I grade in the beginning on strategies and whether they understand the concept of the strategy and use it (well or not doesn't matter because of their schema). Once I get the strategies in place, we continue reviewing them while finetuning them. We discuss how to get the "correct" answer based on what is expected (teacher expectations, test expectations, answer book, etc.). I still grade on the process as the year progresses and I look at each practice as assessment and adjust my teaching accordingly. The final grading period we check out how much they've improved based on the state test and whether their scores improve. If they are thinking critically, they should do better on the test.
I look at it like this. If it was a sport or physical activity (or skill), would you give a grade based on performance? Or would you constantly monitor their progress with daily practice and exercises? An occassional "game" would still be assessing their ability and a good coach will finetune their line-up based on the performance, but wouldn't necessarily bench a player. Bill _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
