Assessment & Grading Philosophy and Practices 2018-19

*How our work together has and continues to create a new landscape of learning at the high school

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Through student and faculty surveys and work from the Grading & Assessment Committee last spring, positive directions and common questions still being raised since implementing changes in 2014-15 are ready to be shared.

Answers are provided so that we will have a better common understanding of expected practices.

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Essential Question:

How confident are we that the gradesstudents get are more:

• accurate• consistent• meaningful, and• supportive of learning?

If grades do not meet these four conditions of quality they are “broken,” i.e., ineffective.

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To work toward assessment and grading being more ACCURATE we are no longer...

○ blending behaviors with achievement in final grades

○ relying simply on an accumulation of points divided by the number and weight of categories in a grading program

○ Using extra credit and 0’s inflating and deflating achievement

*responses from faculty feedback in 2017-18

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To work toward assessment and grading being more MEANINGFUL, we are...

○ Aligning assessment types and questions to Standards and their associated Learning Targets

○ Giving more feedback that is timely and specific to growth

*responses from faculty feedback in 2017-18

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To work toward assessment and grading being more CONSISTENT

○ Course teams using collaboration time to work together on instructional strategies, developing common assessments with associated rubrics/scoring guides and moderating student work

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To work toward assessment and grading being more SUPPORTIVE of LEARNING, we have...○ not included formative work in a final grade - allows

for more risk-taking and move to gaining a more intrinsic value for learning (has led to motivational issues - how do we address that?)

○ involved students more in the grading process and self-reflection

○ provided exemplars and shared rubrics ahead of assessments

○ considered the fact that learning is not always linear - more opportunities to demonstrate proficiency

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REPORTING OUT● Ongoing feedback on

schoology has streamlined grade reporting○ Q1 and Q3 report

cards gone● Approaches to

Learning formalized and reported at Q1 and Q3 (feedback on how to grow if inconsistent or rarely shown)

Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

Q: There is a lack of clarity/consistency in how grades are determined. What factors can be used in our “professional judgment”?

As per our Grading and Assessment philosophy and practices, professional judgment is used by educators in course development from curriculum planning to classroom instruction and the assessment of learning (formative and summative). Teachers use their own education and experience, ongoing professional development as well as ongoing collaboration with their colleagues to help shape the learning of their students.

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Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

Why professional judgment?

“One of the hallmarks of being professional is that members of a profession make decisions based on evidence and their specialized knowledge and experience. In general, when a person challenges a professional on one of his or her decisions, the professional defends it by citing the evidence and reasoning that led him or her to the decision.”

- Ken O’ConnorHigh School 10

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Professional judgment is used on a daily basis when working with students in areas such as:

● most appropriate instructional and learning strategies;

● how to differentiate based on student

need;

● how and when to check for understanding;

● when to use student reflection and

self-assessment;

● scores or marks on an individual

assignment or assessment;

● when to reassess for understanding.

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Professional judgment is also used when determining a final course grade. Teachers determine final course grades based upon:

● The most consistent pattern of performance against course Standards and the associated Learning Targets primarily from grades on summative assessments throughout the course.

● Most accurate measures of central tendency of summative scores (Mode, Median, Mean, Line of Best Fit...).

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● growth over time and recent achievement.○ Because learning is developmental,

achievement over time as well as more recent performance is important to consider. However, this does not mean looking solely at the most recent one or two grades.

○ If specific learning targets were not met early in the course but were mastered later, the later grades are a more accurate representation of achievement.

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● level of rigour and timing of a summative assessment.○ No summative is formally weighed any

more or less than another. However,

because there is a natural increase in

knowledge/skill expectations as a

course progresses, later assessments

and the performance on them will often

cover learning targets at a deeper level

of understanding than was expected on

assessments at the beginning of the

course.

● Performance on formative work that provides extra evidence of proficiency toward the Standards and associated Learning Targets and/or is necessary for class preparation.

○ Researchers and authors such as O’Connor, Guskey, William and others indicate formative work can be considered in final grade determination IF the formative work:■ helps grade determination for students caught

between final course grades (not punitive throughout the course)

■ the formative work is targeted (aligned to summative expectations), and provides extra evidence in proficiency of the Learning Targets for the unit.

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● Formative work can always be marked (e.g 3 out of 5…but the verbal/written feedback showing a way forward is most effective for growth).

