1. Tales of Horror and Non- Congruence A Highly Personal Take on Grades and Homework Steve Unruhe, sunruhe@dpsnc.net

2. We need great teachers More importantly, we need good schools.

3. Horror Story #1: Una lección de baile en Ecuador Salsa for two left feet? 6-count? 8-count? Dancing towards the exit

4. Horror Story #2: Lily Single mom, often working two jobs Mom’s ex-partner intermittently involved Unmotivated, easily frustrated, but not hostile Frequently missed school Failing math due to zeroes for homework and projects

5. Should Lily Repeat Algebra I?

6. Part I: Grades What are we trying to accomplish through our grading practices?

7. Goal for Grading: A fair assessment of content knowledge Should student advance? Into which course?

8. Congruence Problem #1 Do grades accurately reflect content knowledge? Scenario - student does B work on three assignments; fails to turn in fourth assignment

9. Three Grading Schemes - Three Grades

10. Which grading scheme accurately reflects content knowledge?

11. Horror Story #3: How Estelle Failed Lunch Duty What if teachers were evaluated the way students are evaluated?

12. Congruence Problem #2 What does a student learn by repeating a course? What does a student learn from a zero? Why do we put a kid in another teacher’s classroom who already knows enough material to pass the class?

13. My grading practice Use A-F scale, translated into numerical points (60-100) Students fail for not passing assessments (tests, quizzes) Students do NOT fail for missing work; they fail for not knowing content (or, more to the point, pass if they know enough content)

14. Part II: Homework What are we trying to accomplish through our homework practice?

15. Goals for Homework Practice Learn new material Learn responsibility

16. Congruence Problem #3 - Homework Reality Copied Scribbled Wrong Time-consuming to grade

17. Solution Give more, harder, homework Grade all homework, every night (Just kidding)

18. Horror Story #4 “Calculate the lateral area of an octagonal prism lying on its side…”

19. My homework practice All homework problems have answers Homework is practice Homework counts for a grade only to help a student

20. Data Imperviousness Teachers (all humans?) resist data Teachers (all humans?) learn by anecdote Math teachers live for the counter- example (“What about…?) Data “slides off” when it hits anecdotal counter-example

21. Still, here’s the data…. Retention: “In summary, the research indicates that grade retention provides limited or no academic/social advantages to students” (Retention: The Balanced View: Social Promotion & Retention; Prepared by Westchester Institute For Human Services Research. Available at http://www.sharingsuccess.org/code/socprom.html. Undated) Homework: “No research has shown that homework is necessary to help students learn….Nor is there a shred of evidence to back up the folk wisdom that homework builds character, promotes self-discipline, or teaches good work habits.” (Homework: “The Tougher Standards Fad Hits Home” Alfie Kohn in Rethinking Schools, Vol 21, No.1; Fall 2006)

22. In search of congruence Teachers are heroes - we will go to almost any length to help a student succeed Teachers are martyrs - and this is not a good idea We must connect homework and grading practices to realistic goals

23. We need great teachers, and we need good schools