FIAE+B2+Chapter+13


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Morgan Ware
Chapter 13 is about how gradebooks are record of our students’ growth. They show how the lessons either help or hinder our students. There are several different formats for gradebooks that best meet the needs of our students. Any time parents, students, and principals might ask to see a students’ growth in a certain class. So for that reason teachers need to have an easy to read gradebook that is organized. Ken O’Connor recommends establishing an assessment code, for example use “f” or “s” for formative and summative assessment (page 162) nest to assessments in the gradebook. There are several example formats of gradebooks that we can use to create our own gradebook. Teachers should only record grades that are accurate and are relevant to charting the students’ progress. Teachers’ group assessments by weight and the weight are determined by importance and how hard the assessment is. Not all gradebooks work for every teacher; they often change the weights of assessments or the whole grade book entirely. Another way to organize a gradebook is to list the assessments by date completed or due. This allows student, teachers, parents, and principals to look at a student’s growth over time. The nest format is topics-based gradebooks. This format has each students name and the different categories of assessment. I think that these different types of formats for grades will help me in the classroom because it will keep me more prepared.

Emily McGee
Wormeli explains the importance of choosing a gradebook keeping strategy that is organized and fits differentiated grading practices and individual teacher needs. Some gradebook formats he considers are: 1.) Grouping assignments by standard, objective, or benchmark; 2.) Grouping assignments by weight or category; 3.) Listing assignments by date; and 4.) Topic-based gradebook keeping. The first example shows show students achievement aligns with course goals and standards and can deliniate formative versus summative assessment grades. The second example separates assignments by importance of and complexity in responses giving an accurate picture of students growth and mastery if done correctly and inline with student development. The third example shows growth longitudinally but may not reflect the next level of development in a topic because assessments may test various skills and understandings. The fourth example seems to be the best for the differentiated classroom, but possibly the most complicated to do. In this grading system any assignment has several parts that are graded separately, so several grades go into your gradebook for each assignment and several grades go onto each paper, so students can understand exactly why they received the grade they received. At first I thought listing assignments by date was the best way to do this and the technique I would be most likely to use. However, I believe that topic based grading is an excellent idea and kids deserve to know how they did on each component part of any assignment.

Samy Tracy
This chapter focused on the types of gradebook formats and how they could work well for different teachers. The one that I prefer the most is the Summary of Evidence Format. This one was particularly important to me because of the fact that it not only shows things students struggle with, but also what students are excelling in. Showing students what they are struggling in and then leaving comments on how things could possibly be better really help students rather than just giving them a grade and no explanation. Even though this gradebook means that teachers would have to think intently about their assignments based on the standards and things students have learned throughout the semester. If you think about it though, grades should really include more than one standard or subject in it, because they are supposed to broaden your view of the world and education; you are learning more than one thing at a time and so that should be reflected in the gradebook. I did like ordering assignments by date because it shows a students’ progress throughout the year. I do not think this should be used for grades but as merely a focal point of the growth of students. You should not base a student’s grade in a class if they did not understand things in the beginning but then suddenly get it, or had a rough first quarter but then really picked things up from there.

Alyssa Amari
In chapter thirteen of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal,// Rick Wormelli discusses four different formats for grade books in a differentiated classroom. The first format is grouping assignments by standard, objective, or benchmark; this way parents and students would see which assignments lie within a certain standard, and whether they reached the objective goal, it would be an efficient way to show which standards a student has done really well in. The second is grouping assignments by weight or category, this way the students and parents can see which assignments were weighted more heavily and how well they did on them. The third is listing assignments by date; this is a clear portrayal of a students progress over time, and a great way to show if a student has mastered a subject or topic. The last method is the topic-based gradebooks, these grades are recorded with a letter key and are graded by the areas the assignment addressed as well (i.e. verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, etc.). I thought that these different grade book formats were very interesting and might be helpful to all schools. I think the type of gradebooks a school uses really depends on the school, the students, and the curriculum; all would be helpful to a specific school. I think that I would like to use the type of gradebook that groups assignments according to standards or goals; I feel like this would not only help me to see more clearly how each student had progressed within each standard, but I think it would give students a clearer picture as well, and this would be beneficial to them.

