In class we talked about different kinds of assessment. There's the rubric and the checklist. As it turns out, determining which form of assessment to use is difficult. First, you have to decide which form of assessment is most effective for the assignment and the grade level. Then, you have to create the rubric or checklist to effectively assess students' work. Students also have to be able to understand the rubric, so they can better meet the criteria of the assignment.
In some ways, a rubric or checklist may be confining. Students could work only as much as it takes to get a good grade. Rather, students should be wanting to learn because they are naturally curious, not because a rubric is forcing them...however, assessment is necessary to assign students grades. Assessment is also necessary for ensuring that students learn from mistakes and revise those mistakes along the way for an even better final product.
My roommate is currently working on report cards, and I just learned that her school does narrative report cards. This means that students do receive a couple "grades" in the form of numbers. For example, the numbers grade the amount of participation in class. However, students are mostly assessed in five paragraphs. The first paragraph is a general overview, followed by a paragraph each on math, writing, reading, and behavior. Interesting. I just asked my roommate if she thought this method is effective, and she said that she's not sure all parents even read them. Wow. This means the assessment is worthless, because the writing is meant for adult readers, the bulk of which young students will not be able to understand.
It's disappointing to hear that the parents may not actually be reading the report cards. I think it's a great idea to explain the student's performance in writing instead of just a grade without any reasoning. I would certainly read the comments!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of providing text as part of student assessment. Letter grades seem so arbitrary, especially when considering that different teachers have different scales.
ReplyDeleteI too like this mixed approach to grading, I have a friend whose college education was entirely graded with a written evaluation from their professor. Which is nice, because you can explain more, but a pain in the but to try and transfer credits because how do you assign them a letter grade.
ReplyDeleteI really like rubrics, even if we're being told to stay further away from them.