FIAE+B2+Chapter+8

Abstract/Synthesis - Jonathan B.
In chapter eight, Wormelli discusses non-student-product contributions to grading (attendance, effort, behavior). The author argues that these grades are not indicative of mastery or proficiency in what is being taught, and subsequently skew the academic picture. In other words, these non-content-comprehension categories can "dilute" the grade. The weight carried by these non-student-product grades varies in influence. For instance, it is [|unlawful] to grade a student based solely on his or her behavior. But does a small percentage of the grade dedicated to these categories, and meant to be implemented in a purely "academic" way really dilute the grade as an academic indicator that much? The author seems to think so.
 * Abstract**

Many agreed with this chapter, but still wanted to recognize and motivate students towards good attendance, behavior, and effort. Most saw the validity of the author's argument that grades are an indicator of content mastery and should not be skewed by these grades. However, a lot of us still wanted to incorporate into our grades positive academic behavior like constructive participation. This can go both ways. Students that are trying hard in class but don't necessarily raise their hand at every opportunity don't want to be punished in the gradebook. Here is a an example of an [|alternative] approach to the subject the author write about. toc
 * Synthesis**

**Tiarra**
In chapter eight, Wormeli emphasizes the importance of incorporating other important factors into the assessment of our students. //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// has made it clear that when we use grades to motivate, sort or punish students we dilute the grades accuracy and usefulness. However by grading students on such qualities as effort, attendance and behavior, we are promoting healthy learning habits and attitudes. These characteristics will ultimately help our students grow as people as well as fulfill their learning potential. I liked this chapter because I believe as teachers we are not only trying to help students understand the curriculum, but also we are trying to create tolerant and humane citizens. By grading students on factors other than completed subject matter we are helping them to develop a frame of mind that will be useful as they grow and become citizens of the world, not just citizens of the classroom.

Justin C.
This chapter talks about ways and reasons as to how to incorporate participation and student behavior into their grades. We want our student’s grade to be reflective of what they have learned and mastered throughout the year. When we add participation into the mix, it can change the grade significantly. Students can be excelling at the work that is required in the class but they do not like to participate in class discussion. It is important to realize that student’s participation should not negatively impact their grade. The one quote regarding that very fact was, “If the child has a grade that is an 87 percent and participate consistently and in a positive way, I will push the grade up to an 88 percent which is a B-” (108). I think that when it comes to grading participation, I would use if for the same reason as the teacher quoted above. If a student was willing to be active in classroom discussion and was always positive about it, I would want to reward that, but not in a way that would be a significant influence to the grade, as that could be a lesser indicator of mastery.

Grace K.
Chapter 8 investigates what we hope grades will accomplish, and how we might include other vital factors in our grading systems. Wormeli stressed that we should avoid using grading for negative purposes such as punishing students or sorting students, because while these may seem like viable options, they tend to be less effective than other methods. Wormeli addresses the possibility of including other criteria in grading, such as effort, attendance, and behavior, and what can be gained or lost through doing that. Overall, I feel that these things shouldn’t be given disproportionate influence over a grade, and academics/meeting of standards should be the primary component. However, a strong work ethic and a responsible attitude are important parts of being a productive school citizen. In my opinion, these aspects deserve some inclusion in a student’s grade.

Will L.
Chapter eight was mostly about grading students on attendance, participation, and the effort they put forth in their work. Though most teachers do this, grading should be more about how well the students are able to master the content. It’s also more about how teachers find that grading mastery and the three aforementioned elements synonymous with one another. This is a problem because if a teacher believes a student isn’t putting effort into their work, but they know the material, the teacher is apt to giving them a poor grade. It’s appropriate to grade attendance, participation and effort, but they should be assessed separately from mastery of content.

Jen R.
Chapter eight of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// once again discussed the mechanics of grading within the classroom. This chapter reiterates that every student is different and that as teachers, we need to take that into consideration when grading students. After reading this chapter, I understand that grading as whole goes further beyond the point of in class assignments homework and exams. Grading is an assessment method that should include behavior, attendance, and participation within the classroom. I learned through chapter eight that grades need to show what students have learned, not how they performed in their learning process and how long it took them to achieve an understanding. It is important when grading that behavior attendance and participation are taken into consideration because these aspects show how much the students are learning and how much they want to learn. This chapter exhibits great mechanics I will look forward to using in my grading as a teacher.

Danny K.
Chapter eight talks about how we as teachers can incorporate other factors into student’s grades, such as attendance, participation and behavior. On page 105 the author talks about grading participation. This is an important section to me because I want participation to be a big part of my classes. Possibly ways that teachers could grade participation is: “the student’s willingness to participate; courtesy toward others; attentiveness; how he or she balances listening and talking; timing;” etc. I like how the author gives many different ways to grade participation. I have always been a student that doesn’t like to raise their hand in class, however I have always been an attentive student and found it annoying when teachers would grade students better on participation if they raised their hand more than me in class and be less attentive the rest of class when they weren’t raising their hand. I will use a various ways of assessing if a student is participating in my class.

