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Many teachers...grading...for compliance - not for mastering course material

nytimes.com

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Re: Many teachers...grading...for compliance - not for mastering course material

#3

Post by klbarry »

If you are absent for a surprise quiz because you cut a great deal, the 0 will make your other 100 tests average to about 80, even if you know the course material greatly. Does a job prefer better if you master the course material but in general don't follow the smaller rules? For instance, in an interview, wouldn't you look like a fool if you explained away sub-par grades as bureaucratic issues? Part of life, sadly, is following small and stupid rules.

Re: Many teachers...grading...for compliance - not for mastering course material

#6

Post by philwelch »

klbarry wrote: post #3

If you are absent for a surprise quiz because you cut a great deal, the 0 will make your other 100 tests average to about 80, even if you know the course material greatly. Does a job prefer better if you master the course material but in general don't follow the smaller rules? For instance, in an interview, wouldn't you look like a fool if you explained away sub-par grades as bureaucratic issues? Part of life, sadly,…

It's a complicated feedback loop, obviously. Society is petty and bureaucratic, hence schools have to be petty and bureaucratic in order to teach how to navigate society? Partially, but partially society is petty and bureaucratic because schools are petty and bureaucratic and people are trained to consider such systems normal and good. (In fact, schools seem a lot pettier and more bureaucratic than the rest of the world, though it depends on your perspective.)

I don't think the world would collapse if we had entire generations coming out of school ill-equipped to handle petty bureaucracy, especially if the tradeoff was that those generations are smarter and better educated about things that matter.

Re: Many teachers...grading...for compliance - not for mastering course material

#7

Post by icegreentea »

In Ontario the primary/secondary school report cards have been somewhat like this for a while. Your 'grade' is based almost completely on your academic performance (supposedly). Of course, if you miss evaluations, then your mark will suffer a bit. And some (or many) teachers will still wrap a participation mark into the course (usually something like 5-10%). I can't speak for everyone, but in my experience, these are typically in language courses where participation is crucial (apparently... I just sucked at languages period) for learning. Depending on grade/place, these were given percentage or normal letter grades. Homework was wrapped into this mark depending on the teacher.

On the side, you have a series of other 'grades' on the side. I can't remember their names now, but they broadly mapped to how disruptive you were, your initiative, how much of your work you completed (marked and unmarked) etc etc. These were marked as excellent, good, satisfactory, or needs improvement. From what I remember, it's actually not possible to fail as a result of having a lot of N's. Though in my case, I got a talking to from my parents whenever an N (or a few S's) showed up.

I remember thinking that those marks were kinda bullshit. And to an extent they are, since they are subjective and easily colored by how much a teacher likes you. I also knew some teachers who really hated dealing with that stuff and just gave everyone Gs, except for the trouble makers who got Ss.

Re: Many teachers...grading...for compliance - not for mastering course material

#10

Post by px »

I'm glad the NYT is shedding light on this topic but, perhaps the most important aspect of standards based grading is almost burried in this article.

One of the basic premises of SBG is that students know exactly what knowledge and skills they have to master. They are assessed and then encouraged to address weaknesses so that they can be re-assessed. This is opposed to a "gotcha!" based assessment system.

This approach can have a profound impact on students because it encourages them to assess their own learning and take the initiative to grow and improve.

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