not give homework. But I do give drawing assignments, warm ups, bell work. To me students must engage themselves and show effort. To help communicate this priority, we have to explain to students that this homework is going to help you with this. So in art, we might practice 1pt. Perspective drawing. If we practice perspective drawing in small chunks, when we do our summative, they would have the practice of using a vanishing point. Students have to see how you will make their art better.
Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
ReplyDeleteMy gradebook only has summative scores. All formative scores are recorded on the work itself, like a sketchbook. To me, as long as the student is learning the material, and can prove they can do it, they have mastered it. It is like doing math multiplication problems for example. After practicing counting by 5, a student can then prove they know the content on the test. They will not have to do 35 math problems for homework, although it is good practice. To answer the question, homework is to support what you are teaching, if the kids do it or not should not be counted against them. However, homework should reinforce your teaching goals. By doing homework, students need to see how it will impact their summatives. If homework scores are high, but summative scores are low, then it was not homework. It was busy work and we wasted the students' time. The teacher should reevaluate if homework is necessary.
Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
The weighting system that best reflects a student's level of mastery is when summative assessments are used. That is what my current school has us do. We are an internationally recognized school, so it is my belief that when we grade this way, only learning is judged. There are no scores for homework or participation. To grade formative works, we give them marks, a Plus, Check, or Triangle. They represent exceeds, meets, and not meets requirements. But these marks do not affect the student grade one way or another. The only thing that we look at is the summative scores. The summative work should set up where students can demonstrate their learning and understanding in various ways.
I noticed that your school internationally recognized school, yay, and that the grading style is for the whole school! Which is a great show across the board that all the teachers are grading the same style and hitting all three pillars in the book. *finger snaps*
DeleteI wonder if there's a training that new teachers receive when being hired at your school about grading for each subject? Your explanation of your schools grading, especially the 'plus, check, triangle' are great tools to check progress without giving negative feedback to a students learning. Great share, Jeff Tam.
Val Shindo-Uehira
DeleteHi Jeff -
I really liked your response to the 2nd question. Until recently, I included homework scores also with the assessment scores in my grades. However, after reading the chapter on homework, I will be making some changes next school year. I totally agree with you about the busywork - classwork and homework should be relevant and should support student learning. If summative scores are low then, like you mentioned, we need to reevaluate the work that we are assigning.
1) If summative assessments were the only thing that was graded, Tangela would receive a DP and Isabella would receive an MP. Implications of these grades is that even though Tangela did her homework and participated in class, she could have just not performed well on the assessment. Tangela may have not developed an understanding throughout the lessons to ensure that she understood the content. Isabella would most likely continue to work the way that she has been for the remainder of the year.
ReplyDelete2) When asking my students about why they copy homework, most responded that they have difficulty doing work at home. Many of them complain of having extra responsibilities at home like taking care of their siblings or being involved with extracurricular activities. By the time they get back to school and remember that they didn’t do the work, they take the easy way out and copy the work so that they don’t get an email notification of missing assignments sent to their parents. I constantly remind them that the reason they have independent practice time (homework) is to practice the skills so that by the time they have an assessment they will be able to show proficiency on their own. However, most kids out of desperation will end up copying because they end up falling behind. In my classroom I try to give at least 10 minutes per period to allow students to work on their homework. I also try to give them a solid 10-15 minutes at the end of the day of quiet homework time so that the majority of them get their homework done before they leave my classroom. I have seen an improvement in cheating and not being able to complete assignments on time.
3) Taking a look at my current grade book, I usually do not put an emphasis on homework compared to their assessment grades. I do have “Check on learning” assessments and “Exit Slips” that students complete as the lesson is in progress. Students receive direct feedback and we go over corrections that students usually get incorrect. I have found that with the exit slips students who were on the cusp of consistently not meeting the learning goals, some are able to improve by the assessment. Students who consistently complete homework progress do well because they are continuing their practice with the skills.
