Vignette 13: Apples and Oranges

There are so many ways to come up with grades it is hard to decide which method I am going to use. In class the other day we got to decide how we were going to use gathered evidence to determine a final grade for a student. At the end of the task the class had a wide range of grades. Everything from a B- to a B+ and it was all based on the same information. The ways in which we had decided to evaluate the grades was not wrong just different. It all depended on how we calculated the data. What I got out of this is in order to be fair to all students make sure that however you are evaluating the data is the same method you are using for all the students. Do not switch methods half way through or it will not be consistent for everyone and will not reflect a true report of the learning they have accomplished.

What I would do if I was Mr McIntyre would be to turn all my grades into percents and then figure out what the weighting for that percent is. This is another point we learned about in class this past week. You cannot compare grades or take averages if the data is not all in the same format. It literally is like comparing apples to oranges. Until the scores are converted in whatever method you decide it cannot be tabulated to make a grade. If it is added up without converting to the same format then it will not reflect an accurate picture of the student's learning. If Mr McIntyre converts all the grades to the same format than it will be easier for him to figure out the final grades for his students.

Weightings are another component of accurate grade reporting too. It is important to be aware of how much work and effort go into each part that is going to make up the final grade. If you are aware of this than it will help to make sure that what you are reporting is really the student's true abilities and what they have learned. If the weightings that are decided for the final grade components are out of balance or not considered it could end up hindering the student.

The other point I am going to comment on is that he should not include the group work grades. It is not fair to the students to have their final grade dependent on the amount of work and effort other members put into a project. I would not use group marks but I would use aspects from a project as part of a final mark. Aspects of group work I may consider would be a reflection on the project as it is something that the students would each do and it would be an individual mark for each reflection not a group mark. I think it is important for students to learn how to work in groups but I think I would report those skills in another section of the report card not in the achievement part.

Vignette 11: Mean or Median?

In this case I think that it would only be fair to calculate Joy's mark based on the median. I think this because it would best show Joy's achievement level in the course. It is not Joy's fault that she needs ESL support and that her family took her back to China for a few weeks. Joy is doing very well in the work she is able to complete that I do not think she should be punished with a low mark due to missed marks.

Even though this is how I would evaluate her if it came to that I think it is important that she try and make up the work before I considered the idea of using the median for her. I would try to work with Joy and her family to see if there were ways we could work around some of the obstacles so that she does not get behind and has the knowledge to succeed in her remaining school years. Especially for the big assignment that she ends up missing. In today's world, one would hope that there was a way for Joy to keep up and not miss the big project. Thoughts I have on this is if the time change is not too great then why not see if she can Skype with the class during school time? Or if it would be too hard then to give her help through email and let her and her family know what she could do to stay caught up. The reason I would push to try and get a mark for the big assignment is it would show me that she really does understand the material. It would be another form of proof that she is meeting outcome requirements. The only reason I hesitate to only use the work she has completed is that maybe she is just a really good test writer. I would want to get her to demonstrate in as many ways as possible for me that she truly does have an excellent grasp on the outcomes. So in conclusion I would make sure that the incomplete assignments did not affect her if there was absolutely no way for her to make them up.

If I was asked how I came up with the grade I would explain that there are extenuating circumstances in this case. I would explain that all the work that I have seen the student do leads me to believe that she has an excellent grasp of the material and is achieving the outcomes. I would then show them how I came up with the grade and make sure everyone understood how I came to the final mark. In all of this I would try to find a solution that was fair for the student. I would not want to punish them for something that is out of their control.

Vignette 10: Mme. Wagner's Dilemma

I think that this is another one of those situations where there is not just one correct answer. I think that when I am teaching and make a judgement call on what accommodations I would make for a student will depend on the circumstances. I think that each one will have to be looked at case by case and there will not be a blanket answer that covers everything. The only aspect that I would keep the same would be that each student should get the opportunity to have their situation looked at to see what can be done to help them. I think that since you get to know the students in your class throughout the year you get a feel for the work they do for you and you should be able to use your professional judgement. I understand that life happens and not everything goes according to plan. I know I would like to be cut some slack if I had something come up so the same courtesy should be extended to students in my class.

I am not sure what exactly the right decision is according to the situation that is described in the text. The best solution that I can think of for this case is to allow a rewrite. I think this way the student still gets a chance to show you what they really know. It would also give the student a bit of time to be able to study. If that did not work and it came down to it I think I would be okay basing the student's mark on their previous work. I am not sure how that is done though. Do you take an average on the work they have supplied already? Or do you make their mark out of less than 100%? If the exam is worth 20% do you figure out the student's mark out of 80% instead of 100%. Or do you take the last mark they had which shows the their latest achievement they have accomplished? What is the correct procedure for figuring out what to give them for a mark when extenuating circumstances do pop up? Do you use any of these methods at all? One aspect I do know is that no matter what method is used for figuring out a final mark, it should be backed up by some evidence you have. For me it would have to have some sort of logic and not just randomly assign a grade I think "fits" the student. I would need some proof to base my judgement on so that I felt comfortable saying that is the level of their understanding and achievement.

