I'm proud to say that my school district has been making great strides in regard to grading beliefs and grading practices. In particular, our HS and MS have really mustered up quite a bit of grading momentum. These grading shifts were born out of a Rick Wormeli visit to our district this past October and the example set forth by Matt Townsley's district in Iowa. After several revisions and a thorough vetting process, here is what our HS and MS believe about grading:
1. We
believe that each student learns at a different pace and we believe that ‘when’
a kid learns isn’t nearly as important as ‘if’ a kid learns. Therefore, after
working with their teacher, students will not be academically penalized for
turning in work on an alternate date.
2. We
believe students should be allowed multiple opportunities in various ways to
demonstrate their understanding of classroom learning standards. Therefore, retakes
will be encouraged and will be allowed after the relearn process for full
credit in all content areas up until the last week of the quarter.
- Since student learning is our top
priority, retakes will be offered on all assessments. Before a student is able
to retake an assessment, the student must first go through the ‘relearn’
process and complete a ‘relearn’ form. This is to ensure the student learns the
appropriate material and improves his/her understanding before doing the
retake. Even if a student did well on an assessment, they may choose to retake
to further demonstrate their mastery.
- All teachers will use the same
relearn form for consistency purposes.
- Time for students to do retakes will
be built into the school day as well as offered before or after school if the
teacher and student are both willing and able. We recognize that not all
students are able to arrive early or stay late, so every effort will be made to
make time for retakes during the school day.
- Students are encouraged to maintain
and practice proper study habits to limit the number of retakes needed.
- If a student is routinely retaking
assessments, the student’s teacher will meet with the student to determine a
plan of action to improve student learning the first time around.
- If a student struggles with just one
particular part of an assessment, the teacher may elect to have the student
only retake that specific part of the assessment.
- Teachers may elect to use an
alternative assessment or variation of the original assessment when doing
retakes.
3. We
believe a student’s grade should reflect what he/she actually knows and can
demonstrate on a classroom assignment or assessment tied to specific learning
standard(s). Therefore, extra credit will not be used.
4. We
believe each student must acquire certain skills to be a successful citizen,
however we also believe that a grade must reflect what a student knows and can
demonstrate when it comes to specific academic learning standards. Therefore,
non-academic indicators, such as simple classroom participation, behavior, work
completion, attendance & other non-academic indicators, will not be
included in a student’s academic grade.