Thursday, October 16, 2014

Addressing Grading for Learning Questions

At our last round of Parent-Teacher Conferences, we had an opportunity to receive some feedback from parents about our Grading for Learning system. Below is a list of some questions.

Proficiency Levels: AD (Advanced), PR (Proficient), DE (Developing), BE (Beginning), NE (No Evidence)
“The target is proficient, driven students cannot attain Advanced, and teachers say it’s nearly impossible to reach Advanced.”
We must provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate Advanced level work after the learning has been scaffolded.  We also must be explicit about showing and discussing the qualities of an Advanced piece of work.  We should encourage our students and give them feedback to strive to reach the Advanced level.  It should be rigorous, but attainable.
“You can only reach Developing in the Beginning of the year”
The natural progression of a unit is to start with beginning level activities to build a base, then progress to the higher levels of the rubric as the base of knowledge is built.  It is nearly impossible to walk into the classroom and be able to demonstrate Proficient or Advanced level work.  The work that is done in the classroom guides our students to reach the level, but we will only report out on a standard if students have had opportunities to demonstrate Advanced on the rubric.
“For the school as a whole, what is the goal for students to be at? (BE, DE, PR, AD)”
Our target for each student is proficient, but we want as many students as possible to be able to demonstrate Advanced level work.
“How can some students show a developing and that be a C, but others have a DE and it can be an A? But because of the high school system, How do I know where my middle school student stands if a Developing can be an A, B, or C?”
At the High School, the letter grade is used as an “on target” measurement throughout the quarter.  At the end of a reporting period, the Board Policy on grades will be followed…(i.e. A=mostly proficient, some advanced, etc)  At all grade levels we will focus on the evidence of student work measured against the rubric to determine the student’s level of performance.
“I have concerns over students in middle school not having a GPA being unfamiliar with the system for when they get to high school and it really matters for college.”
What we are doing in our classes right now everyday is building a base for success at the next level.  The Middle and High School both use reporting standards and rubrics in the same way.  The only difference is that in high school, they use a letter grade.  Students will be familiar with the use of rubrics and be more prepared because we have showed them what it takes to demonstrate advanced levels of work in each class.
“I have concerns about not seeing any work come home so they weren’t able to see how their child is doing/how they can improve.”
In my experience as a middle school teacher, most student work that was handed back ended up in the floor or in the garbage.  Keeping a portfolio of student work allows teachers/students/parents to see growth, and a sample of student work up against an example of work at each level.  By focusing on the work, it is easier to see the improvements/adjustments that need to be made to reach the next level.
“My daughter’s work is a DE, and teacher says that is great and where she needs to be...we think proficient is where they need to be...I don’t want them to fall behind, and I want teachers to push my child and not be satisfied with DE.”
If the work is from the beginning of a unit and the assessment only assessed students at the DE level, then this is on target and where they need to be.  If an assessment allows for students to demonstrate an AD level of understanding, and a student receives a DE, then we should focus on why the work was DE and what adjustments need to be made to reach PR.

“Consistency between the way we grade and the way the H.S. grades.  Parents want the whole district to be on the same page so students aren’t confused later (as far as if “Developing” is a B?  C?)  or is “Proficient” an A?  B?
I would argue that we are on the same page more now, than we ever have, with the use of reporting standards and rubrics to measure student work.  Before, a student had to figure out each individual teacher’s grading system...this could be as much as 5-8 systems per term.  Now everyone has laid out the skills and knowledge that we expect students to have and what each proficiency level looks like by the end of the course.
“Some parents are still trying to wrap their heads around AD, PR, DE, BE; they want to think of it as A, B, C, D”
Mrs. Greer gave a solid example of this to a parent.  If a student got 10/10 on a vocabulary matching quiz before, it was an A, even though they were low level questions.  Now that would demonstrate BE because it’s not a high level activity.  Those base building activities are important, but it’s important to go beyond those skills for our students.
“If “Beginning” is passing, why is it that no one can fail?”
Students can still not a pass a class if they have not demonstrated a BE level of understanding.  This is not a given.  
“I’m worried about subjectivity (EX: 4 proficients and 4 developing meaning a “PR” for some and a “DE” for others)
We will focus on the evidence students provide to determine proficiency levels.  The most recent evidence determines the proficiency level at each reporting period.
“As a parent it is more difficult to monitor progress than it was when we used numbers.”
This communication is something that we are working on everyday and taking feedback from parents to improve.  We need to be consistent from the elementary school all the way to the high school.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Addressing Grading for Learning Questions

At our last round of Parent-Teacher Conferences, we had an opportunity to receive some feedback from parents about our Grading for Learning system. Below is a list of some questions.