Lauren Breton
This chapter discussed different formats that lend themselves well to incorporation in a differentiated classroom. The text discussed a variety of grouping, labeling, and organizational techniques that could be implemented in order to maximize the understanding of students’ mastery. One technique that I was particularly fond of was to label grading categories from “tests, quizzes, homework” to “voice, organization, spelling, grammar, etc.” and then to enter grades into each of the categories. This would be particularly beneficial for identifying where students’ strengths and weaknesses lie. This type of organizational strategy can reveal more on the whereabouts of where students fall in each category as opposed to identifying that students do not do as well on quizzes as they do on tests. Another suggested format in this chapter was the idea of having a topics-based gradebook. This type of gradebook looks incredibly complex, but is clearly very comprehensive and reveals exactly how well students are doing on what assignments and in what categories. Assignments are listed by an alphabetic key at the top of the book and grades for each assignment are entered under the appropriate topic (or topics, if it applies to more than one). The last line for each student reveals their final topic score and then the scores can be averaged together to receive a cumulative final grade, if that is how the class is being graded. Although the setup looks complex and time-consuming, it makes sense. Grades for everything are clearly shown and this type of grading system can be easily explained/defended to both parents and administrators. Personally, I would rather spend my time and effort to design a gradebook that gives feedback to students on their strengths and weaknesses so that they can learn and grow rather than use a gradebook that did not reveal anything about my students’ learning.

Rachel Joiner
This chapter was all about different grade book formats. I found this chapter to be very informative, because I do not have a lot of experience with grade book formats. I thought it was helpful to be able to see a variety of options for a grade book so now I have a better idea of what it should look like. This can help me in the future, when I need to create a grade book. I thought it was a great idea when the book suggests creating an assessment code, like putting an “f” for formative assessments, and an “s” for summative assessments. I think this could be helpful to me as a teacher, because I can understand where students need more help. It can also help students because I feel it will more accurately represent their knowledge, and give a better understanding of their mastery of the material. I loved the idea in the book that at the end of a grading period, grades could be multiplied to add weight. For example, a test could be counted three times. I loved the books suggestion that only multiplying certain amounts of time for different students. The book suggests to differentiate grades that way. I could simply adjust the grades for a particular student who is struggling. I thought this was a great way to differentiate without creating problems for the students. I thought this way students can still have an accurate representation of their mastery. I found this chapter to be extremely helpful and beneficial to understanding the grade book process.

Lauren Scheidegger
Chapter 13 is all about grade books. There are many different ways to format a grade book. Different methods work best for different teachers. Grade books can be organized by grouping assignments, by standards used, objectives achieved, and benchmarks, how much an assignment is weighted, categories, date, and topic. I never thought to include the standards in a grade book format, but it seems like a brilliant idea. Parents might want to know and it keeps the teacher and students constantly aware of the “bigger picture”. The chapter was amazing helpful. Seeing multiple examples helped me figure out which grade book format looks like it might help me stay organized best. I felt myself gravitate towards the grade book example which included student examples. I want my grade book to include as much information as possible. Things I might want to include are assignment details and titles, standards the assignments are oriented towards, what lesson or unit each assignment falls under, date of assignment, and of course the students full name. I will most likely experiment with grade book formatting a little bit before I have one that I am really comfortable with, but at least for now I have a good idea of where to start.

