Ways to Involve Students in the Formative Assessment Process

http://shar.es/WEHua

Here’s an interesting TED Talk about Finnish education:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/g6scW2p90ps

1. Grading on the Curve
• In standards-based systems (like ours on PEI), grading and reporting must be done in reference to specific learning criteria (outcomes), rather than in reference to normative criteria or ‘on the curve’.
• In other words, students must be graded in terms of what they have learned and are able to do, not in terms of their relative standing among classmates.
• Grading on the curve makes learning a highly-competitive activity in which students compete against each other for the few scarce rewards (high grades) distributed by the teacher.  Under these conditions, students readily see that helping others become successful threatens their own chances for success.
• High grades are attained not through excellence in performance, but simply by doing better than one’s classmates.  As a result, learning becomes a game of winners and losers, and because the number of rewards is kept arbitrarily small, most students are forced to be losers.
• Furthermore, grading on the curve denies students the opportunity to work together and to help each other attain valuable, shared learning goals.
• If it is the purpose of grading is to reflect what students have learned and are able to do, then grading on the curve falls short.
• Modern research has shown that the seemingly direct relationship between aptitude and intelligence and school achievement depends on instructional conditions, not a normal distribution curve.  When instructional quality is high and well-matched to students’ learning needs, the magnitude of this relationship diminishes drastically.
• The Remedy:
• In any educational setting where the central purpose is to have students learn, grading and reporting should always be done in reference to specific learning criteria, rather than in reference to normative criteria.
• At all levels of education, therefore, teachers should identify what they want their students to learn, what evidence they will use to verify that learning, and what criteria they will use to judge that evidence.  In other words, teachers should clarify their standards and their grading criteria on the basis of those standards.
2. Selecting Valedictorians
• In many jurisdictions, the class valedictorian is chosen by identifying the highest-achieving student.  This sometimes results in bitter competitions among high-achieving students.
• The Remedy:
• In the case of PEI schools, this isn’t as much a concern.  In schools where valedictorians are chosen, many have opted to select more than one valedictorian.
•  I wonder if our Governor General’s Award does the same thing to these students?
3. Using Grades as a Form of Punishment
• Although educators would undoubtedly prefer that motivation to learn be entirely intrinsic, grades and other reporting methods are important factors in determining how much effort students put forth.
• Studies show that most students view high grades as positive recognition of their success, and some work hard to avoid the consequences of low grades.
• At the same time, no studies support the use of low grades or marks as punishments.  Instead of prompting greater effort, low grades more often cause students to withdraw from learning.
• Sadly, some teachers consider grades or reporting forms as their ‘weapon of last resort’.  In their view, students who do not comply with their requests must suffer the consequences of the greatest punishment a teacher can bestow: a failing grade.
• Such practices have no educational value and, in the long run, adversely affect students, teachers, and the relationship they share.
• The Remedy:
• Rather than attempting to punish students with a low grade or mark in the hope it will prompt greater effort in the future, teachers can better motivate students by considering their work as incomplete and then requiring additional effort (more time, more support, lunchtime, after-school).
• The punishment, then, is that the student actually has to do the work.
• This policy is based on the belief that students perform at a failure level or submit failing work in large part because teachers accept it.  If teachers no longer accept substandard work, then students will not submit it and, with appropriate support, will continue to work until their performance is satisfactory.
• Some schools apply the maxim, ‘If it’s not done well, then it’s not done’, but won’t penalize students’ grades if it takes a little longer for the work that’s been well done.
4. Using Zeros in Grading
• As part of their grading policies, many teachers assign zero to students’ work that is missed, neglected, or turned in late.  However, the zero is seldom an accurate reflection of what a student has learned or is able to do.
• Instead, zeros are typically assigned to punish students for not displaying appropriate effort or demonstrating adequate responsibility.
• If the grade is to represent how well students have learned or mastered established learning standards, then the practice of assigning zeros clearly misses the mark.
• The effect of assigning zeros is intensified if combined with the practice of averaging to attain a student’s overall course grade.  Students readily see that receiving a single zero leaves them little chance for success because such an extreme score drastically skews the average.
• Some teachers defend the practice of assigning zeros by arguing that they can not give students credit for work that is incomplete or not turned in – and that is certainly true.  But there are far better ways to motivate and encourage students to complete assignments in a timely manner than through the use of zeros, especially considering the overwhelmingly negative effects.
• The Remedy:
• Students should certainly accept responsibility for their actions and should be held accountable for their work.
• No evidence demonstrates that assigning zeros helps teach students these lessons.
• Unless educators are willing to admit that grades are used to show evidence of students’ lack of effort and responsibility, then alternatives to the practice of assigning zeros must be found.
• One alternative: assigning the incomplete grade.  Students whose work is incomplete or not turned in on time might be required to attend after-school study sessions or special classes until their work is completed to a satisfactory level.  In other words, they are not ‘let off the hook’ with a zero.
• Instead, students learn they have certain responsibilities in school and that their actions have specific consequences.
• Not completing assigned work on time means that students must attend special after-school or lunch time sessions to complete their work.
5. Summary
• To successfully implement standards-based reforms, educational leaders must take a broader and more systemic view of their efforts.
• To allow other factors to influence grades or marks misrepresents students’ learning attainment.

From Differentiated Instruction to Differentiated Assessment