Proficiency Levels: AD (Advanced), PR (Proficient), DE (Developing), BE (Beginning), NE (No Evidence)
“The target is proficient, driven students cannot attain Advanced, and teachers say it’s nearly impossible to reach Advanced.”
We must provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate Advanced level work after the learning has been scaffolded.  We also must be explicit about showing and discussing the qualities of an Advanced piece of work.  We should encourage our students and give them feedback to strive to reach the Advanced level.  It should be rigorous, but attainable.
“You can only reach Developing in the Beginning of the year”
The natural progression of a unit is to start with beginning level activities to build a base, then progress to the higher levels of the rubric as the base of knowledge is built.  It is nearly impossible to walk into the classroom and be able to demonstrate Proficient or Advanced level work.  The work that is done in the classroom guides our students to reach the level, but we will only report out on a standard if students have had opportunities to demonstrate Advanced on the rubric.
“For the school as a whole, what is the goal for students to be at? (BE, DE, PR, AD)”
Our target for each student is proficient, but we want as many students as possible to be able to demonstrate Advanced level work.
“How can some students show a developing and that be a C, but others have a DE and it can be an A? But because of the high school system, How do I know where my middle school student stands if a Developing can be an A, B, or C?”
At the High School, the letter grade is used as an “on target” measurement throughout the quarter.  At the end of a reporting period, the Board Policy on grades will be followed…(i.e. A=mostly proficient, some advanced, etc)  At all grade levels we will focus on the evidence of student work measured against the rubric to determine the student’s level of performance.
“I have concerns over students in middle school not having a GPA being unfamiliar with the system for when they get to high school and it really matters for college.”
What we are doing in our classes right now everyday is building a base for success at the next level.  The Middle and High School both use reporting standards and rubrics in the same way.  The only difference is that in high school, they use a letter grade.  Students will be familiar with the use of rubrics and be more prepared because we have showed them what it takes to demonstrate advanced levels of work in each class.
“I have concerns about not seeing any work come home so they weren’t able to see how their child is doing/how they can improve.”
In my experience as a middle school teacher, most student work that was handed back ended up in the floor or in the garbage.  Keeping a portfolio of student work allows teachers/students/parents to see growth, and a sample of student work up against an example of work at each level.  By focusing on the work, it is easier to see the improvements/adjustments that need to be made to reach the next level.
“My daughter’s work is a DE, and teacher says that is great and where she needs to be...we think proficient is where they need to be...I don’t want them to fall behind, and I want teachers to push my child and not be satisfied with DE.”
If the work is from the beginning of a unit and the assessment only assessed students at the DE level, then this is on target and where they need to be.  If an assessment allows for students to demonstrate an AD level of understanding, and a student receives a DE, then we should focus on why the work was DE and what adjustments need to be made to reach PR.

“Consistency between the way we grade and the way the H.S. grades.  Parents want the whole district to be on the same page so students aren’t confused later (as far as if “Developing” is a B?  C?)  or is “Proficient” an A?  B?
I would argue that we are on the same page more now, than we ever have, with the use of reporting standards and rubrics to measure student work.  Before, a student had to figure out each individual teacher’s grading system...this could be as much as 5-8 systems per term.  Now everyone has laid out the skills and knowledge that we expect students to have and what each proficiency level looks like by the end of the course.
“Some parents are still trying to wrap their heads around AD, PR, DE, BE; they want to think of it as A, B, C, D”
Mrs. Greer gave a solid example of this to a parent.  If a student got 10/10 on a vocabulary matching quiz before, it was an A, even though they were low level questions.  Now that would demonstrate BE because it’s not a high level activity.  Those base building activities are important, but it’s important to go beyond those skills for our students.
“If “Beginning” is passing, why is it that no one can fail?”
Students can still not a pass a class if they have not demonstrated a BE level of understanding.  This is not a given.  
“I’m worried about subjectivity (EX: 4 proficients and 4 developing meaning a “PR” for some and a “DE” for others)
We will focus on the evidence students provide to determine proficiency levels.  The most recent evidence determines the proficiency level at each reporting period.
“As a parent it is more difficult to monitor progress than it was when we used numbers.”
This communication is something that we are working on everyday and taking feedback from parents to improve.  We need to be consistent from the elementary school all the way to the high school.