Brian Cohen
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Feedback vs. Grades

12/7/2011

1 Comment

 
Over the past few months I have had tremendous success with a standards-based grading system. Students have recognized when they have deficiencies in their knowledge and come get help during tutoring or by organizing with a friend to study over their material. There have been a few snags (like kids throwing out graded quizzes so they have nothing to study from) but overall it has definitely changed the dialog around learning. 

Last night I attended a small panel session for some students at Bryn Mawr College that made me cement my decision to convert and I may even go farther in the future. I met some students and two staff from the Watershed integrated learning program at Radnor Middle School. For their entire 7th grade year, 40 students conduct experiments on local streams (leaving on field trips at least 40 times), come up with questions to ask and research, learn all they have to learn about English, History, Science, etc under the banner of this program. With the small exception of taking their Math and World Language classes outside this room, they are immersed in a program that defies logic: it fosters intelligence in its students without grading.

While I don't think I'm ready to make that leap (especially in the strict environment of the School District of Philadelphia), it is an amazing thing to see a bunch of middle school-aged kids talk about biological material at the bottom of a stream and trying to understand where it comes from. We even touched on calculus when they were discussing the flow rate of the water! 

One of the major things I got out of this experience was a peak at their Sketchbooks: they keep a log of new organisms and sketch them, read about them, research then, and keep it all in one book along with history, english, and other assignments. It was note-taking to the extreme! Additionally, the teachers actually commented on their work! With 160 students I would find this impossible - but with two staff and 40 students, it becomes much more doable. The feedback they received was worth way more than grades - the students even said so.

I endeavor to provide that kind of feedback on class assignments but find it difficult with the sheer number of students I have. The standards-based grading system is a compromise that is working well for now, but could work better in the future. I hope to streamline my procedures so students view grades as feedback for learning and not the end grade. 
1 Comment
J. C.
12/9/2011 10:31:10 pm

I have been a part of a proficiency-based mathematics study in which I give no grades at all. Items are color-coded so that students know where they need help and I am also supposed to provide comments. I'll be the first to admit that I do not keep on top of those notes. Mostly, they end up being arrows and question marks.

I have seen the same sort of shift that you have. I got a lot of flak (flack?) because students didn't know what their grades were. However, I made it clear at the beginning of the year that if they were proficient, that was equivalent to a C in standard grading systems. If they wanted a B or an A, they had to show me something more on their own. They needed to provide more evidence.

The first marking period was tough. I was doing everything for them from finding alternate assignments to reminding them of the learning outcomes (what we call aims or objectives) they needed to improve in. I had almost no one come in for tutoring except for the standard rush at the end of the marking period. We had a talk after report cards came out and I let them know that except for a few instances they would be required to track their own progress, find alternate assignments, and show me evidence that they had a deeper understanding of the material than I originally thought.

After this discussion and many angry phone calls from parents, there are now 5-10 regular tutoring attendees, and most of the rest are coming sporadically or using our "Flashback Fridays" to improve their "grades." They are taking real ownership of their knowledge instead of their grades. They know that the goal is not to be the most compliant student, but to learn the most they can. Our first predictive scores weren't the best, but I have high hopes for the second set of scores.

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    I am a math teacher in the New York Department of Education. I infuse technology and real-world problems into my curriculum in order to prepare my students for the future. I would love for people across the country to recognize we teachers can't do it alone. If you don't believe me, come visit my classroom!

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