On the topic of grading, I have now seen two people's methods of grading and both were quite different from each others. One person leaves a lot of feedback on their student's work about how they are doing, the other just gives a numerical grade. One person keeps a hard copy of the grades and then enters them into the computer system, the other considers that to be too much work and just enters them into the computer system right away. One person has one visual arts rubric that all projects are graded off of and the other creates individual rubrics for each project. So after seeing all of these differences, I was wondering what works best for you when it comes to grading and what you may have found doesn't work or has come back to bite you in the past?
I don't have to look too far into the distant past to find something that bit me in the butt. I have been accustomed to giving "daily grades". I had originally introduced them when one administrator from seven+ years ago felt I needed to have some type of grade input everyday to indicate, somehow, how students were doing on a particular day. I based these primarily on whether or not students worked during the majority of the period, helped clean up, and participated in lectures and discussions. For ease of grading, this grade was either "5" points or "0". The system actually worked pretty well. However, a parent recently wanted to know why her daughter was getting occasional "0"s. I could, by memory, tell her, but her point was that it wasn't clearly indicated in the grade book. I reflected on this, and the parent was right. If I'm grading on lecture participation, the grade title should be "Participation-Rhythm Lecture" or "Clean Up-3/16", and so on. So, even if a system works well, that doesn't mean it is flawless.
ReplyDelete..........and dang, I still haven't sent you those two rubrics. I gotta get a tattoo on my forehead.
I liken grading to classroom management; you'll come into a style that fits your personality. Within that framework, I think one needs to consider what research says (kids need honest, insightful feedback to grow academically).
Additionally, for each assignment, I ask myself what I really want them to learn/demostrate. If I want a rhythmic, irregular pattern on their coil pot, I'll have something in my rubric that indicates that will be a graded criteria. If I want things turned in on time, I make that a criteria.
Food for thought, I never put their grade down on their grade sheet. If they want to know their grade, they must approach me, and tell me what their feedback said. Otherwise, they skip over the paper, look for the grade, and throw the graded sheet away.
Hard copy? I don't. Too neurotic for my tastes, but I know several great teachers who do.
I could go on and on, but my advice right now would be beg, borrow, and steal all the rubrics, grading sheets, etc. you can get your hands on, look them over, and I'm sure some style, some method, will pop out at you. Then, tweak it to fit your personal style, that hopefully, will change and morph, as you do.