4) I don’t really give participation or homework grades so I don’t really have to change much of my weighing. The exit slips were something that I consistently implemented at the end of 3rd quarter and will be continuing during this final quarter. I believe that this provides students with a short assessment on the skill that they are working on and I get to give feedback and work with a small group on their progress before the assessments. I think this also puts more concentration on meeting proficiency of the standards and the skills rather than the pressure of participation and homework focus that other classrooms may do.
I noticed that you give 10 minutes before class for your students to work on homework and 10 - 15 minutes before the end of the day to work on it. That's very considerate of you, because it allows you that time to check for their understanding while you're there.
DeleteI wonder if students stay after school and continue to work with you pass the 15 minutes? Are you offering tutoring time? Or do you designate time between each subject for students to work on their class/homework? Because you don't give a grade for homework, could the first ten minutes of class be used for students working together on their homework? Food for thought.
Aloha Krystin! I noticed that you give direct feedback to students as you go over corrections, which I believe should really come hand in hand in every assessment that we give to students either formative or summative assessments in order to correct misperceptions and would help them know in what specific aspect of the lesson they need to improve on. I also noticed that you are giving your students Exit slips. I just wonder, do you provide Exit Slips that are mirrored to your summative assessments? Mahalo for your insights!
DeletePart I:
ReplyDelete1) What I learned from Chapter 10 has confirmed what I learned during my years of teaching and grading students - especially when it came to classwork & homework (formative assessments) and exams/test/projects (summative assessments). Looking back at Tangela and Isabelin’s scenario of what they achieved and what I’ve learned from Chapter 4 up to this point. I would give Tangela a grade of “C“ because of her 60% score on Tests and Projects (summative) and Isabelin a grade of “A“ because of her 95% score on Tests and Projects (summative).
Challenges to my practice is that a student can be a very good participant but not a great test taker. Which is why I give retakes on summative assessments. For myself, I wasn’t the best multiple choice test taker, but a lot of my summative assessments have multiple choice and short answer questions. So I allow those that retake the second, try only that section of the summative that they need to improve versus the whole summative. If at the third retake, they still struggle - then I work with the student and figure out what’s holding them back from solving the problems. Once we figure out the solution, the student is able to give verbal or written feedback.
I will implement ways where those who struggle with summative assessments can be able to still be given the opportunity to take their summative assessments without struggling. I would have to speak to each student who scored two and below on their summative, to find a testing style that works for them. Some may struggle with multiple choice, short answers, drawing out charts or graphs, or simply scaffolding the questions to build rigor. All of these styles can be modified to check for understanding and progress of their mastery.
2) What I learned from this is that students try their best to stay on deadline. When they are not able to due to home life expectations, work, sports, clubs and lack of understanding - they cheat. Those that don’t wait to cheat, but want to understand the subjects that they’re learning will make sacrifices to ask for tutoring from peers or teachers.
Challenges to my practice: I don't mind students working together on formative assessments and group activities/projects, but creating the mindset that students are able to use notes and calculators (on given web links discussed in class). When I find students cheating or copying their work - it’s because I create Google Forms, Docs and Sheets and I’m able to see how the students edit their assessments (if a few copy and pasted or wrote out their formulas/functions), this is a helpful tool for me to use to check and see if my students are being honest.
I will implement using GoGuardian.com more, especially since my school bought into the license so that we could keep better track of how many students and what students are staying focused on their tasks and who aren’t. You can monitor what their screen is showing - which is definitely playing ‘Big Brother’ but at the same time - it helps to keep them honest when they know they cannot get away with copying or cheating.
Part II:
ReplyDelete3) What I learned from this is that I don’t give homework. I give classwork and if a student is unable to finish it, they can choose to take it home to complete it for the practice to understand the unit/standard/concepts. I don’t give a grade for classwork/ homework, I recognize it as my students’ responsibility for their learning. I have a few students that are able to learn new concepts/standards once and then take the summative assessment and then I have others who need the practice before they can take the summative.
