grading

[Brit]

I'm right in the middle of reports, and I'm finding that while I have a whole lot of data on each kid, I'm starting to look at the pages (flip through them) and go"yeah, that's a B." "yeah, That's a C+". I'm not feeling overly scientific.

I go back and review the grades every time I turn on my computer, but I still feel like I'm giving a lot of creedence to my gut feelings, and perhaps should be analysing the data more.

How do you all arrive at grades -- especially in primary, where it's not just weighting and averaging a bunch of tests and assignments, but taking into account unmeasured data, like fluency in reading and decoding skills (which I can't give a number to, but can put on a range -- which is what I have been doing).

another problem I'm having is that I'm commenting on skills AT THIER LEVEL. So if a kid can read a level one book with good fluency and comprehension, great. BUT for the grade they're in, they should be reading at a level 20. that screws with things. I want to show what they CAN do and be fair, but I can't give a kid reading fluently and with comprehension at level 10 a B when they should be reading at level 20...and ditto -- I don't feel like I can give a C to a kid who's reading with choppy fluency and partial comprehension, but at level 30. If I evened the ground and tested them all at 20, the kids at 10 would have absolutely no chance and be getting D's, and the kids in the 30 range would be getting A's. so I want my marks to reflect that. But I also want to reflect the skills and strategies they have AT THEIR LEVEL.

Help?

[upnorthteacher]

Hi Brit,
I'm not sure exactly how you would determine letter grades for such young students. We don't use letter grades until grade 4. Up until that point, our students get scored on how well the meet the benchmark standards for the grade level. If you have to give letter grades, I think you need to determine what constitutes meeting the levels for each one. If you don't have a standard, then the grades really don't mean anything. Do you have a place where you can write comments about how they do at their own particular level? What do other teachers in your school or district do?
Good luck!

[Brit]

I do have standards for each level, but I find the judgement call as to where the kids is to be pretty much taht -- a judgement call. I would really perfer to have scores like in mather, where I can say a kid gets this concept because he answers 90% of questions correctly. I wish my language scores were more concrete, I guess. They're not, becaquse it's really hard to quantify comprehension, or fluency, or to take a piece of independent writing and grade it and get an exact percentage.

Oh, for the love of math tests. It is so HARD for me to grade writing at a grade 1 level! I have my team's rubric, and I think I've got a handle on it, but it's still such a judgement call.

Yes, I have a space for comments, but the practice here is to have pretty generic comments.

[teacher5]

I teach 5th grade. We just moved to a new report card. For each area we first have to give an effort rating: 5- Consistently, 4- Frequently, 3- Sometimes, 2- Seldmon, and 1- Little or none. Then we have to give a performance code rating: 5- Consistently demonstrates, can apply independently, & shows high degree of mastery, 4- Frequently demonstrates and applies appropriately, 3- Sometimes demonstrates, but needs support, 2- Seldom demonstrates, and 1- Not yet demonstrating. Under reading we have 12 categories some of which include fluency, comprehension in fiction, in nonfiction, etc. In listening we have listening for a purpose, and 5 more. In math we have knows basic facts, concepts, problem solving, higher level thinking, etc. The same is true for science and social studies,too. Then we have hundreds of preprogrammed comments for attitude and work habits and for each subject area. These are all objectively written. We must use these and cannot alter them in any way shape or form. My biggest problem is the kid who has an IEP or an academic 504, or receives assitance via an academic support program; they can never really achieve more than a 3! After 33+ years of teaching, I can tell you there is no perfect report card to match what the kid had done or needs to do. What we finally have where I work is as close as perfect as I have ever seen. What I think you need to do is define each letter with a descriptor of performance on assessments you have given. Then you need to give a separate grade or have specific language for effort. Remember you must be CONSISTENT! If not, some parent will trap you, and then you will need to answer to them and your principal. Avoid that pitfall. PS We also have a preprogrammed comment that states grades reflect individually designed assessments. This means the grades your kid got are not real compared to the rest of the kids, but instead of failing him or her, we gave them a report card of all passing or better than passing grades to keep them feeling successful. What do you think of that!

[Brit]

our system is pretty similar to yours, but not quite so coidfied (it's up to me to pick my descriptors). I've gotten so many mixed messages about these reprots, that my head spins at times. The one that gets me the most is I was told we are not grading kids on the amount of support they recieve, so my qulifiers can't include "with some support" or "independent" -- it's not about independance, according to my last principal. Except that sometimes, with some kids, I'd argue it is. And what is "frequently"? or "sometimes"? it's the very vagueness of the terms that gets me. and when do you start looking at the frequency of their results? How many summatives do you do to have a pattern emerge over time?

I think I'm just venting. Sorry. reports are getting to me.

