Analyzing Student Work, Discussing Data & Grading November 16, 2022 Beginning Teacher Professional Development ccs mentors: Shannique Boomer-Brown, Jesse James, Taejon Owens, Staci Spear & Necia Swain

Tips adapted from: https://theeducatorsroom.com/stop-grading-everything-grading-matters/
Practice Work is Just That…Practice! The traditional approach of grading nearly everything, including homework, is based on a misconception that students need a lot of grades in the grade book as evidence of learning. In truth, grades should be reserved for demonstration of proficiency and mastery of the standards.
Tests are NOT the Only Form of Assessment! Although multiple-choice exams are the barometer of school success, remember assessing student learning may also include assessments through projects, oral presentations, writing, and performances. Further, you can involve your students in the process of assessment by allowing them to suggest appropriate assessments, co-construction of rubrics, self-assessment, and student-involved conferences.
Should Teachers Allow Retakes on Assessments? So, after making decisions about what grading matters most and on types of assessments, the biggest question to consider is whether or not students should get a second chance after failing an assessment. Rather than holding on to the mindset that students should be required to pass an assessment at the first attempt, teachers should make students more responsible for learning by providing them with opportunities demonstrate mastery on assessments, even if they fail the first time. Students who know they can be successful in class are more likely to make achievement gains because they are less likely to give up.


Rubrics




The main purpose of rubrics is to assess performances.
Can be shared with students at the beginning of an assignment, to help them plan and monitor their own work.
Can be used with many different tasks, focusing the students on the knowledge and skills they are developing over time.
Describe student performance in terms that allow for many different paths to success.
Focus the teacher on developing students' learning of skills instead of task completion.
Do not need to be rewritten for every assignment.