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What's in a "B" Ecomp 6102 Week 12 Rob Slater |
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What should Report Card grades tell us about students?
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What factors are usually included in Report Card grades?
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When the table above is complete, see if you can determine the specific factors that result in a B on a report card in your class. Explain how a B is different from A or a C in your class. Finally, identify the specific factors that you feel SHOULD be considered when determining report card grades. In my school we grade on a scale of A, A-, B+, B, B-, P, Inc. The Pass is based (Inappropriately in my opinion.) on the concept of %80 mastery. In my opinion this is actually works out to be more like a 70-75% Mastery. I would like to have the P count as %75 of total work assigned. To achieve a B or an A in my class is based on a percentage score above the pass level. My scale for the grades above P are as follows:B- 80%-82.9% B 83%-86.9% B+ 87%-89.9% A- 90%-93.9% A 94%-100% In the past this has been based %25 on participation (effort and attendance), 25% daily assignments and 50% on major projects and tests. The rationale behind this is that a percentage score has to be balanced and equal. It is a logical and easy way to compare two students work. Unfortunately, as I have become acutely aware during this class, the grade does not reflect the learning in most cases. What SHOULD be considered when determining report card grades? It is amazingly clear to me at the end of this course what should appear on a report card. In these days of high stakes testing, if our grades do not represent achievement toward some measurable outcome we are cheating our students and not being true to our systems or ourselves. That said, I will probably not go back to school, throw the baby out with the bath water and grade only on verifiable outcomes. Our school has a focus on participation that is echoed in our mission statement and our Big Three Rules. What it will affect however, is the way I deal with students who can demonstrate the competencies without much work. The trick for me will be deciding at what level of assessment can I verify that the student has mastered the material? How many times does one need to read a two page persuasive essay from a student to ensure that they can write persuasively? There is still much that is nebulous for me in regards to discrete outcomes. I have an opportunity, at least in the grades we send to parents, to represent the state expectations and guidelines the student has mastered. The electronic record that goes onto their transcript will still only say, A, B, or P. The information on state standards that have been met can also be included in the e-portfolios we are developing. |
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