Last week I had the privilege of attending a workshop on assessment with Rick Wormeli.
He offers many suggestions of grading and assessment for learning. Wormeli has a variety of ways to address the learning of students and demonstrates a true regard for student success in a variety of ways when he discusses: test taking, gradebooks, latework and zeros, standards-based grading, and mode vs mean when determining grades!
Rick Wormeli: On Late Work
We aren't teaching our students anything when we offer a zero for an assignment that is not completed. We have to get away from the factory model school.
Wormeli spells out major flaws in the system. "...we have to get through the curriculum by the end of the year. It turns out that if you do the math, it takes to about grade 22 to really teach everything and do justice.."
Wormeli says to give students a chance to recover from being irresponsible instead of a final zero in the grade book where they only learn to hate school even more!
Redos, Retakes, and Do-Overs
How do teachers deal with failure? Warmeli says "There must be hope. Without hope you have a much bigger problem than your grading system or differentiated instruction. You have a kid that wants to throw down the ball and go home! I can't teach if my whole mindset is 'gotcha'"!
Wormeli goes on to discuss the concept of failure. It should be preferred to success, because it is through failure that we will learn. Recovering from your failure = learning! This means zeros and do-overs are learning bumps as long as we allow them to recover!
What an eye opener when Wormeli started throwing out acronyms and familiar exams - MCAT, PRAXIS for teachers, drivers license, bar exams for lawyers, CPA for accountants, pilots license test... all allowed to be taken over and over again for FULL CREDIT!!
Are you teaching to make sure your students learn the concept or are you teaching to see if he/she learns it on the conveyer belt.. our factory model school. Changes must happen now!
He offers many suggestions of grading and assessment for learning. Wormeli has a variety of ways to address the learning of students and demonstrates a true regard for student success in a variety of ways when he discusses: test taking, gradebooks, latework and zeros, standards-based grading, and mode vs mean when determining grades!
Rick Wormeli: On Late Work
"The issue of late work comes up quite a bit..."
We aren't teaching our students anything when we offer a zero for an assignment that is not completed. We have to get away from the factory model school.
Wormeli spells out major flaws in the system. "...we have to get through the curriculum by the end of the year. It turns out that if you do the math, it takes to about grade 22 to really teach everything and do justice.."
Wormeli says to give students a chance to recover from being irresponsible instead of a final zero in the grade book where they only learn to hate school even more!
Redos, Retakes, and Do-Overs
How do teachers deal with failure? Warmeli says "There must be hope. Without hope you have a much bigger problem than your grading system or differentiated instruction. You have a kid that wants to throw down the ball and go home! I can't teach if my whole mindset is 'gotcha'"!
Wormeli goes on to discuss the concept of failure. It should be preferred to success, because it is through failure that we will learn. Recovering from your failure = learning! This means zeros and do-overs are learning bumps as long as we allow them to recover!
What an eye opener when Wormeli started throwing out acronyms and familiar exams - MCAT, PRAXIS for teachers, drivers license, bar exams for lawyers, CPA for accountants, pilots license test... all allowed to be taken over and over again for FULL CREDIT!!
Are you teaching to make sure your students learn the concept or are you teaching to see if he/she learns it on the conveyer belt.. our factory model school. Changes must happen now!