Kaitlin T.
Chapter eight elaborates on the importance of not grading students on their participation, effort and behavior. Uh, what? Participation has //always// been a part of my overall grade, even in college. Or I should say, especially in college! I guess it comes with the idea the perhaps some students wouldn't bother to participate if there wasn't the motivating factor of a grade. I agree, however, that students' effort should not be graded. How does one actually put a percentage to effort? I'm not sure how effort can be measured. I don't believe I will be grading my students' behavior. They'll be in high school, so they'll certainly be old enough not to need an incentive to behave. There will be other ramifications for those students who choose not to behave, it just won't reflect in their grades.

Dan B.
Chapter 8 talked about grading based on factors such as attendance, participation or behavior. I think that a teacher should not grade on these things. If a student is sick for a long period of time, say they have mono or something, they should not fail the class; if the absences are jut because they skip for no reason it is another story, and they should be docked some points based on the teacher discretion, but to fail because they are ill or an emergency comes up is not right. I don't think students should be graded on participation either, I believe that a student can listen, and not talk and still learn the material. I would like for all students to participate in class, but I don't think it should be a requirement. I think grading on behavior is not a good thing to do either. In my opinion most students misbehave when thy do not understand something, therefore instead of punishing them you should try to convey the information in a way that they understand; if you can do this then classroom disruptions will be minimized. I think you should grade students on what they know and what they have learned and not on how much they participated or how they behaved.

Jonathan B.
Chapter eight brings into light the question of what in academics actually gets graded. There is more to a grade than a paper or a final exam—what about effort, behavior, and attendance? I think these things would be classified as “personal development.” The way I see it, these other aspects of academic performance are akin to measuring multiple intelligences. As illustrated by one example in the book, a student can be respectful in class and contribute greatly while doing little homework because of problems at home. How is this student graded? This student should not be “left alone” necessarily, but neither should they be “punished” by bad grades for something they cannot control. In this case, a teacher must look beyond the grade and work out a plan of action for this student to show their understanding and mastery, considering how they show their capability in class. The chapter goes into detail on //how// to grade these “non-assignments,” despite their importance to academic success. Grading these categories can be even harder than grading assignments because they tend to be even more subjective. As a teacher, I will ensure that my methods for grading these non-assignments are objective if I even grade them at all. Otherwise, the grades will simply “muddy the water” even more, as the book puts it.

Grady B.
Throughout this semester, I have found myself torn between what seems like standard teaching practice, and what is being taught as the most //effective// teaching practice; namely such disputed theories as the validity of an effort or participation grade. I am torn, not only because in some classes in my career I have on effort grades to boost my performance, but also because I hold work ethic as a very important aspect of mastery- not necessarily of content, but of critical life skills. However, I understand the argument which this book puts forth, namely, that it is nearly impossible to accurately grade effort because teachers are not mind-readers, and that the assessment of effort is necessarily very subjective. I also had issue with the statement on page 104 that laziness does not exist. Now, if this statement were qualified by stating that “there is always a reason for laziness,” instead of a simple statement that it does not exist, I would take less issue, but I know of no person that does not at least occasionally lack motivation to complete a task, even if it is toward a goal which they want to achieve or have a vested interest in. I guess my biggest problem with the statement is that it is too vague in my opinion. Regardless, this chapter has allowed me to begin to address the question of whether or where participation belongs in a grade.

Chris D.
Chapter 8 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal talks about grading yet again, but focuses on three different areas of grading, effort, attendance and behavior, and whether or not we as teachers should even consider these three to be a part of our final grade for students. Participation is a borderline area to grade in my opinion. Since everyone is different, one person’s participation might not be the same as another person’s participation, so having to always adjust based on that would cause nightmares for me as a teacher. Having just said that, I can see devoting a small percentage to a participation grade, that way there are minimal consequences to someone who doesn’t wish to participate often in class, or can drastically help a student’s grade. Attendance isn’t even something I would think of grading. Even though it is technically a student’s job to go to school and learn, their grade shouldn’t suffer just because they miss a day or two, it’s not fair to them as they probably had a good reason for not being in school that day. Behavior is another area where I will refuse to even devote a small percentage of the final grade to. If a student misbehaves in class, I’m not going to dock off points just for it. That’s not the type of teacher I want to be. Sure, I am going to get students in my classroom who constantly misbehave, but by constantly docking points off from their grade, I’m suddenly not grading them based off of their knowledge of math, but rather based on how well they know how to behave. Even if a student behaves well in my class, I’m not going to award them bonus points of some sort just for cooperating with me and their classmates. The end result is basically me grading them on how well they behaved, which is a heavily biased opinion. Grades in my classroom will be given out on their comprehension and demonstration in many ways of the math skills that I teach my students and nothing more.