Yes, I am SURE I'll get nailed if I'm not consistent. One of my teaching partners insisted I wrote on each evaluation piece EXACTLY why the piece was a B+ or B-, not a B -- good bit of advice. I'll be sitting down with my data and reports before interviews and writing out EXACTLY why each kid got each grade. Really, I should be doing that right as I grade, but I just don't have it in me right now -- i'm too worn out. but I still wish justifying grades was as easy as saying test 1 score plus test 2 score plus test 3 score divided by 3. I want to teach primary kids but grade like a university prof who has fill-in-the-bubble multiple choice tests. God, that kind of grading would be so nice....

[teacher5]

:)Dear Brit- I know how you feel. At times this report card grading and commenting seems overwhelming. I was so glad when they qualified "sometimes" with the words "needs practice and support. With this language I can easily justify giving a kid a 3who is labeled AIS (academic intervention support), or a kid with an IEP because sometimes they do get it all by themselves, and most of the time they need support of the teacher and additional practice before they get it. Also, any kid with an IEP or is AIS must get the preprogrammed comment that says "will continue to receive support in ..." I know the kids and the parents will look at this report card and count and say my child only got X # of 3s, and 4s. and only one 5! I have tried to give almost every kid a 5 in handles science equipment properly. Also, my grade mate and I have to complete each others report cards because I teach science and math and she teaches ELA and SS. So, we confer about the work habit grades and social growth grades. In these categories we tried desperately to find one place where we might put a 5. There are 4 kids who area model students and are getting all 5s in these two categories. We also, figured most kids are going to get 3s and 4s because it is the first or three marking periods, and this leaves us room in the future to raise them by one and show social and work habit growth. Oh, and by the way, they made an online report card program for us with this new system. I am so glad I finished inputing all my data over this past weekend and printed it because tonight for fun I went online to the program and it was frozen. Report cards are do this Friday in my district. I bet way too many people are online trying to finish them and that's why the whole thing froze. So, Brit, thanks for taking the time to read my venting, too, but go back and finish the reports. Remember we learn so much more about the kid when we sit face to face with the parents at the conference. Also, we've got to remember that when the kid goes for his/her college interview they are not going to ask what did you get on your 5th grade report card during the first marking period!

[Brit]

ah, yes, but if I know the parents of my kids, they'll surely include the report card in the kid's college application package. Everything right back to grade 1, I'm sure. Very laughable to the admittance officer, but dead serious for the parent. Yes, they're odd....and very exacting.....

[JennA]

Hi Brit,

I know how you feel! Are you using the DRA to measure their reading progress? Last year was the first year I gave the DRA2 to my 2nd graders. The DRA2 has a timed fluency component beginning at Level 12. Our kids really struggled with this and we saw reading levels drop a lot. Do you assess fluency separately from comprehension? Are they listed separately on your report?

Our grades consisted of S=Satisfactory, P=Progressing, N=Needs Improvement. As a grade level, we determined what DRA level range would receive an S, P, N. For example, first qtr. we determined DRA levels 18-20 and above (the ceiling was Level 24) would get an S, Levels 14-16 would receive a P, and anything below a Level 14 would receive an N. I know this would be difficult to translate to a letter grade.
Good luck!!

[Brit]

no, we don't use DRA, we use Benchmarks, which is similar, but a little different from it. Yes, I aswsess fluency separately from comprehension, but I don't have an actual tool to assess fluency with. that is to say, nothing factory-produced, no official system. Just where it sounds like they belong on my continuum (taht I cobbled together from a few different sources).

We are not permitted to use only our Benchmarks numbers to determine our grades, which I think is fair, as they are only one picture of a student's reading ability. However, it would've been a lot easier, because I have those assessments with definite numbers on them!

[Ebeth]

I think grading will always be partly a judgement call from the teacher. Not everything is black and white or right and wrong. You are the one that taught them and know your expectations for them, only you know at what level they are meeting those expectations.

[ajquiett]

One way to solve this problem is to keep running records on your students. Keep notes on their fluency at particular levels to reference as you do grades. This is a practice that will help you feel more confident in your decisions because you will have written proof to back your thoughts and feelings. It does not have to be difficult, a simple checklist can work as long as you know how to decipher it.

[David]

I stand on the kitchen table and throw the papers to be graded in the air. Those that land on the table get an A, those that land on a chair get a B and those that land on the floor get a C.

[auntbea]

I agree, a lot of primary is a judgement call. I teach 3rd grade. And I take a lot of grades, just anal I guess. I figure if I assign it, I should grade it. Now if they do poorly, we redo the paper. But I guess what I am saying is, that when that stack gets really high and I need grades in the book, the "grades" they get always seem to come out to what they would have gotten anyway, (when I actually go through and grade those papers.) So yes, as teachers, we know about where our kids are at.

Please don't stress to much about reports. And yes, it's crazy, I am getting excited about the new year. Not quite ready to start back, but ready to tweek my discipline plan, think about activities. A new group of kids will do that to ya!:rofl: