FIAE+B2+Chapter+11

toc
 * 1) Click on edit this page.
 * 2) Use the down arrow on your keyboard to get the cursor underneath the horizontal bar.
 * 3) Type your name, highlight your name and then select Heading 3 at the top.
 * 4) Copy and paste your reflection underneath your name.
 * 5) Insert a horizontal bar under your reflection.
 * 6) Click save

In this chapter of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal//, we are shown several controversial grading issues that teachers face on a daily basis. Some of these problems include weighting grades, whether or not we give a zero or a sixty, and how to grade high achieving or special needs students. I like that the chapter mentioned that a student shouldn’t be necessarily be penalized for late work if they are not chronically turning in late work. I feel that sometimes, students just need a little extra time and when you don’t give them the time they need to turn in excellent work then you receive something sub-par instead. I also appreciated the Credit proportional to achievement idea presented in this chapter, because achievement may look different for different students. As far as whether or not a student should receive a zero or a 60 for missing work, I’m not entirely certain what I would do yet. I feel that if a student didn’t even make an attempt than they should not receive credit for nothing. I think I would rather allow them to do some sort of makeup, or replacement work for partial credit rather than give them something for nothing.

Grace K.
In chapter 11 of Fair Isn't Always Equal, Wormeli writes about several complicated and possibly controversial subjects related to grading. In particular, he addresses missing work, late work, grading students involved in gifted programs, grading students with special needs, and weighting grades. In particular, Wormeli recommends eliminating zeros from our grading processes, and instead replacing them with a grade of 60 on a 100-point scale or a 1.0 on a 4.0-point scale. I have to say I really disagree with his assertion that including zeros for missing work is “unfair” and leads to grades the student didn’t truly earn. I can understand offering a standard failing grade for completed work if a student had a very difficult time with a test or other assignment, but I can’t support offering students partial credit on work they did not even attempt. I do understand the rationale behind offering students the opportunity to make up work for full credit, and I think I would offer this opportunity in my own class, but with a simple adjustment: late work could be turned in for full credit before the end of a unit, but once a new unit is started, work from the past unit is off the table. This offers students ample opportunity to meet the standard in a unit, while still ensuring that they are focusing on the current class topic, rather than what the class was doing two weeks ago.

Danny K.
Chapter eleven of FIAE covered the issues that arise when it comes to grading your students. The chapter elaborates on different ways teachers can grade to see if their students have learned the content that was being targeted. Unfortunately grades are a big part of most of our public school systems. More students, teachers, administrators, political figures are more worried about student grades than students learning. In middle school and high school I was always more worried about my grades than learning the material. I found it annoying/frustrating with the way some teachers graded. For example, I had a teacher in English class that allowed students to retake a test, but she would give the exact test for you to retake and she would take the higher of the two grades. You never had to study for a test the first time or learn the material, you could just remember the first test and retake it for a 100. In another class a teacher would only allow you to retake a test if you had a 69 or below, and then she would average the two grades. I found this to be unfair because if you scored a 70 on a test you would be stuck with that grade, but if you scored a 69 you had the opportunity to get an 85. As a teacher I will try to find out a system that is consistent and fair to all my students, but most of all, a system that encourages learning.

= =

Will L.
This chapter focused specifically on the somewhat controversial topics in regards to grading in today’s education system. The one thing that really struck me about this chapter was his thoughts on students who don’t attempt/complete assigned work. He suggested that teachers shouldn’t give zeros for grades. Instead, they should place a 60, or maximum failing grade on that assignment, because he suggests that the student shouldn’t earn a zero, as it wouldn’t truly reflect that student’s potential. If that were the case when I was in school, I feel that I probably would have been a lot less motivated to do my work, especially if I was subjected to the opportunity to receive an actual grade, rather than a zero, for not doing anything. This seems very counterproductive to education. Students do have potential in school, but if they don’t do the work that’s assigned to them, I think they should be graded on a separate scale.