Challenges to my practice would be to build a stronger foundation for rigor with my students and how they tackle learning new concepts. Continue to not give homework a grade, but as a tool or proof that a student is emerging/progressing through the unit/standard/concept.
I will implement monitoring my students who do poorly on their summative assessments. I want to work with them to help their cognitive development and get into a learning habit that will help them succeed. Build on the basics to achieve a higher level of knowledge.
4) What I learned from not grading homework is that my students can concentrate on building their mastery for each unit/standard. I explain their grading process like getting their driver's licenses. Then the students are better able to make connections that it's a process and not just unproductive work and tests.
The Challenge to my practice is that I give summative assessments all the weight. When a student comes up to me, “Ms., do I have an ‘B’ in your class?” and then I ask, “did you finish your summative assessment?” their response, “No.” “Then I don’t have a grade for you,” I reply, “But Ms. I got a ‘3’ on my formative assessment.” “Formative assessment scores let me know at what level you’re understanding the standards, if you’re emerging, progressing or mastered. So you’re still at a ‘F’ until you take the summative assessment.” This is my scene every grading term. This makes it easier for me to grade and for the students to keep track of their progress/mastery.
I will implement ways for my students to receive incentives for progressing in class. Even though there are students who excel faster than others, I still want them to congratulate them on their performance and perseverance. Try to create fun days or treats to acknowledge their accomplishments.
Val Shindo-Uehira
DeleteHi Shantell-
I also do not give homework. The students complete the work in class as practice and if they are not able to complete it in class, they may choose to finish it at home. I have also stopped assigning points to the classwork/homework and I have seen a difference in the overall grades of my students. I really like your response to the student who asked if he has a B in your class. I might have to try that! Thanks for sharing.
Look back at Tangela and Isabel in Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward.
ReplyDeleteAre standards the only thing that matter to an education? This is the question that I am grappling with as we continue to move forward in this book. They are what teachers are tasked to teach. Standards are what ensures vertical articulation. But is the proficiency of standards the only thing that important in an education? I would say no. And therefore I would say that summative assessments should not be the only element that’s “counted” in a class. I can take a paragraph on narwhals and teach the students how to make an inference and cite evidence to support that inference, but is that skill the same thing as reading a 300 page novel that’s thought provoking and furthers critical thinking where students naturally make inferences and seek evidence to support them and as a result engage with the content outside of the classroom with their peers? Yet, there are many students who can meet RI.1, whose education is limited by RI.1. It is my job to teach the standards, but is that what a language arts education is? I’d argue not.
Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority?
I think that asking students these questions is important, however, their answers need to be taken with a grain of salt. Not all students will give honest answers, I’d argue that most students will say what a given teacher wants to hear and/or will say what they think best meets their needs. There needs to be a conversation around homework period. How many jobs require you to work outside of work hours? I don’t agree with homework overall, and research indicates that before 6th grade homework doesn’t support learning. Homework is another conversation that needs to be had.
Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
I don’t have access to this data, as I don’t give homework as a 6th grade teacher.
Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
If you look at my answers for the first set of reflection questions, I think you’ll see that I don’t quite agree that standards completely define education and learning - and therefore I don’t think that standards should be the be all and end all of grading. I also think that standards based grading has the ability to make students believe that there is an end to learning - and I think that might be the worst possible message that a school or teacher could send to students.
Val Shindo-Uehira
ReplyDelete1-Look back at Tangela and Isabela in Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward
If summative assessments were the only element used to calculate grades, Tangela would have earned a D (60%) and Isabela would have earned an A (90%). However, when all categories were factored into the end grade, each student received the same score of C (75%). Unfortunately this does not give the students or their caregivers an accurate picture of their performance. In this case, Tangela and her parents may think that she is able to complete work successfully and therefore would not need any additional assistance. This may be detrimental to Tangela as she may be unprepared as she enters the next grade level. Isabela on the other hand, who has a good understanding of the content and who performs well on her assessments may become demotivated and less engaged because she feels that even though she is able to prove she learned the content she still earned a lower score because she did not complete all of the assignments (which were not necessary to her learning) and did not participate in class discussions.
