Elementary Teaching + Learning May 19, 2015

Agenda I.Framing our work with SRG II.DMPS Grading Practices III.15 Fixes for Grading IV.Next Steps

Framing Our Work Part One (Today): “Jan’s Quote” Part Two: June 9 th with Jan Hoegh “…support administrators to begin putting structures in place that will help them communicate with stakeholders throughout the standards- referenced grading implementation process.”

Packing the Parachute Test Scores

What Score? What grade do you think this student received? What grade would do you think this student deserved?

The Essential Question How confident are you that grades students get in your school are: Accurate Consistent Meaningful Supportive of Learning

The Essential Question How confident are you that the grade students receive in your school are:

Why? Why would anyone want to change current grading practices? If grades are so imprecise – they are almost meaningless.

Why? “If you want to make just one change that would immediately reduce student failure rates, then the most effective place to start would be challenging prevailing grading practices.”

THE PURPOSE OF GRADING

Core Belief Des Moines Public Schools commits to all stakeholders to provide fair, accurate, specific, and timely information regarding student progress towards agreed upon common standards as well as feedback for next steps and growth areas. Grades communicate what students know and can do.

What is the purpose of a grade? In the past grading has been used to… 1.Communicate the achievement status of students to parents, students and others. 2.Provide information that students can use for self- evaluation. 3.Select, identify, or group students for certain educational paths or programs. 4.Provide incentives to learn (reward/punish). 5.Evaluate the effectiveness of instructional programs. “It is very difficult for one measure to serve different purposes well.” (p. 21) “The main difficulty driving grading issues is that grades serve a variety of conflicting purposes.” (p.31) Brookhart, Grading (2004)

What is the purpose of a grade? The primary purpose of… grade… (is) to communicate student achievement to students, parents, school administrators, post-secondary institutions, and employers. What is the current purpose for grades in your school?

Fundamental Beliefs “Teachers do not need grades or reporting forms to teach well. Further, students don’t need them to learn.” “The primary purpose of classroom assessment is to inform teaching and improve learning, not to sort and select students or to justify a grade.” “Schools should have a learning culture, not a grading culture.”

GRADING PRACTICES

Guiding Practices (Handbook) 1. A consistent 4-point grading scale will be used. 2. Grades, derived from the 4-point scale, will be based solely on achievement of grade level standards. Student participation, work completion, and ability to work with others will be reported separately using the “DMPS Citizenship and Employability Skills Rubric.” 3. Scores will be based on a body of evidence. 4. Achievement will be organized and reported by learning topic. 5. Students will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency. 6. Accommodations and modifications will be provided for exceptional learners. (still in draft form)

Guiding Practices (Handbook) 1. A consistent 4-point grading scale will be used. 2. Grades, derived from the 4-point scale, will be based solely on achievement of grade level standards. Student participation, work completion, and ability to work with others will be reported separately using the “DMPS Citizenship and Employability Skills Rubric.” 3. Scores will be based on a body of evidence. 4. Achievement will be organized and reported by learning topic. 5. Students will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency. 6. Accommodations and modifications will be provided for exceptional learners. (still in draft form)

GRADING PRACTICE #2

Grading Practices Grading Practice # 2: Letter grades, derived from the 4-point scale, will be based solely on achievement of grade level standards. Student participation, work completion, and the ability to work with others will be reported separately using the “DMPS Citizenship and Employability Rubric.” A change in thinking! Grades  Compliance Grades = Learning

Grading Practice # 2: Grades = Learning Motivation 1.0: the ancient drive to survive Motivation 2.0: rewarding good work with external rewards. i.e., pay, benefits, and promotions. Motivation 3.0: intrinsic rewards that play to intrinsic satisfaction of the activity. Motivation 3.0 is where the main motivators are the freedom to do what you want, the opportunity to take a challenge, and fulfillment of the undertaking.

Grading Practice # 2: Grades = Learning “All kids start out as curious, self-directed, intrinsically motivated people. But many of them, by the end of their time in school end up as disengaged, compliant, and extrinsically motivated.”

Grading Practice # 2: Grades = Learning “We are bribing students into compliance instead of challenging them into engagement.” “Don’t use grade punitively. When a teacher uses grades as a punishment for student behaviors, the teacher establishes a negative relationship in which grades are no longer meaningful to students as indictors of their achievement.”

