Seems like on most days when I hit social media, I’m bombarded by the same chatter—grades are “meaningless,” “don’t measure learning,” and “are corruptive.” And the comments don’t stop there. There’s negative chatter about all forms of grading practices, including standards-based grading. While I agree that outdated and ineffective grading practices like using a 101 … Continue reading The Case for Standards-Based Grading
***Updated with a video link at the bottom*** Since I began working with my Secondary Assessment Learning Team (SALT) at my school, I've attempted to tackle numerous projects, but none has been more significant and problematic than my grade book. Since going officially gradeless (feedback only with students, no levels, no points, no scores, no … Continue reading What story does your grade book tell?
For the first month of quarter one, I saw approximately 50% of my English 8 students. No joke. I’d take attendance and hit an equal number of Absent as I did Present into Myed. After putting my heart and soul into planning a quarter and being stoked to be back in the classroom face to … Continue reading Popcorn attendance, learning opportunities, and mulligans: musings about teaching in a quarter system
Quarters. Copernican. Ten weeks. These are the words many high school teachers across British Columbia have heard in the last few weeks instilling intrigue, fear, and anxiousness for the new school year. Sure, it’s the same number of teaching minutes, but it’s not so easy to just double the lessons and call it a day. … Continue reading Backwards design to survive our quarter course reality
A few months after I launched the gradeless learning scale to the teachers at my high school, it was noted by a reputable professional that students and parents alike would soon view the headings of the scale as no different than letter grades. In their view, what they were trying to tell me was that … Continue reading Going More Gradeless
Once upon a time, in a far away gradebook, oh about fifteen to twenty odd years ago, there was a keen and eager teacher who wanted to create an assessment for an English 9 short fiction unit. She laboured over the assessment and decided that a test would be the finest of fits for her … Continue reading Content, A Fairy Tale
You’ve embraced a gradeless mindset. Your students are showing progress. It was a struggle at first, but you persevered in your communication of student learning to parents and they now appreciate that your focus has been on learning and not grades. Wahoo! Success! But it’s June and the Ministry of Education requires a letter grade … Continue reading The Report Card Dilemma
I’m so done with letter grades. I’m done with having to generate a symbol of learning that is banal and meaningless. To me, putting a letter grade on a report card is the equivalent of putting onion flakes on the perfect hot fudge sundae. Yuck. Take my Drama 10 class. Over six weeks, they worked … Continue reading There is no ‘%’ in ‘team’
When I was in university, I liked A’s. I was shaken by A-‘s and a smart person knew better than to come near me if I got a B+ on anything. I liked A’s. Funny thing is, I’m not sure why I liked A’s. I knew they epitomized a standard of achievement that students desired. … Continue reading Grades are the bane of my existence
As mentioned in my Teachers Going Gradeless post, communication of student learning is vital for gradeless and standards based grading to be successful. By communication, I mean communication of pivotal learning points in a student's learning journey:where they are at now and how to get to the next level. Communication should highlight the growth and … Continue reading Choreographing Communication of Student Learning
