Runninghead:PHILOSOPHYONGRADINGANDASSESSINGSTUDENTLEARNING

PhilosophyonGradingandAssessingStudentLearning
JosephineRivera
EDU1010
December1,2015

PHILOSOPHYOFGRADINGANDASSESSINGSTUDENTLEARNING
2

Gradeshavealwaysstruckmeinawaythatmademedisagreewiththeeducational
system,whichseemstobecompletelybasedonstandardsandcheckmarks.ThisisthebiasI
carriedwithmewhenIbeganmyfieldexperiencework,andasIimaginedmyselfasateacher,
theideaoftellingachildtheywerebelowtheline,eveniftheywereofadifferentintelligence,
mademecringe.AsIvedevelopedaseriesofphilosophiessurroundingmyteaching,Ivebegun
toconsidermyassessmentmethodswhenIenterthefield.TheeducationcoursesIvetaken
combinedwithmyfieldexperiencehavecausedmetoreevaluatemyviewsofwhateffective
assessmententails.
Iwillusespecificassessmentmethodsandtechniquestocheckforunderstanding.For
example,Iwillimplementstudentgeneratedtestquestionsinquizzesandexams.Thiscanwork
oneoftwoways:first,studentsmaywritequestionsandavarietyofincorrectanswers,aswellas
acorrectone.Second,aweekortwobeforetheexam,Iwillbrainstormseveralquestionsand
sharethemwiththestudents,givingthemtheopportunitytovoicewhichquestionstheydliketo
seeontheexam.Thiswillalsoserveasawindowofwhatwemayneedtoreviewbygivingme
insightastowhatmystudentsareorarentgrasping.
AnotherassessmenttechniqueIplanonimplementingareMinutePapers.Iremember
completingtheseingradeschool,andIthoroughlyenjoyedtheconceptofafreeresponse.Asa
teacher,Iwillposeaquestionidentifyingasignificantlessonorconcepttheyvelearnedfrom
assignments,discussions,orpresentations.Iwillthengivestudents23minutestorespondona
halfsheetofpaperorindexcard.Aftercollectingtheirresponsesandexaminingtheiranswers,I
willbeabletodetermineiftheyaresuccessfullyidentifyingwhatIdeemtobeimportant.

PHILOSOPHYOFGRADINGANDASSESSINGSTUDENTLEARNING
3

Ibelievethatifmystudentsfail,itisadirectreflectionofmeasaneducator.Ibelieve
thatoneofthemostessentialelementsofachildssuccessistheinvolvementoftheirparents.If
thereissupportathome,thesupportwithintheclassroomisilluminated.Ofcourse,itcanoften
bedifficulttomaintainparentalinvolvement,especiallyinahighschoolsettingitsnotexactly
feasibletosendpicturesandlettershomewithaclassfulofteenagers.Inordertoestablishmore
communicationbetweenmyselfandmystudentsguardians,Iwillbeginablogshowcasingthe
core,assignments,projectswereworkingon,keypointsinclassdiscussions,andother
classroomevents.Theonlywayforthistopossiblybesuccessfulistoinvesttimeintheblog,
updatingitandmakingiteasytonavigate,whichissolelymyresponsibility.Itisthenthe
responsibilityofthestudenttoutilizethisresource.
Myapproachtogradinghaschangeddrasticallyoverthecourseofmyeducation.Iwas
thekidslavingawaytoturnthatAintoaA+,asking,isthisgoingtobegraded?Inmany
ways,itrobbedmeoflearningexperiencesandsimplyseeingthejoyinbeingpresentina
classroom,becomingamorewellroundedperson.Inreflection,Ihadmanyincredibleteachers
whosestyleofteachingwasunique,engaging,andeffective,yetIwassoinvestedinreceivinga
letterthattheexcitementoflearningwasoftenneglected.Asateacher,Iwillconstantlyseekto
reversethis.Iplanonaccomplishingthisbyavoidingphrasessuchas,ifyoudontdothis,
youllgetazero.Or,Remember,thisisapartofyourgrade.Ratherthanspeakinginletters,
checkmarks,andpercentages,IwillspeakintermsofexpectationsandwhatIwanttoseethem
accomplishbyprovidingclear,writtenobjectives.Iwillaskthemtoconsiderwhattheyare
learning,whytheyarelearningit,andIwillprovidethemwiththeaccesstomakewhattheyre

PHILOSOPHYOFGRADINGANDASSESSINGSTUDENTLEARNING
4

learningapplicableandmeaningfultoestablishpersonalconnectionwhatmakeslearning
worthit.
Aseducators,weareconstantlyassessingourstudents,whetheritbeformalorinformal.
Iveseenteachersusestickynotestoquicklywriteobservationsontheirstudentsforlater
reflection.Gradingisunavoidableandisarequirement.Although,Idonotbelievethatgrading
andassessmentshouldbelimitedto,again,letters,checkmarks,andnumbers.Whilethisisan
elementofgrading,Iwillalsopersonallyaddressmystudent,andletthemknowthattheyhave
masteredaconceptandareusingtheirmindasaweapon.This,Ibelieve,willbeacrucial
motivationaltool.StudentscannotfunctioninanenvironmentwhereAisalwaysgoodand
Cisalwaysaverage.
Evaluationmustbepersonal,individualized,andmorecomplexthanaletter.Thewaysof
accomplishingeffectiveevaluationareendless,whetheritbebyminutepapers,
studentgeneratedtestquestions,ordemonstrations,Iwillgivemystudentstheopportunityto
applywhattheyrelearningfor
themselves,
andnotonlyformeandmygradebook.Asateacher,
Iwillaccomplishthisbyassessingmystudentsinsuchawaythatitrequiresthemto
defend
whattheyrelearningtoendthecycleofsimplyregurgitatingmywords.Throughdefending
whatislearned,mystudentswillultimatelyteachme.Andaseducatorsknow,thebestwayto
learnsomethingistoteachittosomeoneelse.