Well, I have put together my first document for the new school year. Here is my explanation to students and parents as to how grading will go in my classroom. Please, please, please comment - I want to make sure I have this as clear as possible before I print it.
Background on my district - mostly blue collar, not a heavy emphasis on education. Parents are somewhat involved - the parents of the "better" kids tend to be the most involved, otherwise they don't tend to get involved unless their child is failing (and even then, they don't always get involved). I thought about including information from books/prominent educators but I chose not to because I didn't want to be perceived as trying to go over the parents heads and/or too much "edu-speak." I wanted it to be in as plain English as possible.
So - here it is. Comment away! Thanks in advance for your help!
***I have revised this slightly based on the comments and changing my 0 and 1 values. (8/3)
Grading Info 2010-2011
or try here if you can't read it.
It makes sense to me. One subtle change to consider. At one point you mention that homework, etc. will "guide instruction." Is there a way you could change it to sound equally as helpful, but also more parent friendly. Maybe something like, "I'll be using the results from the homework and quizzes to determine what topics the class needs more time and help learning."
ReplyDeleteI like that Matt. Thanks for taking the time to read it over. I appreciate having feedback from someone who's been down this road before.
ReplyDelete--LMH
I don't know if it is an issue for you, but some of my students do not have internet access and would be unable to schedule a retest. Part of the beauty for me with SBG is having students that want to retest 'on the fly.' I have had a student stop me in the hall and ask to retest. I never want to deny them even though it is tough on me sometimes. Just a thought. I thought you explained SBG very well. Great job!
ReplyDelete@Amber - I don't have a problem with them telling me a day before - the timing is more to give me a chance to have the retest ready for them. Also I have kids and most days I have to be out the door by a certain time and I want to be able to accomodate them. The last reason for the wait period is I don't want students to practice and then immediately retest. I want "soak time."
ReplyDelete--LMH