UbDDI+B1+Chapter+8

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Brody
Before reading the eighth chapter of //UbD/DI//, I had doubts that I’d be able to efficiently grade in a differentiated classroom. After all, how could I grade different work on an equal, standardized basis? Chapter 8 puts these questions to rest by presenting the six principles of grading in a differentiated classroom. First, grades should be based off of clearly specified goals and standards. These specific learning goals are used in the first stage of the backward design process. Grades should also be a clear indicator of what the student is capable of doing. Another tip is to not grade one student in relation to another. If this happens, students compete in an unhealthy competition for a handful of A’s up for grabs. Instead, grade against the established goals. Grades should largely be derived from summative assignments as students should have many chances to improve through formative assessments. Tomlinson and McTighe also suggest avoiding averaging grades and focusing solely on achievement. Other factors such as work habits and progress toward goals should be reported separately. The primary goal of grading and reporting is to communicate to students and parents high-quality feedback. When grading is clear and based off of achievement and reporting can show progress and work ethic, students receive higher quality feedback that can assist them in their learning. Overall, this chapter was a lifesaver for me as it clearly outlined how to grade properly in a differentiated classroom. I might just print the six step process out and clip it inside my gradebook for constant reference.

This chapter basically talks about how you should go about grading your students. The author really stressed that communication was vital with not only the student but also their parents. It is also important to let students know where they stand in the classroom in order to help them improve upon not only their grades but also hopefully develop their learning more. I enjoyed that the chapter talked about important it is to grade certain assignments differently than one another. Obviously a project is going to be weighted more than a homework assignment that will take 15 minutes of a student's time. What is most important though is to grade based on the differentiated instruction. Some students are going to understand certain assignments more than other students in the classroom who are struggling. As a future teacher, my goal is to make sure that all students have the same understanding of the importance of assignments and accomplishing them even if it means making some alternative assignments for students in order for them to understand the lesson.
 * Mike**

Maxwell
This chapter gives us a better understanding of how to grade for differentiated instruction. I see a lot of my teachers using some of the strategies in their classrooms. I really like comparing student’s grades to how good the class did overall to see where you fall. This will let the teacher as well know how well they taught the lesson. If a majority of the students did poorly then maybe we as the teacher can spend a little more time in the weaker subjects. Also we must keep in mind the amount of effort that goes into an assignment. For instance, a test would count as more points than a worksheet that is done in class. Grading is an important way to show how much of the material is being learned.

**Jen**
This chapter deals with the grading aspects of teaching. It discusses the role of the teacher and the grading aspect of teaching but also the way the student responds to the grades. Grades should reflect on the students work but most students take grades to a different level and take it personally or focus too much on the grades. Teachers understand that grades don't accurately explain a students understanding of the content or represent their knowledge to the best of their ability. This is where the struggle occurs. Also another struggle is what considered an "A" by one teacher may be rated completely different to another teacher. (129). Grades can be very frustrating, especially when students only focus on getting an A and not on learning the content. That is when it becomes aggravating for both the teacher and the student because the student is receiving the grade they want because they are just focused on the grade and not on the content, and the teacher is aggravating because the student isn't even trying to fully understand the information for long term, but rather just enough to pass the assessment. The authors also make a very valid point, grades are not just understanding the content but now it factors in various other elements such as participation, attendance, etc. which may not or should not necessarily be combined into one grade because it doesn't address how much a student know, it just evaluates a student's level of proficiency in logistical things.

Kaitlyn Bartlett
In chapter 8 of Understanding by Design, the authors mention that grading and assessment are not synonyms, so not every assessment needs to be graded. I don’t agree with the book. As a student, I wanted the satisfaction of getting a good grade for hard work; when I would do a project and get feedback instead of a grade I wouldn’t be very happy knowing that I put a lot of work into something that seemed so insignificant to a teacher. Being on the other side of the thinking now, I know it is not insignificant to have students do this work, but I feel as though they need to be rewarded with a grade for hard work. This will affect my classroom because any type of assessment I give will be graded for student satisfaction. I feel it will make more work for myself, but foster a better learning environment.

Brittany
As a want to be teacher I know that the grading system is seriously messed up, but it is what we have to work with. Students receive one number or letter grade that supposedly tells the school, that student, the student’s parents, and anyone else who looks at it how well that student did in that class. What it does not show are the hours that student might have spent doing homework, how much they participated in class, or even how hard they worked to get that one letter or number on a report card. It is unfair but it is what we have to work with. So, here is my theory. As a teacher, I have to tell my students exactly what they are being graded on so that they can see where they can improve or where they excel. We should not just grade on the content but on creativity and use of new methods so that they feel encouraged to develop those traits as a part of school and not just as a nice add on at the end of the day.

