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.