Educ 3100

Grading Debate

What elements of student learning should a grade convey? Achievement Aptitude Effort Compliance Attitude

Grading Policies: Table Discussion What is an appropriate

distribution of grades (how many As, Bs, etc.)?

Should you allow late work? How will you count late work? Will process as well as product

be part of the grade? Will there be any group

grades given or will all the grades be individually determined?

Will homework and/or attendance be part of the final grade?

Should I hold all students to the same standard or should I adjust my expectations for special needs students?

What does a grade mean?

What elements of student learning should a grade convey? Achievement Aptitude Effort Compliance Attitude

Should grades be criterion-referenced or norm-referenced?

I’ve stated my objectives. I’ve taught the lessons. I made changes during the lessons

based on my formative assessments. I helped students through

correctives and gave them opportunities to extend their learning.

I assessed their learning of the whole unit using my summative assessment.

Now what . . . . . .

What do I do with the Data?

How do I use the information from summative assessments?

Who uses the information I gather?

How should I store the information?

How should I summarize the information?

What are the uses?

Grades Indicate student mastery Indicate teacher competence Criteria for continued study Criteria for acceptance in groups

What if students did poorly? What do I do then?

How will information be stored? Descriptive detail

Item analysis Summary judgment Gradebook vs. portfolio Who stores it?

How will the information be summarized? Achievement status

Examples Improvement Mastery level

http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/agonzales/disclosure07.html

Individual students or group

How will the information be reported? Students Parents Administration State – CRT, AYP

http://www.schools.utah.gov/assessment/

Federal

All of these elements need to be considered as data about students is gathered and transferred into a reportable form

GRADES

Essential Factors in Grading Clearly define expectations in each

grading context for a given grading period.

Develop sound assessments for those outcomes.

Keep careful records of student attainment of the achievement expectations over the grading period.

The Ten Commandments of Grading1.The grade is a report of achievement

2.The grade is based upon a number of varied, valid measures

3.The grading system is simple enough for all to understand

4.The origin of students’ grades is clearly made known

5.The students know where they stand at all times

6.If you can’t measure it, don’t count it (much)7.Remember, all measures are estimates at

best8.The grade is not payment for something the

student has done9.Time to question the grade is at the

beginning, not the end of the term10.Surprises are for Christmas, not for report

card time

DO YOU

AGREE?

Report Cards with more detail Standards-based reporting Narrative reporting Continuous progress reporting

Educ 3100

What did you learn in Level 1 (any class) about education that surprised you?

What did you wish we had done in Educ 3100 that we didn’t do? Or what did you want to learn about that wasn’t covered?

Disclosures

What is the purpose? Communicate with

Students Parents

Specify policies Get it in writing (legal issues)

Parts of a Disclosure Teacher’s name, name of course/unit, time frame Brief course/unit description and broad goals Specific course/unit objectives Specific course requirements Grading/testing policies Citizenship policies Class expectations and rules Standards for written work, group work, etc. Class resources Video information FERPA information Other (homework philosophy, parent involvement,

special dates, etc) Parent signature

Sample Course Disclosures 1st grade

http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/sipson/files/779482D6D51747EAB3FDD7D81BF9AFFA.pdf

1st grade http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/mseegmiller/

disclosure.html

3rd grade http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/jbaetge/index.html

5th grade http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/ralbrecht/index.html

Disclosure evaluation

Disclosure Template

http://faculty.weber.edu/kristinhadley/ed3100/Analysis%20of%20Student%20Learning/Default.htm

Review TWS expectations and organization

Begin working on your course disclosure.

Educ 3100

Types of Parent – School Communication Formal events

Back to school night Programs Scheduled parent/teacher

conferences Traditional Student led, portfolio centered Reverse conferences

Informal communication Class newsletters Regular e-mail Phone calls

Back to School Night

Be positive, energetic Give them an overview Don’t overwhelm with details Have any important information

in writing

Student Programs

Can communicate with parents before or after event.

The program is also a form of communication What/who is important? What is valued?

Elementary ConferencesPrepare for the conference: Develop a packet for the conference, including:

Student's goals Samples of work Reports or notes from other staff (can gather at a staff meeting).

Conduct conference with the student, parent, and teacher.