● Schoology categories for formative feedback ○ Homework – practice (should be

differentiated - not a “one size fits all” and is not considered in final grade determination)

○ Homework – class prep (in borderline cases can be considered in final course grade determination IF tied to learning targets)

○ Classwork (in borderline cases can be considered in final course grade determination - IF tied to learning targets)

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● correlation with the most appropriate High School Grade Descriptor language.

Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

Can I include group grades in a summative

assessment grade?

No - Group marks or scores

are permissible for

formative feedback but a

group grade can not be

considered as part of an

individual’s personal

summative grade.

Cooperative learning is

essentially a learning

activity, not an assessment

tool to reflect the

achievement of each

student.High School 18

Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

Do I have to give absent students an opportunity to take the summative?

Yes - our goal is to see

demonstration of

learning. We will track if

the attendance behavior

becomes an issue.

However, it needs to be

made clear that makeup

is at the TEACHER’S

convenience and not the

student’s. An alternative

assessment should

always be given.

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Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

Can we have a way of tracking students who are absent for summatives?

Yes - A new code “U” will be used for any student who is absent for a summative assessment. We will be able to track for patterns and intervene earlier.High School 20

Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

We give students an ‘IE’ for not completing a summative but what eventually does that turn into and when?

At course end, an “IE”

becomes the

equivalent to an “F”.

Essentially the

student never

demonstrated

achievement toward

learning

targets/standards

assessed.

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Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

What happens when a student cheats - does it impact year long grade (no ‘A’ because they are not consistent?)

Depends, an incident for a student should NOT necessarily preclude them from getting an “A” for the course. It is another factor in professional judgment and may need discussion with Sue and/or Brent as each case is individual. Tough paradigm to shift but cheating is a behavior and students should be issued a disciplinary consequence, not a grade consequence. *Integrity policy

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Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

When do I need to have feedback recorded in Schoology (comments/marks/grades)?

Our published policy states that “Feedback and grades are to be entered within a 1, 8 day cycle unless the nature of the work/assessment makes this not possible because of the need for individual conferencing before posting, a retake, etc. If this is the case, it must be clearly communicated and it should never exceed 2, 8 day cycles. Students want more consistency with the policy across the school - one of their biggest concerns.High School 23

Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

Can we have a mid-year modified schedule again to spread out the workload for teachers/students?

Yes, was shared...we

need to make sure the

time is used in a

meaningful way. At

mid-year ALL classes

must meet for the

time period assigned

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Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

Can we have conditions for reassessment and do we always have to have reassessment options?

Yes and No, The schoolwide assessment philosophy states that the purpose of assessment is to support student learning. Accordingly, the High School recognizes that there is value in offering multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding throughout a course until proficiency is obtained.

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Therefore, reassessments may be offered covering a discrete set of skills and content but not necessarily if they will be assessed recursively.

If a student has met proficiency for a standard/target, reassessment may not be necessary. Opportunities for reassessment may also be subject to timely and successful completion of formative work and evidence of preparation for reassessment. In all cases, teachers will use professional judgment in determining when reassessment is appropriate and will administer consistently within their course teams.

Clear communication of reassessment guidelines will be published in Schoology and students will be notified when reassessment is not possible.”

Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

This school-wide philosophy is research-backed and based on the work of the G & A committee two years ago. Some clarifications:

● Re-assessment is not a “given” and is a privilege that is earned by doing the appropriate formative work during the unit and demonstrating an effort at re-learning material before re-assessment. Reassessment is always at the teacher’s discretion.

● It is most appropriate to be reassessing targets that were not met, not simply reassessing everything. This reassessment can take many forms both verbal and written.

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Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

This school-wide philosophy is research-backed and based on the work of the G & A committee two years ago. Some clarifications:

● There is no “averaging” of the original and the reassessment grade. However, both can be recorded in the students’ portfolio to show growth.

● Course teams MUST be consistent in the administration of reassessment.

● Formal reassessment is not necessary if the tested skills/knowledge is recursively assessed and/or if the reassessment is happening through the formative process (eg. writing drafts which are receiving feedback before a final draft, practice quizzes…)High School 28

Questions/Clarifications - commonly asked by faculty

and/or students

Can we have more sharing of good practices from different departments and levels?

Yes, this was mentioned

often...teachers want more times

to share school-wide practices

that are working for them re:

grading, models for tracking

summative grades, reassessment

practices, formative work

completion strategies…one

Wednesday meeting each month

set aside for full faculty

collaboration time or possibly

Monday morning check-ins for

this.High School 29

Assessment & Grading Philosophy and Practices 2018-19

*How our work together has and continues to create a new landscape of learning at the high school

High School