"C" Is for Choose
I created a grading scale that evaluated students qualitatively and encouraged student choice. If they received an A, their work was awesome, above average, and went above and beyond expectations. If they received a B, their work was better than average, went beyond expectations, but I "bet" they could do better. A grade of C meant choose: choose to accept the grade, choose to find and fix mistakes, or choose to go or explain further. A grade of D meant do over or do it again. A student earned an F if they did not complete the assignment; however, I asked, "Did you forget it? Did you forego it?" They are allowed to turn in the assignment after the deadline for a 59.5 (the lowest grade they could receive). They are always allowed and encouraged to do better and receive a higher grade—even if they received a zero or did nothing all year. For my students and me, it's not about the grades. It's about the learning.
—Erik M. Francis, author, educator, and speaker, Maverik Education LLC, Scottsdale, Arizona
Focusing on What Matters
Watch Gerard Van Gils, 2017 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Teacher of the Year, share his realization that teachers' focus should be on their students, so students can focus on the future.
Letting Voices Shine
To encourage student voice beyond the written page and the classroom, I began inviting students to submit their work in recorded audio. Within our learning management system, students respond to various prompts with an explanation they can personalize, edit, post, and share. The advantage for them in using technology tools to record themselves is the safe environment in which these answers are heard. No one can shame or silence a student whose confidence grows while he is expressing himself in this media. A completed post requires true composition—of the words and of the self—and lets the clarity of their unique ideas shine.
The advantage for me as an evaluator is that I can understand tone that is often lost in words on a page (or a computer screen). I can hear mastery, creativity, and differences of opinion, as if the student were sitting with me. I love the mobility of these recordings too; I can grade anywhere. I often respond in audio as well, so students can hear my feedback.
—John Hayward, English teacher, Naperville Central High School, Naperville, Illinois
From Dependent Readers to Independent Readers
When I first taught Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, students and I would read scenes aloud, and, like a viewer hitting the pause button every few minutes, I would stop to clarify confusing passages or start a brief discussion. It became clear that my students weren't becoming better readers of Shakespeare. My explanations only resulted in students' desire for more explanations.
I realized that my assessments were part of the problem. Though I endeavored to ask higher-order questions in the assessments—such as asking students to interpret a simile—in effect, I was asking recall questions because they had already discussed those things during class activities.
Taking a page from Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe's book Understanding by Design, I started crafting tasks designed to assess students' ability to construct meaning by replicating key procedures—analyzing diction and syntax, looking for patterns and contrasts, generating thesis statements—learned in class. Only this time, they would apply these to a previously undiscussed text or passage. Shifting my assessment focus from a specific text's details to transferable skills changed the game for me and my students, helping them become more independent readers.
—Jose Reyes, supervisor of humanities 6–12, Marlborough Public School, Marlborourgh, Massachusetts
Two-Round Assessments
I give students two rounds. The first pass is like a rough draft; students give the assessment their best effort. I write feedback on a few select questions to move their learning forward—even if their work on the quiz is flawless.
In the second round, students must respond to my feedback using a different color pen. I then grade their demonstration of knowledge on each learning target using a four-point rubric. If a student has shown that he or she does not understand a skill, I mark this skill as "missing" or "incomplete" and they must schedule a time to work on this skill and re-assess when they are ready. When students get their quiz back, they track their progress.
This process is valuable because it minimizes their test anxiety. Over time, students see me as their partner in learning. Students believe that I want them to be successful, and that I believe in their ability to achieve at high levels. They can see documented growth on each quiz, and I get a better picture of their genuine understanding, which informs my teaching.
—Lisa Bejarano, math teacher, Aspen Valley High School, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Tell Me Why You Chose That Answer
All of my summative assessments have a multiple-choice component. For each multiple-choice question, students are required to provide an additional written rationale for their answers. If the choice is wrong, the rationale is wrong. If the choice is correct, but the rationale doesn't add up or there is no rationale, they guessed, and so therefore only earn partial credit. The rationales provide me with an extra insight to the students' understanding of the topics.
—Edward Auerbach, teacher, Stockton High School, Stockton, California
