Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 7

Grades are a very relative concept. For any given paper, grades can range from A to F, regardless of the quality of student work. But a grade should be more than that; a grade should provide the necessary feedback that a student needs to improve. The reason some students thrive in a classroom setting, is because teachers are willing to be flexible, to teach in ways that the student can best learn. In some classrooms, teachers grade an A, only if a students meets the standards, while in other classrooms, to earn an A, you must exceed them. Grades are simply a personal interpretation of the teacher that, without feedback, begins to lose meaning to the student. For any given assignment, the teacher must make it clear as to how to earn the A. Expectations should not be kept a secret from the students. And, if the teacher does choose to raise the standards for an A, they must give students the tools in order to achieve these standards; that is key to a differentiated classroom. Some classrooms before to use a system of A, B, C, I (for incomplete). This may be something all teachers should consider. If feedback is the essential part to helping a student seek, then why not make it part of the grading scale? Grades a very important issue that needs to be looked at again. This article is just one example of the many reasons why the way we grade needs improvement. Students should not have their grads distorted simply to fit on a bell curve; grades are about feedback and student improvement.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 9 Summary

This chapter contains the ten approaches to avoid while differentiating assessment and grading. The first on the list is to refrain from grading on behavior, attendance or effort as these factors have nothing to do with mastery of a subject. Also, this chapter tells us that we should not punish a student for turning in late work, because learning cannot happen in a set timetable and therefore we should not put an emphasis on assignments being completed in such a way. Our author also suggests that we avoid using extra credit and bonus points. He suggests that we simply let students make up late or incomplete assignments for full credit. Another suggestion made by our author is that we need to avoid the use of the group grade because it cannot show us how well each individual in the group performed. Finally, our author tells us that we need to avoid putting zeros in the grade book and if we must fail a student for an assignment, we should simply mark it in as a fifty or sixty. This is simply so that we do not affect the student's grade as dramatically. Altogether, the author in this chapter was trying to convey a flexible outline of grading in the differentiated classroom that would not only encourage mastery and comprehension, but would also allow for a more fair and success driven grading system.
My personal thoughts on this chapter were all very positive. Personally, I wish more teachers in my educational life would have taken our author's words to heart. I have always detested the idea of giving students a zero or not letting them make up late work. I seemed silly to me that teachers expected the understanding of a concept to happen by the beginning of the next class should not be treated as a "do or die" system. However, there were a few things that I did not agree with in this chapter. Mostly, I could not see why the author said we should not give group grades. Personally, I feel that while an individual grade in necessary for a group project so that each individual is given a fair grade based on their participation, it is also vital that the group as a whole is assessed. When students enter the "real world" they will be working together with other individuals. By giving them a group grade along with their individual grade they can see how they need to improve with their interpersonal skills. Another part of this chapter that I did not agree with was the section on grading effort and behavior. Let me say that I do not understand the how the author can say that behavior and effort have nothing to do with mastery. If a student is constantly being a behavioral problem or is showing little to no effort and the teacher is doing all they can to motivate said person, then of course this lack of positive behavior will affect mastery! In conclusion, this chapter had a lot of really great suggestions for grading in the differentiated classroom. These suggestions were certainly all useful and I could definitely see myself using them in my prospective classroom.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of Fair Isn't Always Equal is focuses on why teachers grade, and if they should grade effort, attendance and participation. Most teachers grade students because they believe it is a requirement, which it usually is. However, there are authentic reasons for grading. Grades can be used to document a student's progress, gauge how effective material is, and to provide feedback. On the other hand, there are reasons why grades should not be given. For example, grades should not be given out solely as a way to motivate or punish or label students. Then there is the issue of grading effort. There are no universal rules for what constitutes hard work and effort. Because of this effort can be difficult to grade, so the author suggests not giving a number or letter score for this particular issue. Grading attendance is also addressed in this chapter. If a student's grade is lowered because of a not so perfect attendance, grading has lost its meaning. Instead student's work should be assessed in this situation, as their attendance may be a result of events they have no control over. Also, does attendence actually matter? Grading participation is also a gray area, and teachers should only give grades for participation if the activity actually involves some sort of active participation. It is also wise to look at participation on a case by case basis, as some students are naturally more comfortable participating, and others are shy.
Many of my peers agreed that grades are an important part of education, but many also believe that there are situations when number or letter grades are not necessary. A number of people believed that effort, attendence and participation are important for effective learning, but also realize that they can be difficult to measure. However, there were some differing opinions about putting a grade on participation. Some people believed that some classes are best graded on participation only, while others thought grading participation was ludacris because student's comfort levels can vary greatly. On the other hand, almost all of my peers agreed that one cannot grade effort.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 10