2-Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority
When asked why they copy homework or what gets in the way of completing homework most students said that either they did not have enough time because of family obligations or too many projects due at the same time. Some students reported that they copied work because it was too difficult and they did not know how to complete the assignment. As a teacher, it is more important that the students attempt as much of the work as possible on their own rather than copy from another student. This gives them an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned and it also identifies the area(s) they need help with. I very rarely assign homework any more. Most of the work is done in class. That way I can monitor each student's progress and help them on more difficult questions rather than wait until the next class period. This way they are less likely to copy work because they get the required support when they need it.
Val Shindo-Uehira
ReplyDelete3-Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
When looking at student scores, I noticed that most of those students who completed and turned in homework scored well on their assessments. There were a few students who scored well on the homework but did not do well on the assessment. This tells me that they probably copied the homework and when it came time for the assessment, they were not able to perform well because they did not know the answers. Prior to taking this class my thoughts were that students should do the homework regardless of how well they understood the material. My feelings were also that all homework should also be included in their final grade. However, after taking this course I find myself questioning the importance of homework. Is it really necessary to assign and require students to complete homework if they already have a good understanding of the material? Our students learn in different ways and if completing the homework is not effective then why am I requiring them to do it? For the last unit of this quarter, I stopped assigning scores to the classwork. I gave pluses, checks and minuses instead. As I did that I noticed that their overall grades increased! This tells me that maybe homework should not be included in students’ grades or if it is, it should be minimal.
4-Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
About 2 years ago our school changed the weighting system and assigned classwork/homework a weight of 20% and summative assessments a weight of 80%. Prior to this, homework was weighted at 10% and assessments at 90%. At that time a change was made because students were not completing and turning in assignments. Teachers and administrators felt that by changing the percentages students would be more accountable and that it would encourage them to complete and turn in their assignments - unfortunately, that was not the case. After taking this class, I now know why. From about the later half of the third quarter I allowed students to turn in late assignments without penalty. This significantly increased the number of assignments that were being completed and turned in. Students who never turned in assignments before were now turning them in. Amazing! As far as the weighted categories, I feel that homework should definitely be weighted less - if we have to include homework in our grades, it should be minimal at most 5 - 10%.
Aloha Val! From your responses, I noticed the positive impacts of the course on your professional life. I am also amazed about the positive result of you allowing your students to turn in late assignments. It is always great to see the ripple effect when something right has been done, which serves as evidence that change is really hard to do but does not hurt any if we give it a try. Look at what you’ve just shared, you allowed students to turn in late assignments and the turning in percentage has increased in your context. I wonder what change your personal narrative and class evidence would make on your schoolwide weighing system. Thanks for your thoughts!
DeleteHi Val!
DeleteI notice that your students also equally perform on both the summative's and formatives. I think that both are gauges of student knowledge even though the text stresses that only summative's can measure how well a student knows the benchmark. I wonder if the 80-20 ratio of summative to formative showed overall higher grades and higher passing rates? I am interested in seeing the statistics behind these changes in grading formats. I can see it possibly going both ways being that my school has a similar policy of 75-25.
PART A
ReplyDelete1. Look back at Tangela and Isabel in Chapter 4. If summative assessment were the only element in the grade, what grade would each receive? What are the implications? What message do we send each of them? How might it change how they and their caregivers think about each student’s progress? How might it change how each would respond moving forward.
If summative assessment is the only element in the grade, Tangela would get a 60% equivalent to a D and Isabel would get a 95% or an A. The implication would be that the grade is an accurate reflection of each of the student’s level of content mastery and how academically prepared each of the student, for success in the next grade level of the same content area.
