Chapters eleven through fourteen of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, by Rick Wormeli, focused on grading and how it should be reported to the students, parents, school, and any other relevant person. One of the main ideas that I took from the text is that the larger and more various the sample of work, the more useful and fair the results will be.
Should a student receive a “0” or a “60”? This argument, in chapter eleven, is a hot-button issue among educators. An observation the author made has always been on my mind: the range for grades A, B, C, and D (on a 100 point scale) is, on average, a total of 40 points, while the range for an F is 60 points, how is that fair? Putting a zero in the grade book is ethically wrong for it creates a nearly insurmountable challenge for the student. Additionally, mentioned also in chapter twelve, a 1 to 4 scale was discussed which I think is much fairer to the students, as even the lowest score is not overwhelmingly devastating to their total grade. Also, it makes it easier to establish definite criteria for each grade regardless of subject.
Discussed in both chapters eleven and thirteen, I found that weighing grades is a smart way to let the students’ work speak for itself; for example, an essay is probably worth more than a questionnaire, so by scoring it as such it will provide a more accurate representation of skills learned and developed.
Lastly, chapter fourteen examined report cards and their helpfulness. Many schools are trying to design a more useful report card that provides more information. The text talked about the dual approach, which grades students on personal growth as well as against the standards, part of me truly likes this idea for it will give a better representation of the students' achievements. However, I can also see what the book was saying about it providing information that might make the school look bad; for example, if an advanced student receives a high mark, but their personal progress was minimal due to their prior knowledge, it could make the school year appear to be an overall waste of time.
As a teacher, understanding why and how you are grading is crucial. Personally, I would like to adopt the 1 to 4 scale as I do agree that it is fairer. But beyond that, an awareness of what you expect your students to learn from each lesson and assignment will create a more positive learning environment. With that, if you know what you expect your students to learn then it should be relatively easy to apply weights to assignments that are more significant. Although I have yet to grade any work, I have edited papers, so drawing on that experience I have mentioned above what I think makes for the most effective grading techniques: one that will provide ample opportunity to all students.
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