Grading as Feedback
For over 30 years, I rejected the idea of becoming a teacher because I had absolutely no desire to grade exams, papers, or anything else. In my own education, I was privileged enough to have personal relationships with many of my teachers and educators. I had parents and family who had the resources to support my neurodivergent brain – that learned to read at 2, but failed out of school literally numerous times.
Grades always seemed so incredibly arbitrary to me.
They felt like an unvalidated assessment of my worth as a human being. Growing up and attending school in the 80s and 90s, I learned quickly that grades determined where you went to school, how much value you had as a person, and whether or not you would be “a productive member of society.”
I think all of us would agree that COVID betrayed the “value” of “productivity” when it comes to existing as a human being.
As we look at grading, it is critical to understand the purpose of grading. Grades have been put on a pedestal for far too long.
Grading is a form of communication and feedback about THE TEACHER‘s success or failure to communicate and translate the Standards set by our educational boards into effective and meaningful learning targets.
If students are failing my class, without any external conditions, it reflects on me as an educator.
Backwards Design
Backwards Design focuses any lesson planning, assessments, or strategic targets to be designed with the END goal in mind. This means that we start with the Common Core State Standards of the state and federal departments of education in order to craft our coursework.
Assessments must align with these standards. If the Assessment is not equitable for all students to demonstrate their knowledge of the standard, then it is an inappropriate assessment.
Each of my lesson targets is rewritten by students in their own words at the very beginning of the unit. They are given the opportunity to ask questions about “why does this matter?” or “How will I use this later in life?”
My assessments are grounded in students learning to ask better questions and find answers to those questions that matter for their own lives. This means that someone may code software while another student paints a gorgeous still life. Each student is expected to explain how their project meets the Learning Target that they have already written for themselves.
Rubrics
Each assessment or assignment also includes a grading rubric. Part of our unit work involves writing our own rubrics that show me that they understand what the expectations for the Learning Targets are. We work together as a class, assigning values to each part of the rubric based on our own priorities in our targets.
This could show that an artist may place more value on presentation, while a scientist may place more value on evidentiary support.
As long as my students are aiming towards their targets, I help them write their own grading rubrics.
360 Degree Feedback
All grading for all assessments and assignments are 360 degree. I, as their educator, can recognize that I may have unknown or invisible biases. By inviting a more thorough evaluation of the work by multiple voices, I can also include more marginalized voices and underrepresented points of view.
My educator assessment counts for 50% of the points assigned for any given assignment. Peer assessment can count up to 40% of their grade – each peer’s assessment counts for 20% of the points allotted. the final 10% goes to the student themself. I have found that in general, students are far more critical of their own work than I am, and this allows me to buffer their self-assessment with robust and supportive feedback.
Those Messy “Points”…
Each term, a student has the capability to earn up to 1000 points throughout varying kinds of assignments, participation, and assessment. In order to receive an “A” in the course, a student must have at least 100 points in each category.
Each term, 1400 possible points can be earned by students. Yes, I’m aware that’s *more* than the points allotted for the grade. I use this model to help students learn to prioritize their learning. When students go to university, they will be narrowing their focus more and more. Learning how to say “no” to a certain deadline in order to guard mental health or prioritize their major courses needs to be a life skill learned by all. Even for those students who go on to trades or skilled labor, learning to prioritize learning goals is critical. A plumber needs to learn far different material than an electrician, and I would hope that a podiatrist has more knowledge about my feet than my teeth, as I will not be asking my podiatrist for orthodontia. I want students to show me their best and favorite self – prioritizing those areas where they can demonstrate their learning as they shine and thrive.
A student has 200 points possible in each of our class values: PACK-IT.
Passion
Does it inspire?- Passion comes in so many forms, and we want to honor those robust, strong emotions as they emerge – and give them a healthy direction to flow into. If we understand all behavior as communication, then we can see moments of escalation as opportunities for deeper learning – instead of flash points for tempers and misunderstanding.
Ability
Technology follows Technique!- Ability is the structural framework of skills and technique that help our students thrive. Some of these are standards set by our state governing boards, and some of them are strategic “tricks” to help students navigate the new hybrid world of multiple forms of media. Not all students can learn from lectures – Ability helps diversify their skillset.
Collaboration
Get your Group Groove On!- More and more, Collaboration is King in the broader world. These days, it is more often about *who* you know and not *what* you know. Companies talk about “right fit” and “team-building” in ways that show their importance. Our students not only work together on various parts of learning, but also learn better strategies for working together – delegation, communication, and more.
Kindness
Showing compassion and sensitivity- It is crucial to develop our “kindness” muscles as we grow. Kindness is not being “nice”or people pleasing. Kindness involves speaking truthfully and honoring the inherent dignity and value in the person in front of you. It reflects a desire for how we want treat one another, and how we want our world to be.
Integrity
Being & Belonging as your Favorite self- Integrity matches who we are on the inside to how we act and interact in public spaces. Every human being is a leader – even if they are only leading themselves. Leadership has its roots and stability in Integrity – the practice of showing up consistently, with different facets of personality, skill, communication, and relationships *integrated* into our identity. When we practice Integrity, we invite accountability and growth.
Thoughtfulness
Mindfulness and Making Sense of it all- Thoughtfulness means being mindful of ourselves, our community, our environment. It can be a pause before replying, it can be a moment of curiosity or inquisitiveness, and it can also be applying knowledge in new ways. When we are “thoughtful” or mindful, we activate our “metacognition” – the place in our brain where we embed our values and beliefs. Thoughtfulness also indicates a level of learning in which we can apply the knowledge to more than just data points. We can make connections, draw conclusions, and apply these things to our life.
PACK-IT
Our Values
Passion comes in so many forms, and we want to honor those robust, strong emotions as they emerge – and give them a healthy direction to flow into. If we understand all behavior as communication, then we can see moments of escalation as opportunities for deeper learning – instead of flash points for tempers and misunderstanding.
Ability is the structural framework of skills and technique that help our students thrive. Some of these are standards set by our state governing boards, and some of them are strategic “tricks” to help students navigate the new hybrid world of multiple forms of media. Not all students can learn from lectures – Ability helps diversify their skillset.
More and more, Collaboration is King in the broader world. These days, it is more often about *who* you know and not *what* you know. Companies talk about “right fit” and “team-building” in ways that show their importance. Our students not only work together on various parts of learning, but also learn better strategies for working together – delegation, communication, and more.
It is crucial to develop our “kindness” muscles as we grow. Kindness is not being “nice”or people pleasing. Kindness involves speaking truthfully and honoring the inherent dignity and value in the person in front of you. It reflects a desire for how we want treat one another, and how we want our world to be.
Integrity matches who we are on the inside to how we act and interact in public spaces. Every human being is a leader – even if they are only leading themselves. Leadership has its roots and stability in Integrity – the practice of showing up consistently, with different facets of personality, skill, communication, and relationships *integrated* into our identity. When we practice Integrity, we invite accountability and growth.
Thoughtfulness means being mindful of ourselves, our community, our environment. It can be a pause before replying, it can be a moment of curiosity or inquisitiveness, and it can also be applying knowledge in new ways. When we are “thoughtful” or mindful, we activate our “metacognition” – the place in our brain where we embed our values and beliefs. Thoughtfulness also indicates a level of learning in which we can apply the knowledge to more than just data points. We can make connections, draw conclusions, and apply these things to our life.