Vignette 9: Ryan's Impending Doom!

I think that in this matter the policy is wrong. I think that the student's final grade should be reflective of the progress they have made and not about what their past grade was. I know that if I was this student I would feel disheartened. I would look at all the work I did to try to improve myself and see that it did not matter in the long run and probably give up. Why try if it does not help?

Since this is an English course how I would evaluate it would be to take the latest marks and use those ones. I would do it this way for this subject because I find English outcomes tend to be ongoing throughout the semester. I would do this too though for any other subject if I saw an increase in the mastery of an outcome. If a student shows mastery of an outcome later on in the course that they did not earlier on then it is only fair to use the latest knowledge indication.

If it was utterly up to me and I had the choice I would give the student the mark that reflects their growth and their achievement. I think that if they have done the work then they should get a mark that reflects it. Herein lies the sticky part of the situation though which is how unbendable is "policy?" Is that the final say and it does not matter what improvement a student has shown? There are no extenuating circumstances at all? This is the way it HAS to be for every student? I question this because to me it does not make any sense. We are being taught in our classes that each student is different and has different abilities and needs. If they are meeting the outcomes that are set out before them why have a policy that dictates what a student's success should look like?

Vignette 5: Getting What They Deserve?

I liked how this vignette explained the topic of including non-achievement factors in the academic portion of a student's grade. I found myself agreeing with the new teacher that a student's academic grade should not be a guessing game on if they are achieving the curriculum or not. I say this because I can see both sides to this. On one hand you may have a student who is academically sound but is getting low grades due to the non-achievement factors being added to their mark. On the other hand you may have a student who is struggling with the curriculum but gets a better mark because they are always on time and listen well in class. I find that the topic of making sure that non-achievement factors are separate from the reporting on learning outcome mastery is becoming clearer as I go. I can see why a teacher should not combine them and why that is not fair to the student.

I think it is important to have go work habits and that is what will make you successful in life. I think that if you are just an "average" student then there is just as go a chance for you to be successful as an "above average" student. In my classes this year I have heard how it is the work ethic and other skills that employers are looking for more so then a student at the top of their class. I think this is because there is a change in the work force and how it is set up. So skills in non-achievement areas are just as important as being able to meet curriculum standards. There are many habits which I value. Cooperation and participation are two that I feel are very important. Others that feel are important and rank high is the ability to be responsible and take responsibility for yourself. So homework completion, being on time and respecting others ranks high for me too.

Vignette 4 What Counts?

In the vignette I thought that it was unfair to give the student a lower mark because he does not pay attention in class. I think that the student should receive the mark that his "knowledge" of the material reflects even though he may not be the best behaved student in class. I can see why we are not supposed to include non-achievement factors such as work habits and effort in our assessment of the student's ability to meet the learning outcome. Non-achievement factors should be treated like formative assessments in this sense and not be used. From this vignette I understand that I am not supposed to judge the student's grade except by the criteria which pertains to their meeting of the outcomes they are being evaluated on. The role that achievement factors would play is they are the ones that will judge the ability of the student's success with an outcome. So then why do some teachers include a mark out of the outcome grade section for participate in class if it is not suppose to be part of the graded mark?

The textbook says that progress (formative assessments) and work habits should be in reported separate from the grade that is given and these two components should not be combined either. What I am not sure about is how that would look on a report card? Is it reported in a similar manner as a grade? What I mean is in this section do teachers give an "A" if say the student always arrives on time for class? Or is it more of a comment section where they would just note that a student is always on time for class and never late. So I know these should be separate from the outcome aspect of the grade but how do you report on this.

Something that I found interesting was the textbook mentions that, "...there are no studies that support the use of low grades as punishment for low academic performance. Instead of promoting greater effort, low grades more often cause students to withdraw from learning." (page C23) I thought this was interesting because I can see why this would work the way it does. If I normally got good grades and then all of a sudden I did not I would probably not want to work any harder than either. I can see why a student would want to put in even less effort especially if they felt they were going to get a low grade anyway which does not deal at all with their ability in the subject material. I will keep this point in mind once I am a teacher.

Vignette 8: Decisions, Decisions

In the vignette it asks what is fair and an accurate representation on achievement. I think what is fair and accurate is taking only the final product grades for use in calculating achievement grades. It is not fair to take student work and use for grades when they are in the learning stages of achieving concepts. So Mr Brit should only use the final products whether that be an essay, test, or project mark. In the text the reason it says you are not suppose to count formative assessment is because the students are in the process of grasping the concepts. If you count the formative grades it may stunt their cognitive growth. The students will not really get involved and play around with their learning as they will be worried about making mistakes. The fear of getting a bad mark may hold back their risk taking ability.

I can see the point the text is trying to make and I agree with it for the most part. The one area I am not sure about is how do you make the students want to do the other work if the know it is not for marks. We learned in class that you are not suppose to use participation in you final grades either. I do not see the problem with having a small percentage based on participation
of the final mark. It does not have to be based on if the student got the answers right or wrong but rather if they have tried. I think it is one way to help students realize they need to be participating to fully understand the concept being learned. We will see if this becomes clearer as this course progresses.