Grading Practice # 2: Grades = Learning Maximize intrinsic motivation and Minimize extrinsic motivation Compliance: conformity in fulfilling official requirements. Responsibility: the state of fact that being accountable for something within one’s power, management, or choice.

Grading Practice # 2: Grades = Learning What are your beliefs/practices with regard to grades based solely on achievement? What are the beliefs of your staff? How will you facilitate a culture of intrinsic motivation?

GRADING PRACTICE #3

Grading Practices Grading Practice # 3: Scores will be based on a body of evidence. Body of Evidence Definition: A collection of artifacts that measure student learning by the proficiency scales. Artifacts that could be used to determine student’s proficiency towards standards include, but are not limited to: Projects Teacher-created tasks District-created assessments Performances Presentations

Grading Practice # 3: Body of Evidence Professional Judgement Traditional View: Objective = Good! Subjective = Bad! Always strive to be objective! “All scoring by teachers, including assigning points and taking them off math homework, is subjective. The question is not whether it is subjective, but whether it is defensible and credible.

Grading Practice # 3: Body of Evidence Objectivity + Professional Judgement “I define professional judgement as ‘decisions made by educators, in light of experience, and with reference to shared public standards and established policies and guidelines.(best practice –research)’”

Grading Practice # 3: Body of Evidence

Grading Practices # 3: Body of Evidence What are your beliefs/practices with regard to professional judgement and objectivity? What are the beliefs of your staff? How will you facilitate a culture of professional decision making?

15 Fixes for Broken Grades Elementary Schools

Essential Question- What is the purpose of grading, and how do we ensure this purpose is met? Experiences with grading If It’s Broke….Fix It!

The Fix is On! The What? What is the Fix? The Why? What is the rationale for the fix? The How? How could this fix look into practice?

Breaking Down the 15 Fixes Engaging in the Work Each of your tables is assigned a Fix Within your group break into 3 groups to answer the what, the why, and the how. (10 min.) “Tweet” your Fix on chart paper to share out (10 minutes) Present the fix to whole group (3-4 minutes)

Connecting the 15 Fixes to DMPS DMPS Six Guiding Practices Categorize the 15 fixes into the six guiding practices for grading (10 minutes)

GP 1: A consistent 4-point grading scale will be used. 8. Don’t assign grades using inappropriate or unclear performance standards; provide clear descriptions of achievement expectations.

GP 2 GP 2: Letter grades, derived from the 4- point scale, will be based solely on achievement of course/grade level standards. Student participation, work completion, and ability to work with others will be reported separately using the “DMPS Citizenship and Employability Skills Rubric.”

GP 2 1. Don’t include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence, to class rules, etc.) in grades; include only achievement. 2. Don’t reduce marks on “work” submitted late; provide support for the learner. 4. Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement. 5. Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately.

GP 3: Scores will be based on a body of evidence. 3. Don’t give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in a higher level of achievement. 6. Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence. 9. Don’t assign grades based on a student’s achievement compared to other students; compare each student’s performance to preset standards. 14. Don’t summarize evidence accumulated over time when learning is developmental and will grow with time and repeated opportunities; in those instances, emphasize more recent achievement.

GP 4: Achievement will be organized and reported by learning topic, which will be converted to a grade at semester’s end. 7. Don’t organize information in grading records by assessment methods or simply summarize into a single grade; organize and report evidence by standards/learning goals. 11. Don’t rely only on the mean; consider other measures of central tendency and use professional judgment.

GP 5: Students will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency. 10. Don’t rely on evidence gathered using assessments that fail to meet standards of quality; rely on quality assessments. 13. Don’t use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summative evidence. (**different than DMPS Grading Practices Handbook) 12. Don’t include zeros in grade determination when evidence is missing or as punishment; use alternatives, such as reassuring to determine real achievement, or use “I” for Incomplete or Insufficient Evidence. 15. Don’t leave students out of the grading process. Involve students; they can-and should-play key roles in assessment and grading that promote achievement.

CORE BELIEF Des Moines Public Schools commits to all stakeholders to provide fair, accurate, specific, and timely information regarding student progress towards agreed-upon common standards as well as feedback for next steps and growth areas. Grades communicate what students know and can do.

Revising Knowledge (Element 20) When I walked in the door this morning, I believed… {about grading} After in engaging in the 15 Fixes, I now believe… Share with your table group.

Next Steps June 9 Grading Practices Survey