For Tangela, the teacher would be sending the message that he is not grading the attributes and that although soft skills are important in order to achieve proficiency in a certain standard, there are still a lot of things that need to work on. The teacher is also clearly presenting the level of content mastery of Tangela, and not sending a false message that she is proficient in the standard. For Isabel, the teacher is sending the correct message of what learning actually is‒showing mastery of the content standards.
Tangela and her caregivers need to focus on developing her skills that would help her move towards achieving the proficiency of the content standards. They can do intervention/tutoring on the skills she is poor at so as to improve and will be well-prepared for any summative assessment. It can also be that Tangela needs more targeted support which specific programs in school could provide. Isabel’s caregivers on the other hand, could work with the teacher in keeping her more engaged through providing her more challenging assignments that could even realize her full potential, since that is the ultimate goal of education. Grading the students based on what they know and what they can do based on the content standards is giving them a clear meaning of what learning really is.
2. Ask students about why they copy homework, or what gets in the way of students completing homework. What is more important to you– that students do as much homework as they can themselves, or that they copy it so that they get the points? What would need to change to explicitly communicate this priority?
Most of my students have stated that they copy because they want the homework done so that they have something to submit, and will receive a grade. When asked what their challenges are in completing homework on their own, they have stated that they really do not have the time and they are tired since they have to look for their younger siblings when they arrive home from school, do household chores because their parents leave home early and will go home late, and no time to spend on answering questions or doing prompts that they do not understand, moreso that there is nobody at home who could help them. Assigning homework could also pose inequities in education.
Since I want my students to learn, I would like them to do as much homework as they can themselves. But since I understand the barriers that each student is facing in real-life like lack of resources if they are to do research or lack of support/assistance from any adult, I usually have them do the homework as an in-class assignment, this way, I can monitor that they have a productive struggle, and with my presence to assist them in any way possible. Currently, I am not grading homework so something that I think would need to change is to explicitly communicate with students the true essence of doing homework. I always tell my students that cheating in any form is still cheating and when one cheats, he does not only cheat the other person but also cheats himself. I also encourage them that in any tasks and in any test, they should do their best.
Hi Pinky!
DeleteI notice that you emphasize that while summative's are a good assessment of mastery, they aren't always representative of work ethic or soft skills. Both of these things are very essential for students to have and could help them greatly in their future careers. I wonder if homework as an in-class assignment makes students less likely to cheat? Being that you are there supervising it is more incentive to ask for help if needed. I think this is a great idea! I may start implementing it into my class too.
PART B.
ReplyDelete3. Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
Homework is not one of my grade categories, because I personally perceive it to pose inequities because of some students not having access to resources and supervision from any adult at home. If a student learned the material, whether or not he has turned in homework does not change his mastery of the content since homework is a formative assessment and need not to be graded. For students who have higher homework scores than summative scores, it could be that somebody has helped them do it or somebody did it for them. If a student turned in homework, but did poorly on assessments, especially the summative one, this defeats the true purpose of homework which is getting to practice whatever skill and content has been taught to get better at that specific skill which should be reflected on the summative performance. This then makes me reflect on the true value of giving tasks to students. If we give students homework and they turn in, do we even check them and give feedback? I believe that we need to assign things more strategically in order to achieve our intended purpose.
4. Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
Homework and participation are not part of my grading categories because I had a reflection two years ago that adding these attributes would not accurately reflect the student’s content mastery. I had the realization that lowering the homework and participation categories or completely removing these grading categories would create a more accurate level of content mastery. I perceive that we should grade the summative assessments so we will not be spoiling any student in their pursuit to achieve an A.
PART B
Delete3. Look at the gradebook for one of your classes. Compare students’ test or summative assessment scores with their homework scores. For which students are their summative assessments higher than their homework scores? If a student learned the material, how much does it matter if the student turned in homework? For which students is it reserved (homework scores are higher than summative scores)? If a student turned in homework but did poorly on assessments, what does it suggest about whether homework served its purpose?
