9 May 2007 Dear All,
I have only been on the listserv for a short amount of time but I feel compelled to discuss the grades of only A and B. I work for an International School organization called QSI (Quality Schools International - 30 schools in 26 different countries) and when the organization was founded the founder used the philosophy of Glasser in determining how the schools would evaluate students. What we do as an educational institution is not typical but my husband and I have felt very comfortable in our transition from a Standards Based school district in Colorado to QSI. The basic tenet is that all students can be successful given the time, the right circumstances, and instruction. In short, students are given a 'B' when they have mastered the unit at an appropriate level set down in the TSW's (The Student Will...). Students are given an 'A' when they have demonstrated consistently higher order thinking and skills throughout the unit on the TSW's. The TSW's would be equivalent to the standards that most are used to working with. If students have not mastered what is required they receive a 'P' denoting in progress. We use rubrics that clearly state what the 'A' and 'B' look like so that teachers, parents, and students know the expectations for each unit. Because this is different than stateside practices it is important to educate your parents, students, and new teachers in this kind of grading system. It can be difficult at first for some to adjust but most do fine. We have found that Secondary teachers struggle more with the transition from traditional grading to using only 'A's or 'B's. What I like best about this system is that you really must address all student needs without leaving students behind. Teachers are accountable as well as the students. Of course there is no perfect system and there will be some who would find imperfections in our system but I have to say I like it. What I like best I think (and this comes directly from a parent's viewpoint at our school)is that students feel their success. Our public and private schools are filled with students who don't feel good about who they are or what they can do because of the low grades they receive. I like that we work with students until they get it - no one is 'left behind.' Kim Seefried Admissions/Literacy Coordinator Kyiv International School 3A Svyatoshynsky Provuluk Kyiv, Ukraine 03115 (380-44)452-2792 school phone [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message: 2 Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 13:34:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Stacy Kula <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [MOSAIC] All-or-nothing grading To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Lori wrote: <<Having just attended a weekend seminar with Harvey Daniels, his advice regarding assessment is ringing in my ears. First, says he, teachers need to let go of the sense that everything a student does must be graded but, realizing that we have grade books and need to leave a few tracks, he called for binary grading. As he described this, it is an all or nothing sytem--19 points if you do it, 0 if you don't. >> I've heard of something like this, I think from a book I read by Glasser. He advocates using only the grades A, B, or incomplete. You can do well, or you need to keep working. If you believe (as I do) that "you can GET smart" (i.e. all students are capable of high achievement on rigorous work), then you don't want to put a final grade on work that is under a student's potential. An "incomplete" tells kids they're still in progress, whereas a C or D or F tells them either "well, this is how far you came, and that's it" or "you failed", neither of which are forward-looking (i.e. "you can get there in the future, keep working at it"), and both of which are demoralizing. Can you go into the next grade with "incomplete"s on your record? Why not? Glasser does say that this takes school-wide commitment, a high level of collegiality and working together on the part of teachers, to help each other with new ideas and strategies to really teach those kids who have not achieved that A or B. It also takes a different kind of focus... one not on knowledge-gaining (which requires a good memory and often a kind of intelligence that some kids just aren't strong in) but on aquisition of thinking skills, which anyone can do. Knowing "stuff" is overrated, since anyone can look up anything in the world easily nowadays, but unless you know HOW to use knowledge, what good does it do you? Anyway, some of these are larger issues than what you can deal with here, Kelly, but I think personally that there is something to offering an A, B, or incomplete for reading strategies. You're either thinking through texts really well, you're getting there, or you need to keep at it. I always struggled with the idea of grades. Putting all I knew about a student and what she had acheived in a quarter into a little scan-tron bubble was ridiculous, as far as I was concerned. The Learning Record which Sally worked with a team on in the 90's was a great resource for alternate, rich, narrative "grades", but it just never got off the ground, it seems. This at least seems a workable solution in a more traditional grading setup. These discussions of assessment and grading are always interesting to me. I look forward to seeing what everyone's perspectives are on this! Take care, Stacy --------------------------------- Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos. ------------------------------ ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 19:36:30 EDT From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] assessment To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" I know. Grades are not ideal. However, I am one that is in a position to not only give grades within the confines of my room but also to report to admin., teachers, parents, and students about grades earned on common assessments the whole grade level uses. I like Daniels' ideas for some of the less formal, interim assessments I do in my indiv. classroom though. Thanks for reminding me. Kerry In a message dated 5/8/2007 6:32:38 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Having just attended a weekend seminar with Harvey Daniels, his advice regarding assessment is ringing in my ears. First, says he, teachers need to let go of the sense that everything a student does must be graded but, realizing that we have grade books and need to leave a few tracks, he called for binary grading. As he described this, it is an all or nothing sytem--19 pots if you do it, 0 if you don't. He was speaking of lit circles, but AI see room for carryover. He also talked about having kids determine what is really important--a list of expectations generated BY the kids--along with a point value system (ALSO--OF BY THE KIDS). These points add up to 100 and there you go--a grade. I am trying to see this with relationship to strategies ??Thinking through my fingers about making connections?? Marks text with thinking using sticky notes where needed. Makes several meaningful connections. Can take connections back to the text. Is able to articulate connections to others. Recognizes that connections can lead a reader astray. ?? ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 08 May 2007 22:53:42 -0700 From: thomas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] All-or-nothing grading To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Stacy such an eloquent statement. I love it. Can I use it with my new teachers to be....??? Still want to get together one of these days. sally On 5/8/07 1:34 PM, "Stacy Kula" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I've heard of something like this, I think from a book I read by Glasser. > He advocates using only the grades A, B, or incomplete. You can do well, or > you need to keep working. If you believe (as I do) that "you can GET smart" > (i.e. all students are capable of high achievement on rigorous work), then you > don't want to put a final grade on work that is under a student's potential. > An "incomplete" tells kids they're still in progress, whereas a C or D or F > tells them either "well, this is how far you came, and that's it" or "you > failed", neither of which are forward-looking (i.e. "you can get there in the > future, keep working at it"), and both of which are demoralizing. > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
