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.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
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.
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?
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?
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