Homework is not one of my grade categories, because I personally perceive it to pose inequities because of some students not having access to resources and supervision from any adult at home. If a student learned the material, whether or not he has turned in homework does not change his mastery of the content since homework is a formative assessment and need not to be graded. For students who have higher homework scores than summative scores, it could be that somebody has helped them do it or somebody did it for them. If a student turned in homework, but did poorly on assessments, especially the summative one, this defeats the true purpose of homework which is getting to practice whatever skill and content has been taught to get better at that specific skill which should be reflected on the summative performance. This then makes me reflect on the true value of giving tasks to students. If we give students homework and they turn in, do we even check them and give feedback? I believe that we need to assign things more strategically in order to achieve our intended purpose.
4. Print out a copy of the grade book for one class of students. Change the percentage weights, lowering the weight for homework and participation categories, and raising it for summative assessments. Print out the altered version, and then return the weights to their earlier percentages. Compare the final grades. Under which weighing system do final grades describe students’ levels of content mastery more accurately? Which system’s final grades describe students’ content knowledge less accurately? How does it change your opinion about how much to weigh summative assessments?
Homework and participation are not part of my grading categories because I had a reflection two years ago that adding these attributes would not accurately reflect the student’s content mastery. I had the realization that lowering the homework and participation categories or completely removing these grading categories would create a more accurate level of content mastery. I perceive that we should grade the summative assessments so we will not be spoiling any student in their pursuit to achieve an A.
If a student's final grade that is presented on the report card is just the summative, parents and caregivers may have a variety of different reactions. For example, a lazy student who is very smart will achieve very high grades which will make their caregiver very happy since they have very low expectations. In contrast, some of the students who struggle on tests spend hours every day working on their formations to bump up their grades to ultimately wind up with a B. If these students were assessed solely on their summatives, they may only get a C or even a D without the formatives and classroom to “pad” their grade. Prior to taking this class I thought that formatives and homework were essential to assessing the student as a whole along with their work ethic, although now I know the summative assessment is a better way to assess student knowledge and how well they know the benchmarks.
ReplyDeleteUpon asking my students why they copied work earlier this year, they simply said what’s the point? Almost everyday I see students in my advisory taking pictures of each other's math homework and while I do scold them, this isn’t something that can be constantly regulated or monitored. Upon overhearing my students, they take turns doing the homework so that they need to put in less work. It's not that the students don’t understand the content, but instead that they are too lazy to do it and also too lazy to put in the effort that it takes to complete it since it's “worth so little”.
Almost 90% of the time a student with a high formative score will have a high summative score. This is because all of the assignments I create are curated to help students prepare for and understand what is needed for the test. Our school as a whole uses a grading criteria of 75% summative and 25% formative. With this structure, the formative assessments can either bring up or drop down students half a letter grade. If a student turned in homework but did poorly on the assessments it could be an indicator that they either copied the homework or are simply a bad test taker. If a student got a high summative and didn’t complete any of the formations, it could also be an indicator that they are cheating or are just smart but very lazy. Overall if you score almost 100% on your summatives, having a low formative score will not bring you down by much, but having a formative score of 0 will bring you down a letter grade. In contrast, if you have a summative that is close to 0, you will not pass my class.
If students' grades were almost entirely summative assessments it would overall be a more accurate grade of their mastery of the content. However, some of my students are not good test takers and have a lot of test anxiety so it isn't a true representation of their knowledge. Although, I think I will still continue to factor in formative grades because it allows me to see which students are willing to put in more effort towards the class. While the text has shown me that it is essential to do summative assessments a lot more heavily, I don’t think I will ever entirely get rid of formatives because I can also see how the students progress in their work as they get closer to the final summative assessment. The formative is good data to show me also who has cheated on their summative and who hasn’t.