Justin C.
This chapter of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// touches on six of the issues that come up in grading students. It talks about different ways teachers should consider grading when it comes to showing if students have mastered the material that was taught. Some teachers find it to be a dilemma when it comes to deciding to record a zero or a sixty as a grade for a student. Both of these grades are failing but the sixty the upper bound of the failing scale. Using this grade, the student has still failed the assignment, but the overall grade would not be skewed as much as the zero would have caused it to do. I feel that this would be a good course of action when it comes to grading my students. I know the student failed this assignment, but they may have done excellent on everything else. A zero would skew the average in a way that does not accurately represent what he/she has been able to do in the class. Recording the sixty still shows that the student failed that one assignment but the higher number would not create as much of a difference as the zero would have.

Jen R.
In chapter 11 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormeli brings to attention the areas concerning grading. Grading can be a taunting for any and all teachers, especially those new to a job. A lot of pressure is put on teachers to have a respected and lenient grading scale, along with students who have been driven to believe that success and exceptional grades go hand in hand. Wormeli believes that when a student does not turn in an assignment or scores lower than a sixty it is better to record a sixty instead of a zero. When it comes time to average all the grades together, a zero will bring the final grade down drastically and will not show accurate mastery of the subject. This may be true under certain circumstances, but I do not agree that this is always the best solution. Grading is a very difficult subject to master, and to be honest I do not believe there will ever be a “right” way to grade. In my opinion, grading should be treated along the lines of a MI or learning style. To go along with differentiated classrooms a teacher should remember that we must do what is fair and not always equal.

Jonathan B.
Chapter eleven covers six issues with grading. One of the issues discussed regarding grading is whether or not to leave missing work as a zero, or to bump it up to a fifty, sixty, or even seventy. The author reasons that zeroes in the gradebook will lead to a final grade that is not indicative of mastery. Another issue discussed in the chapter is the grading of late work. The author argues that late work should not be penalized (or at least not severely), because this will not result in the student learning any content. The author disregards the argument of not letting students get away with late work because “there is no turning in late work in the real world” as false. I find myself disagreeing with the arguments that the author makes. The kind of leniency discussed in the chapter won't help much to “ensure understanding,” in my opinion. Unfortunately, in today's economy and job market, being the “late one” won't get you a job or position—and may get you fired. The adult world is a place of competition, and at the very little, “holding up your end of the deal.” Simply ignoring this will not only lead to students being unprepared for life after public education, but if implemented across the board could weaken our economy.

Grady B.
This chapter of //FAIE// deals with the complicated issue of grading fairly. The issue that Wormelli raised that I was most immediately struck by was his argument that students should not receive 0’s if they do not do a piece of homework, but 60’s instead. While I do acknowledge that even a single 0 in the grade book can have a profound impact on a student’s grade, I am not sold that providing automatic 60’s is the correct answer. My issue with this method is that giving such a high grade as a baseline score means that all scores would likely be pushed up if absolute failure became a 60. I feel that teachers would feel more obligated to give higher marks for work that is missing key parts, or misses the point of the assignment. It presents a unique challenge when you are giving the same grade to someone who made no attempt and someone who put in at least some effort. Since Wormelli has previously shown so much distain for scaling grades and focusing on things other than mastery, I find it odd that he would advocate presenting incompletes in such an inflated manner.

Dan B.
This chapter talks about some of the dilemmas that teachers face in grading students. The one that I thought about the most was how to grade a student if they do not do any work. The book suggested giving all students that do not do the work 60's. I do not agree with this. I do not think it is right for a student who does not do anything to earn a 60, whereas a student could do a project, poorly, and receive a 60. I don't think that it is fair for someone to do the work to receive the same grade as a student who did not do any work. A zero will hurt a students grade drastically though. I am undecided on how I will asses students who do not do the work; I think that, chances are, I will take them on a case by case basis.

Chris D.
Chapter 11 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal opens up with a very good question about turning a student’s grade of a zero into a sixty. Personally, I like this because it mathematically shows the true mastery of the student with little to no skew effects happening. Consider the following: a student has 4 assignments and gets 100’s on 3 out of 4 of them, and doesn’t do one assignment. As a zero in the grade book, the average is a 60. Now, if we were to change that grade of a zero into a sixty and keep the other scores, the new grade is a 90, which is a more accurate representation of the student’s mastery. There’s also the option that we have as teachers to drop a couple of low grades. I plan on giving students quizzes throughout the entire year, and a couple of poor quiz grades can definitely skew a student’s grade. An alternative to giving a student a sixty in this case is to just drop a few of the low grades to get a more accurate representation of their mastery.