As an educator, I have always had a struggle with the grading policies pushed down to us from the district. I have also struggled with modeling my grades on the systems of most of my peers. The origin of my strife seems to tied up in trying to answer the question, "what is a grade?"
I think it is the scientist in me, but to me a grade is a measurement. And, like all measurements, we strive to make them both accurate and precise. The grade is a measurement of how much the students have learned. Historically, in my classes, the grade has been a measurement of more than that (or less depending on how you look at it.) Students could "earn" points for turning work in on time, organizing their work, participation Grades and so on. This system is partially based on data unrelated to the learning objective. The system is not precise!
Another problem that I have had in the past is that the assignments and activities were not necessarily designed to measure student learning as much as they are to facilitate it. However; we often assign point values based on completion of the assignments. The point values are typically averaged in and used to measure a students understanding of the content. The system is not accurate.
This year I am taking a big step and I am going switch to a Standards Based Grading System in an attempt to more accurately communicate my students level of understanding. I intend to use this blog to journal my thoughts, struggles, and accomplishments during the year. Hopefully, in the process, someone else may benefit from my journey.
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