One last comment is I found it surprising in the text that they included quizzes as a formative assessment tool and not as something to use in the final grade. I have had courses where quizzes were used as a grade gathering tool. On one hand I can see why they would put this under formative assessment as a quiz can be used to see if students are learning the material necessary to go on. One the other hand I think it can be used for marks in the sense it is like a mini test. Especially if the students know it will be used for marks and are forewarned that it is coming. This way a teacher can test them on smaller portions of a unit especially if it is one that spans over a month. So I think quizzes are on of those tools that can walk the fine line between a formative and summative assessment. Depending on how it is utilized, depends on which side it falls on.

Vignette 7: The Mighty Bell Curve

The decision the teacher made to not give the student an 80% because she already had 6 other marks over 80% would have impacted the student's life immensely. The 79% the student got meant she was not eligible for the scholarship which could impact if she goes on to any post secondary school. So this grade had a huge impact on her life. I think what the teacher did was unfair to the student by basing her grades on a bell curve. The bell curve is not a fair way to assess student's work when the population size is so small. Plus comparing students to each other does not reflect what each student has learned rather it shows how they ranked in that test in comparison to their peers. In this case the student's future is obviously dependent on the grade. It is not fair to pit students against each other to obtain a high mark. We are taught that everyone learns differently so why would we try to compare them when it comes to grades?

In this case it would have been fair to base the students' grades on criterion referenced grading. I would have done this because a class is a small sample and not meant for the bell curve. Criterion referenced grading also reflects the student's understanding of the concepts better. This is what the POS helps with when designing assessments. The outcomes in the POS are what the students need to master to achieve a high grade. If you base your grades on the comparison between students rather then what they need to learn, it does not reflect if the students have achieved the outcomes. So criterion referenced assessment allows you to make a judgement on the student's work and understanding of the outcomes for their grade.

In this case I think the teacher had a few ways they could have helped the student so she would have been able to be eligible for the scholarship. One is to look at the work the student has been doing all year. Since this case says it was over 80% all the time I would have increased the student's grade the 1% she needed. Just because the student was a previous honors student would not make me increase the grade for her. I would look at the proof of her learning for the whole year to see that she really was mastering the concepts and look at the proof of her understanding. Other ways to help the student could have been by allowing the student to rewrite the exam or let her do a bonus project to increase her grade. I think we are there to help students achieve their dreams not be obstacles for them.

Vignette 3: Get With the Program!

I think what Mr Fisher should have done is taken a look at the Program of Studies (POS) to see what the outcomes were before he gave the students projects to do. I think if he had done that he would have had an easier time of defending his choices of projects and the time that was spent on them.

If he was having trouble understanding the POS then I think he should have asked for some help or asked the other Social Studies teachers what kinds of things they were doing. There was some good that came from his experience though. He found out that his students really enjoyed the projects. I think this very useful for the next year he plans. Instead of taking projects from the textbooks he could come up with or find other projects that have outcomes that relate to the POS. If he is really set on using the projects from the textbook he needs find ways to make them fit into the POS outcomes.

If Mr Fisher finds that the project work engages the students, it is relevant to the students' learnings and it meets the requirements set out in the POS then he could design the course to be reflective of that. His assessment of the students knowledge and skills needs to be more balanced. I do not think it is fair to students if they have no practice answering multiple choice questions and then get that in their final exam. The other problem I had is even though he inherited the questions from the previous teacher does not mean he has to use them. I think he should have went through the questions and picked out which ones he thought were good ones to use for the other ones change or make up new ones.

Vignette 1: What's the Right Mark?

Question 1 - How and when do I share the learning outcomes and evaluation criteria with students?
I agreed with what Ms Emerson was doing for her class by having a course outline prepared for her students at the beginning of the year. I would have a course outline prepared for my students that shared the learning outcomes and the evaluation criteria I would be using. I give this to my students at the beginning of the year so they knew what was expected of them and what they needed to do to succeed in the course. I think it would help relieve some anxiety on their part knowing up front what is going to happen throughout the year. I think by giving this information out at the beginning of the year it can solve a lot of problems and disagreements that may crop up.


Question 2 - How do my students know how to succeed in my class?
By stating the learning outcomes and evaluation criteria, my students would have the information they need to succeed. They would know what the breakdown of the course is and what makes up the different portions of each component. The given information would let them know how to succeed rather then making them guess or figuring it out as I went along.


Question 3 - How can I improve the way I establish fixed achievement targets for my students?
First off I am not exactly sure what is meant by fixed achievement targets. I think it means the components that are predefined in what you are going to mark students on and the weighting you are going to give each of the areas. Maybe one way to improve these areas is to give them more choice or ways that you can mark them. Instead of having a grade for tests, assignments and quizzes maybe include a project. As a teacher the more ways students are assessed the better you understand what they have learned.