Not all students learn at the same pace, and some may need to do the work more than once before they master the material. For this reason, teachers should allow students to redo work. The teacher should make it clear that work may be redone at her discretion, and that students will not always be allowed to redo their work. Teachers should also require parents to sign the original work so they are aware the student is redoing it. The student needs to know exactly what the expectations are. The only time students should not be allowed to redo work is during the last week of the grading period because the teacher already has enough to grade without having to grade redone work as well.

When grading redone work, the teacher should allow the student to earn the full grade. Only allowing the student to earn up to a B, or averaging the two grades together punishes the student for not learning at the same pace as the rest of the class and may discourage that student in the future. If a student is always asking to redo work, the teacher should find out why and find alternative aid for that student if necessary.

Since education is about learning, not about getting everything right on the first try, allowing students to redo work is a good idea. There should be specific requirements for redoing work so that students do not ignore an assignment because they know they can just redo it. Teachers should allow students to redo work on a case by case basis, using what they know about that student to determine if he or she should be allowed to redo the work.

MI Chapter 10

Chapter 10 of Multiple Intelligences discusses MI theory in relation to types of assessments. Standardized tests are the main way that students are assessed today, and this way simply isn’t cutting it. Standardized tests speak to only one type of learner, and they do not leave any room for interpretation. Other traditional assessments include multiple choice, fill in the blank, and matching. There are variety of learning styles out there; therefore teachers should implement a variety of assessment techniques. Not all students are adept at all types of intelligences, therefore it is only fair to reach out to their learning styles and needs in order to accurately gain a picture of where that students stands academically. This is where authentic assessments come into play. Authentic assessment means are ways in which students can be assessed in ways in which they can use their type of intelligence to their advantage. Several authentic assessments include videos, audiotapes, photographs, interviews. Students should be able to express their knowledge and understanding of a particular subject area in such a way that best represents their skill level. Authentic assessments are an excellent feature to any classroom.

One specific type of assessment is found at the Key Learning Community in Indiana. In every grade, starting at Kindergarten, each student is required to present two projects per year. Both of these presentations are recorded, and passed along with the student from year to year. This is an excellent way to document the growth of the student, as well as to get an idea as to where each particular student’s intelligences lie. The Key Learning Community is a wonderful example of a school focused upon education in all eight of the intelligences.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 6

Chapter six is dedicated mostly to instructing teachers how to design good tests using various types of questions. The first understanding is that all test questions should be clear and fair for all students and that teachers need to know how to design effective, objective test questions. The chapter begins with examples of why the standard multiple choice questions are not always the right fit for tests because there are cases when two choices can fit the answer and then it merely becomes a guess on the student's part. It is also true that multiple choice questions do not assess the student's knowledge and skill, or demonstrate how they can apply that knowledge and those skills to other situations. The author also warns teachers about True and False questions because the answers are not always clear. If true and false questions are going to be used it is important that teachers avoid double negatives, long questions and trivial details Because not all students have a highly developed verbal intelligence, it is important to use varying types of questions on a test, such as using diagrams, pictures, maps, writing prompts and sometimes even doing oral exams. All questions should be to the point and straightforward, without giving students the answer. The chapter also discusses why sometimes a few smaller tests are better than one large exam. With shorter exams it is easier for students to focus and they do not have to study as much material, which allows them to really delve into what they are studying for because they will not feel the need to simply memorize. It does not take a rocket scientist to create good test questions!
The general concensus from Practicum Block One is that Chapter Six was very helpful. Mr. Libby writes, "I never really thought of myself as a test writer" and Miss Mitchell said she "had never even thought of what seperates a good test question from a bad one." After reading the chapter many of my peers claimed that the chapter gave them "plenty of ideas for creative test questions," says Mr. Aceto. Many students agree that tests are important and Miss Bubier suggests makes the point that "students have to take tests for things outside of school, both written and in other forms...it is a disservice to students to avoid giving tests." Most everybody agreed that it is important for all questions to be clear because, as Miss Marshall puts it, "tests can make or break you". After reading and learning about forming good test questions, a lot of Block One students took a look back to their own education and experience with test taking. Mr. Carroll remembers his high school English teacher who always managed to create the "worst questions [he'd] ever had" and Mr. Bates commented on how one of his teachers used true and false questions effectivly by having students write out the words rather than a T or an F.

