Gina: we have wrestled with this for years also. What we finally came
up with was a reading grading rubric which added up to 100%. Different
portions at different times of the year are weighted differently. For
instance, out students are to be reading a certain number of books
independently each quarter; what is their actual reading level; fluency
level; do they complete their Reading at Home Log; use of Reading
Strategies; level of independent reading behaviors in the classroom;
etc.--what ever you value in your classroom for reading growth. This
seems to give the parents and students an accurate picture of the whole
student, and more challenged readers have an opportunity to bring their
grade up with effort. I think there is an old example of one on the
tools page. This has worked for my grade level very well for the past
three years. Hope I've explained this with some clarity.
Deb/FL4th
-----Original Message-----
From: gina nunley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Sat, 10 May 2008 10:22 am
Subject: [MOSAIC] The Albatross
I read the digest almost daily and feel a connection to teachers across
the
world (it seems) as we journey with our students through the process
of
reading.
I love the ideas, have head shaking 'I know' moments, disagree, agree,
and take
it back to the classroom and validate or change what I am doing.
BUT every three weeks (progress reports are due Monday) I am jerked
back into an
ugly reality as I realize that I don't have this nice set of grades to
stamp on
each child. People will tell me "Oh just give them the grade you know
they
deserve"...So for that child who struggles but seems to be making
progress would
he receive a 76% or an 82% on comprehension? If you have been reading
MOT posts
for years you have seen some version of this e-mail from me before.
(apologies!)
At those points I stop reading the digests and wish that I had given
objective
tests on the books we read so I could quickly plug in those grades and
be done
with it. I sometimes think I am just too tired to fight this battle
any longer
and I am throwing in the "Mosaic of thought" towel and joining the club
of quick
and easy assignments that have grades. A friend I know actually uses
SRA
grades, with no apologies, so she can dismiss the report card and go
back to the
deep reading she and the kids thrive on.
My question.....How do you all turn the reading work your students do
into a
percentage grade??!!! I am stuck with a classic percentage grade
report card
Reading- 87% or &3% or 50%. Putting a number grade or even a letter
grade
(because I have gone to a point where it is either an A, B, or C) on
top of a
reading response log is so backwards - I know it isn't saying the right
thing to
kids or parents.
We do have a pilot program in which we have identified assessed target
goals,
use rubrics, and are to repeatedly assess these goals over a six weeks
and take
the final grade- the idea is that an average doesn't reflect what the
student
knows in the end. We also do not include on time performance in those
grades.
I am having difficulty finding the time for all that amount of grading.
A large group of MOT members are classroom teachers, so I am certain
you face
this dielmma as well, but I rarely hear anyone address the grading
component.
Why is that? Do you all have a secret you can share? (-:
Gina
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