ch. 8: Grading and Reporting Achievement

Grading should be easy, right? Well, Tomlinson and McTighe explain that grading is a two part process. I always thought you get it, you grade it and your done, but you must report the grades by numbers or letters and then send them home to students and parents. The students must completely understand why they achieved a certain grade so mistakes don’t happen again. Feedback is almost the most important part of grading. It allows students to reflect on their grade. A simple letter or number tells nothing. We’re here to guide the students and not leave them stranded with no why out of a rut. Goals are to be set and to be met. I always appreciated knowing exactly where I had to go and how I had to get there, of course, it was up to me to go about the path and make the correct choices. I liked how they pointed out staying away from the norms because getting an A always seems like you are the best and an F feels like a failure and a heart-break. I know for some an F means a loss of privileges at home. I feel a J curve or a point system would be a much better grading mentality. This system allows students to figure it out on their own where they stand. They will none-the-less strive for perfection no matter what. I also completely agree with their saying that, “what a student learns should be more important than when he/she learns” because we all have different speeds of processing the materials. We must set variables for every assignment along with being clear on what we are looking for. As teachers it is important to grade for achievement, work habits and progress because they all factor into the motivation of the student and their final product. We want the student to be proud of what they do so explain with great intent as to what you want and remember, “success breeds success.”