Here is a link for some quick tips on creating and GIVING test in effective ways.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 4

In chapter 4 of our book Fair Isn't Always Equal, by Richard Wormeli, we are given three separate ideas that deal with assessing our students. The three types of assessments discussed in this chapter are portfolios, rubrics, and student self-assessment. Portfolios can help us to judge a student's work over time and allow us to reflect on their progress accurately. Also, a portfolio can help our students evaluate their progress because all of their work will be organized in one easy to access place. The most essential part of the portfolio, in our author's mind, is the flexibility to cater to all the multiple learning styles in our differentiated classrooms. A positive example of how portfolios can be flexible to the various learning styles can be found in a portfolio with multiple mediums. Instead of just holding papers and tests in a portfolio, why not include audio cassettes, recorded presentations. Another type of these assessment is a rubric. Rubrics may be a more complex assessment then portfolios, but they are certainly an intricate part of our classrooms. There are seven important steps to designing a rubric, most importantly, defining the content and the specific skills our students will need to know. Next we must determine if a student has mastered each of these skills. We asses how these rubrics are set up, that is, ill our rubric be analytical or holistic. Another important aspect for our rubrics are the various levels, an example being whether our students' performance was proficient, capable, adequate, limited or poor. Finally, these levels and their criteria must be explained in a few sentences by the educator. This will help our students understand what is expected of them and how they can meet our standards. Rubrics are a highly organized assessor which we can edit and rewrite over and over to meet the needs of our students of any time. The last example our author uses for assessing students is found in the form of student self-assessment. There are many ways that we as educators can allow our students to self-assess. We can have them compare their work using rubrics, fill out reflective questionnaires, or keep a learning log. Self-assessments can help our students to reflect on how their learning has grown over time. We should try and work self-assessments into our differentiated classrooms as they allow students to reflect on their work in a way that they can choose and will fit their learning styles. Essentially, the common thread holding these concepts together is flexibility. All three of these assessment types have room for flexibility which will in turn help us as teachers, tailor our methods to fit our students' learning styles.
We must understand as educators that there is not one specific way to assess our students. We must keep our minds open about innovative ways for assessments and keep flexibility in mind. All three of these assessments types are flexible and when used properly, can do a lot of good for out students. If we can utilize portfolios, rubrics, and self-assessments in our own way and incorporate the suggestions from our author, I feel that we can have some of the best assessments around. This chapter does well to steer us in the right direction for effective assessing, and there is plenty of wonderful information out their to keep our assessments fresh and innovative.

Fair Isn't Always Equal: Chapter 5

Tiering assignments allows students at different readiness levels achieve the sme goals. Every student should be expected to reach the same level of proficiency as the rest of the class, but they all can take different roads to get to that level. The simplest way to tier an assignment is to make questions more or less complex based on the readiness of the student. Learning contracts can be used to allow students to complete an assignment in a different way, or for a later date than the rest of the class. If the student breaks her contract, the teacher can decide what will happen next. Some ways to tier assignments for the entire class are:

• The tic-tac-toe board: This form of tiering allows students to put together their own assignments by choosing one option from each row of the board.


• Cubing: For this type of tiering, the teacher makes a 3-D cube that has different options on each side. Students can choose any one option from every side of the cube.


• RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic/Time): Students choose one option from each category to come up with a complete assignment.

Although tiering is a lot of work, it is effective. Teachers need to be sure the tiering is appropriate and fair for each student. Since not ever assignment needs to be tiered, only tiering major assignments will keep the teacher sane and will help the students learn more.