FIAE+B2+Chapter+12


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Tiarra
In Chapter 12 of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal//, Wormeli looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the 100 point grading scale and the 4.0 grading scale. It is clear that Wormeli favors the 4.0 scale suggesting that smaller grading scales are subject to less distortion. It seems that the 4.0 scale focuses on criteria for understanding and mastery while the 1000 point scale simply focuses on right answers which are neither positive nor purposeful. We want our students to focus on learning not grades and should provide more feedback in order to help them. Wormeli also mentions how the use of Rubrics can be a good way to grade on a smaller scale; however they can be tedious and take time to master. Unfortunately, students and parents won’t always focus on learning and feedback, but on grades instead. In order to change mindsets we need to learn to change the system and maybe part of the process of living in a world without grades, where students aren’t ranked against their peers, is simply reducing the scale to the 4.0 system.

Danny K.
Chapter twelve of FIAE covers grading scales. The chapter compares and supports the 4.0 grading system over the traditional 100 point grading system. One of the reasons why the author supports the 4.0 point system over the 100 point system is because it doesn’t make students feel subjective. With a 4.0 point system students are able to know exactly what is expected of them because there is a rubric. Instead of just getting a random grade from 0 to 100 scale, a student will know exactly what they did correctly and what they still need to do work on. I have always been on the other side of the spectrum, because as a student I would rather get a grade on a 100 point scale, however I can see the importance of using a 4.0 scale with rubrics as a teacher.

Grace K.
In chapter 12, Wormeli discusses grading scales and how they vary in implementation and effectiveness. According to Wormeli, a 4.0-point grading system (or similar) provides more consistent, reliable assessment than a 100-point scale would, because 100-point scales tend to be more subjective. He also notes that the addition of rubrics that is common to a 4.0 grading system helps reinforce this consistency. I think these are excellent points, and I definitely plan on utilizing rubrics in my classroom whether or not the school I end up teaching in uses a 100-point or 4.0-point scale. I think rubrics are an excellent way for a teacher to help ensure they are being non-biased in their grading, and also a great way to provide feedback to every student, since the method to provide it is built in to the grading process

Will L.
Chapter twelve focused on the support for the 4.0 grading system, opposed to the standard 100-point scale everyone is used to. Wormeli suggests that this system is most effective as it doesn’t make student feel subjective. This is due in large part to the use of rubrics in the classroom. This ensures that students know exactly what they are being graded on, as well as the fact that this limits the bias exhibited by the teacher. After spending my first three weeks in a classroom at Mt. Blue High School, I’ve found that rubrics are indeed essential in the classroom. They clearly define all the terms in which one is graded, as well as the percentages of each graded facet.

Justin C.
Chapter 12 of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// talks about setting up grading scales to be used in the classroom. This chapter compares the use of a 4.0 grade scale to the traditional 100-point based scale. It seems as though the chapter leans towards using a 4.0 scale over the 100. The smaller numbers allows for the grade to be more concise and accurate. Caution is advised when using this scale because the 4-3-2-1-0 could be associated with an A-B-C-D-F which is what it was not intended for. Perhaps creating this scale to start at a 5 to prevent the association with the letter grades would be a good idea. I can see the good and bad sides of both possible grading scales. I think it would be hard to grade a test or a quiz based on a 4.0-scale or rubric. I have always had tests and quizzes graded based on a percentage. It just seems like the logical route to be taken. There will be times where the 100-point scale is more useful than the other but as the years go on, leaning more towards the 4.0 is recommended as it will give a more precise representation of a student’s grade and level of mastery.

Jonathan B.
Chapter twelve deals with grading scales and their implications. Different types of grading scales mean slightly different interpretations of mastery. The author doubts the significance of a percentage point in a grade as it relates to mastery. Also discussed are the different methods of labeling performance levels. This means making alternatives to the A, B, C, D, and F system. Examples of alternatives would be A, B, C and “not-yet-achieved” or “proficient, capable, adequate, limited, poor” (page 158). Could using these different labels help to motivate students or not discourage them? I'm not sure. I think that when a student gets a grade, no matter what format it is in, they will see if they've done well or if they have underperformed. It is as simple as that. We can play with the language all we want, but it is making performance indicators nebulous and is wasted energy, in my opinion. If you want to have a positive impact on students' motivation and academic self-confidence, change what goes into the number or letter. Changing the letter or number isn't making your job any easier, or increasing the capability of the student.

Jen R.
Throughout chapter 12 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal grading scales are compared. The two grading scales that Wormeli focuses his attention on are the 100-point scale and the 4-point scale. Throughout his writing, you can quickly gather that Wormeli is strongly in favor of author favors the 4-point scale but he also gives good credits to the 100-point scale. Although Wormeli is rather bias through his writing, he does give useful insight in regards to the 100-point scale. In my opinion, both styles of grading have their advantages and disadvantages; it all boils down to the material being graded. Chapter 12 also suggests to teachers that we should avoid using plus and minuses with grading students. It is not and effective way to grad and does not allow teachers to provide beneficial feedback to the students. This chapter has taught me that in my future as a teacher I should focus my efforts on providing timely feedback to my students.

Grady B.
In this chapter, Womelli discusses the different ways that educators can grade their students, focusing specifically on the 100 point and the 4.0 point scales. While obviously favoring the 4.0 point scale, the author describes the pros and cons of each. I see the validity of the statement that by using rubrics, grades become less subjective, and I also agree that the 4.0 point scale lends itself more easily to use in rubrics. However, I feel that perhaps more important than the specific grading system used is whether or not the grading system is used universally and uniformly across a district. I feel that no matter the type of scale used, if students are not comfortable with the system, it will not work efficiently. Grades are inherently subjective in nature, but the methods that the author describes in this chapter seem to be good strategies for taking some of the guesswork out of grading.

Dan B.
This chapter talks about the two grading scales. The 100 point grade scale and the 4 point (rubric) grade scale. I think that a rubric grade scale would be good for projects, because it lays out all of the expectations for the project, and it tells the students how they can achieve a good grade, by telling them what benchmarks they need to hit. I think that a 100 point scale would be better for tests because in a test you can get some of the answer wrong, but still have a lot of it right; a 100 point scale makes it easier to grade a test where most of the answer is right, but some of it is wrong.

Chris D.
Chapter 12 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal talks about the two most common grading scales that are used in schools today. These scales are the 100-point scale, the most common and larger grading scale used in schools, and the 4-point scale, the smaller yet still efficient grading scale. The book talks about how the 100-point scale is more subjective to a teacher’s opinion on what a student earned for a grade and I can’t say that I really agree with that. I don’t honestly see how a teacher could base a grade on a 100-point scale in terms of how well they think a student did if they have numbers that make sense back up their justification. To me it’s almost as if saying the 100-point grading scale isn’t a good scale to use when that’s what I was exposed to in all of high school and it worked in every class I took. An argument that the book claims is that we’re not really grading them based on mastery if we stick a 100-point scale. If I do allow for students to revise their work and I notice an improvement, then what should it matter what scale is use? Needless to say, I plan on using a 100-point grading scale in my classroom as it makes the most sense for a math class. I could see it being used in a History or English class, but when numbers are directly involved it makes more sense to me to make the grade based off of a percentage.