Seth
I agree when the book states that everything should not be included in the grades. Obviously you wouldn’t grade a pre-assessment or self-reflection. Organizers/worksheets that are handed out to gauge a student’s understanding of a subject before anything is taught should not receive a grade. However, I think that everything else should. Class participation, attendance, tests, quizzes, projects all need to be counted towards the final grade. I also liked the part of the chapter that mentioned eliminating the factors and conditions that interfere with our students’ capacity to demonstrate what they have come to know, understand, and are able to do (130). Distractions in the classroom must be dealt with. Laptop lids must be closed during a teacher lecture and eyes forward. Simple stuff like that.

**Casey** This chapter talks about how each student learns differently, and how each student is a different person. Teachers should not compare students, because this can create tension between classmates and make the classroom environment uncomfortable to learn in. The chapter stresses that teachers should grade students on their personal achievements instead of how they are acting in class. Grades are a way to let the students know that the material they are learning is important. The more the grade is worth, the more important what they learning is. Students will take their work more seriously when they know a lot can be counted against them if they do not complete it proficiently.

Lily
This chapter covers appropriate assessment and effective grading. Six principles of grading are covered and these include, grades and reports should be based on clearly specified learning goals and performance standards, evidence used for grading should be valid, grading should be based on established criteria, no arbitrary norms, not everything should be included in grades, avoid grading based on averages, and focus on achievement, and report others factors separately. These can be used in backwards design. I think that it is great that they help us understand the difference between assessment and effective grading "assessment focuses on gathering information about student achievement that can be used to make instructional decision. Grading is an end point judgment about student achievement" (131).

Kim
The beginning of this chapter brings to light a very good point about grading in a differentiated instruction classroom. How can we assess students using a differentiated method when report cards and other similar tools are mostly standardized? While teaching using differentiation might show that a student has remarkable strengths in one area, the evidence as reported at the end of a term might suggest otherwise and is therefore inaccurate. The authors go on to explain the two types of grading, the first using the letter or number system that many of us are familiar with, and the second being sharing evaluations with students and parents. I like that they believe the “primary goal of grading and reporting is to communicate to important audiences, such as students and parents, high-quality feedback to support the learning process and encourage learner success,” (129). I wish that more schools could follow similar beliefs and forget about the letter/number grade system. Certainly there might be instances where using number or letter grades might be necessary, but I think it is more important to give high-quality feedback to students. Giving a student feedback on how he or she could improve his or her work would realistically be more effective than telling him or her that the grade earned was a 47. Where in the real world will your final product earn you a 47? Where in the real world will you receive feedback on your performance or your final product? A number grade might come as a secondary form of evaluation, but the feedback is something that can be used to improve on. While I don’t know what my school’s policy will be on grading, I hope that I will be able to incorporate a lot of feedback into my grading system so that students have a better idea of where they stand in my classroom.

Casey
Chapter eight is mainly focused on grading in a differentiated classroom.Specifically that we need to try to give as much feedback as possible. This can be much more effective than your everyday letter or number grade, however letter and number grades are still important. The grade should be a part of assessing how a student is doing but you should also be sending feedback back with that grade. Grading should not be a right or a wrong thing, in the end it should be much more of whether a student understands the material or not. While we are making sure they are understanding the material, we should also be focusing on the achievements instead of what they are doing wrong, and what grade they are going to receive.

Jasmyn
I agree “not everything should be included in grades”, if grades are the final status of the student achievement then they should accurately display just that. In reaching the final grade the student should have had the opportunity for revision and plenty of feedback on all assignments. It is the responsibility of the teacher to provide these occasions and the responsibility of the student to take advantage of them. The reason I can agree with the idea of not including everything in the final grade is because I believe that it would be impossible for the teacher to score any sort of pre-assessment or any sort of self-reflection. Grades should be solely based on the summative assessments given throughout the course.

Leighlan
The goal of grading is to communicate to the students and their parents how they are learning and what needs to be worked on more. In order to achieve this goal, teachers need to clearly state what needs to be mastered. They should be careful to measure the student’s mastery and not grade things that are an inaccurate representation of how much the student has learned. Other things like student behavior should be reported separately and not graded. The grading criteria should be exposit and clear and reflect how the individual did according to the criteria not how they did compared to others in the class. Work habits, and progress on goals should also be reported on so the teacher can do something to help the student develop in these ways, but not necessary graded. Grading need not only occur in schools, it may be helpful to use these practices to grade your pet so you can modify your methods.