Testing "Out"

By Mark

In the last two weeks, a few things have me thinking about the age old debate over how schools "grade" students. First, in Nevada, there was this discussion about the merits of allowing students in public high schools take exams to earn state-required graduation credit (as opposed to putting in the seat time). 

Second, there were the 28 letters I sent home to students' parents this past Monday updating them that their students were earning a D or F in my English class.

When I look at those 28 letters, there are really only probably seven kids getting the low grades who I think genuinely have not yet exhibited the minimum language arts expectations which I have at this point in the semester and thus "deserve" the F. The other 21? Missing assignments. I'd bet dollars to donuts that those 21 would pass an on-demand-test of minimum language arts skills and content, and I have few concerns about next spring's state tests for those kids, even though they are presently earning Ds and Fs in my class. They've been able to show me that they have the skills through classroom work and other assessments, some of them far exceeding the standards from the very first assessment--yet their grade is an F.

I know that this discussion is almost as old as the model of education present in most public schools today, but how do you as a teacher reconcile the necessity of "grades" and the reality that grades do not necessarily reflect actual skill in a content area? 

Are these kids earning failing grades due to a lack of content knowledge and skill or due to a lack of ability to submit complete work on time...which incidentally is not one of my content area standards? Is the idea of a mastery test (in lieu of seat time) really out of line? We put so much stock in those one-time snapshot tests to assess school and teacher effectiveness, so why not a one-time snapshot test for a kid who has the skills but doesn't want to spend 90 hours this semester in a class which will penalize him for poor organization, not a lack of skill?

Comments

[Annette]

Ah - my principal has been trying to move our high school to standards based grading. As you might imagine there is some resistance from a few of us. We are arguing the point with him that yes, we are there to teach more than just the competencies and where do the students go who really don't meet the competencies - so far no one has gotten far in our philisophical debate. I have to wonder where we will end up!

[Mark]

The system in my last post is described on Englishcompanion at this crazylong url:

http://englishcompanion.ning.com/forum/topics/the-late-work-debate?page=2&commentId=2567740%3AComment%3A146840&x=1#2567740Comment146840

[Mark]

I just read elsewhere about a high school which uses two weighted grades separate from one another to calculate GPA: 75% is based on actual content skills and knowledge, 25% is based on attendance, submission of on-time work, respect to peers, etc. If an assignment is not turned in on time, it does not affect the 75%, but it does the 25%. The 25% is based on department-built rubrics for what is appropriate in each given discipline. So, conceivably, a kid who shows their skills on the tests but never turns work in could still get (at best) a C (75%). My source also says it "outs" the kids who get high grades in regular classes due to effort, while still lacking the skills... if they don't have the actual skills, that will show up in the 75% chunk, even if they get all of the 25% chunk. It looks more confusing than it actually is, I think.

[Mark]

I think this is a signal that our age-based system of advancing through school is a huge part of the reason our system is failing. I think a 12 year-old who shows fourth grade skills ought to be in a class where fourth grade skills are the focus...he shouldn't be in a class just because he's the right age.

And you are right Chelsea, I personally agree that part of our job is to teach time management, organization, task management--and I believe that so much that I've tried to build a program which actually prizes those as much as content. Ultimately, I'm not sure how to reconcile this...an organization grade and a content grade?

[Chelsea]

I wonder though, is our job as educators only to teach content, or is it to teach kids other skills, like organization, that will help them be successful in the future? Though for the majority of my kids that are failing due to not turning in homework, the issue seems to be more "I'm too lazy to get out my binder and put this in the right section of my binder....I'll just shove it in my backpack instead". The motivation issue.....I think that we should have a model where kids are put into classes based on their ability, not their age. For example, if a 6th grader can show mastery of 7th grade math, why not put them in an 8th grade math class? If an "8th grader" can't show master of 7th grade math, they shouldn't be put in to an 8th grade math class.

[Tom]

That's an interesting question, Mark. For the past ten years or so, my district has moved our elementary teachers into a "standards-based" grading system. Under this system, teachers assign grades based on a student's level of skill or knowledge, regardless of their effort or the amount of work the student has turned in. As teachers, we compare the student's level of achievment to the standards and grade accordingly. So far, this hasn't been adopted in the middle or high schools.

[Mark]

Luann, that's somewhat why I'm troubled that (in the past), I could not use WASL scores as part of the kid's grade. I'd love to be able to tell a kid that if they pass the Sophomore WASL, they are guaranteed credit for English 10 regardless of their letter grade. I'm sure that's a can of worms with many wiggly implications I have not thought through just yet...

[Luann]

I like the idea of an "either/or" means to earn a HS diploma: Exhibit competency by testing out, or by participating in a course. What if, even after the course has been "passed," a student cannot pass a high-stakes test? The requirement of the test seems to be the fail point.

[Kirsten]

Yes! Thank-you! I would have killed for that in school!