Have a comfortable, pleasant setting, e.g. right sized chairs, coffee, and cookies;

Establish a time period for the conference, e.g., 20 minutes;

Review goals set earlier (if none, it's time to set goals); Review progress toward goals

Scenario 1

Elementary Conferences

Review progress with samples of work from learning activities;

Review attendance and handling of responsibilities at school/home;

Modify goals for balance of the year as necessary; Determine other learning activities to accomplish

goals; Describe upcoming events and activities; Discuss how the home can contribute to learning; Parents give their thoughts on student's progress; and Ask parents and students for questions, ideas.

Scenario 2

Other Types of Conferences Student-led, portfolio-driven

conferences Students prepare to show parents their

progress using their portfolio. Pre-post data Progress

Teacher prepare an outline of topics that the student needs to cover with their parents.

Can have several going on at the same time.

Sidebar: Portfolios

Portfolios can help a student evaluate their work and see progress over time.

Students should be in charge of their portfolios and what is in them within certain parameters.

Discuss growth and improvement with students

Other Types of Conferences

Reverse parent conferences Conduct at the start of school Goal is to help teachers understand the child and

become an advocate for their progress and interests. Questions:

What is the most important thing you would like me to know about your child?

What are some of your child’s talents and strengths? What are some areas where your child struggles? How does your child view school? What are your goals for your child this year? What is your child's activity schedule away from

school?

Reverse Conferences

More questions How do you deal with homework? Do you help your

child with it, or check to make sure it's finished? What is your family routine at home? How does the

family spend its evenings? How does your child solve problems at home? What holidays does your family celebrate? Will any

of these celebrations affect your child's activities at school?

Would you share a bit about your family's heritage? Has your child seen family members in situations in

which they were discriminated against? What are some of the ways that your family has

worked to help your child appreciate racial or ethnic differences?

Class Newsletters

Have some sort of parent communication letter at least four times a year. Include Schedules and calendar Important events Large assignment due dates and details Ways parents can help Information about how to contact you

Can be written by teacher or students

PROOFREAD!!!!! and then PROOFREAD again, and then have a colleague PROOFREAD!!!

Class Websites

http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/agonzales/curriculum.html

http://ffjh.davis.k12.ut.us/faculty.htm http://blog.weber.k12.ut.us/

tisimonsen/ http://www.morgan.k12.ut.us/elementary/4th/team%20Netz%20Root/

index.html

http://mcgowan1st.com/1stGrade/firstsites.html#1

E-mail

Prepare a distribution list of parent and student e-mails.

Send out a weekly, monthly, quarterly communication with information similar to a newsletter.

Check e-mail daily and respond the same day (if possible).

Phone Calls

The first contact with a parent should be positive. Call about the good things. Plan to call three or four parents during your

planning time two or three times a week. When calling about a classroom

concern, start with something positive, then express the problem as a “concern” rather than a gripe.

Get the parents on board by creating a plan to work together to help the child.Scenario 4

Scenario 3

Standardized Testing

What Types of Testing Will You Likely See?

Iowa Test of Basic Skills - ITBS Utah State End of Level Tests – CRT National Assessment of Educational

Progress (NAEP) Norm-referenced

Direct Writing Assessment - DWA

Iowa Test of Basic SkillsITBS Norm-referenced Achievement test Score reports

Percentiles Stanines Grade-equivalent (not very useful)

Percentile

The raw scores of the norming population are put in order from lowest to highest. They are then split into 100 equal groups, called PERCENTILES. Each student’s score is then compared to the norming scores to see where it falls.

Stanines: The percentile score is divided into nine segments, each of which represents a “standard nine.”

Utah State End of Level Tests Criterion-referenced tests – CRT

Criteria is the state core for the course Language Arts - 1st – 6th grade Math – 1st – 6th grade Science – 4th – 6th grade

Reported in percentage correct Compared to class, grade, school, district

Proficiency level also reported Level 4: Substantial. The student's performance indicates

substantial understanding and application of key curriculum concepts.

Level 3: Sufficient. The student's performance indicates sufficient understanding and application of key curriculum concepts

Level 2: Partial. The student's performance indicates partial understanding and application of key curriculum concepts.

Level 1: Minimal. The student's performance indicates minimal understanding and application of key curriculum concepts.

National Assessment of Educational Progress - NAEP The Nation’s Report Card A national-wide norm-referenced test. Compares students across the country to

assess “educational progress.” http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ http://www.schools.utah.gov/assessment/

Default.aspx

Direct Writing Assessment - DWA 6th grade Evaluates student writing based on

six traits http://www.schools.utah.gov/

assessment/Default.aspx

Faculty Evaluation