Megan Millette
Wormeli discusses setting up a grade book using different formats. As a teacher, I believe the questions this chapter presents will help me when I need to decide a grading system that deals with differentiation in the classroom. The idea of grouping assignments based on standard is a great way to grade. This is because it takes the guesswork out of deciding weather or not a student has met the standard. It gives the teacher feedback that is helpful in deciding where the student is. Grouping assignments by weight or category helps one be organized and see what area students struggle in the most whether that is at home with work, or on tests, or during class. The only problem with this method to me is the fact that it would hard to keep all the grades accurate when there are so many exceptions. I really enjoyed the idea of classifying assignments by date because it not only keeps all of it neat and organized, but it also helps the teacher know when assignments are due, so when students hand them in late it won’t make this process confusing. When doing this it is important to put them in by the right date and look at the trends you observe. This will help teachers see that maybe one week a student wasn’t doing well and did not hand in work. This will be an alert and the teacher will be given the opportunity to check in with their students and see if maybe there is a simple explanation. It keeps the teachers in touch better with the students and gives them a chance to see how well a student is mastering something based on what they struggled with during the week. This chapter brings forward some very great grade book ideas. It is important for me as a teacher to try more than one and see which one I like best, as well as switch it all up every now and then.

T.J. Hebert
There are many grade book formats and there is no one that is recommended or better than the other. The teacher must decide which format best suits them and best illustrates the differentiated learning of each class. One method is to group assignments by standard, objective, or benchmark. This method works well for standards based instruction. Another method is grouping assignments by weight or category, such as: homework, tests, and writings for categories. There is listing the assignments by date, which serves well in illustrating the student’s growth over time and the final format in the chapter is topics based. This format is very detailed and requires the teacher to assess several different topic areas, such as grammar and speech. Each topic is broken down into sections with each section receiving its own grade. All the sections are averaged together to give a final topic score and then all topic scores are averaged together for a final score. The grade book format I like the most and will more than likely use is the assignments by date. It is easy to refer back to for missed assignments, shows student progress, and it shows what topics were discussed and when. I like the topics based grade book, however; it seems a little cluttered and difficult to read and follow. It breaks each topic down into great detail and really illustrates the learning. I may at some point, attempt to create a neater looking version of that or may do something like that for an assignment, but I doubtfully will use it for an entire class.

Kevin Lind
The one idea that seems to capture this chapter nicely is the idea of thinking of assignments in terms of actual standards. To place a number by the assignment without an actual standard is pointless because the student will be unaware of what they are meant to accomplish. By placing a standard with assignment students can see what they need to work on in the class and by the time they reach graduation. It also allows students to know which standards they have already met.

I thought it was rather interesting that Wormeli brought up grade book formats in this chapter. I’ve never really considered that grade books can be formatted in multiple ways. This also might not actually be very helpful for modern teachers, because most of their grade books are on a school server and in a format that can’t be changed. This definitely can be seen as one of the ways technology is making the classroom less accessible for some teachers.

The best point made in this chapter is that assessments should be in a format that effectively shows a student’s mastery of the content. The point is that the format that goes with the assessment should not be a major part of how a student is graded. If a student isn’t artistic, it would be unfair to grade them on their painting ability when they have to explain the significance of the Magna Carta. If a student can cover the content in a different way, then the important thing is that the content is covered.

Mike Kahler
This chapter shows many ways to make a gradebook that effectively shows a student's mastery in the subject. The thought presented in this chapter is that a differentiated classroom should have a gradebook that shows differentiation. The teacher should be able to see what it is that students struggle or excel with, and make adjustments. Having all of the grades in the gradebook grouped is a good way of doing this. Grouping based on standard, objective, weight, category, date, and benchmark are the suggested ways of ding this.I personally see date as an effective way of seeing a students growth over time, but categorizing also looks effective. If you track a students success in a specific area over time you can see their growth or decline in different areas. Personally I'm the least organized person ever. This leads me to acknowledge that I will need much help in designing an effective gradebook. I find that watching a students progress over time in different areas will be the best way to track their progress. I they consistently struggle in one area they can receive extra help, and if they consistently succeed they can be challenged further. Also having the type of project that each grade is for you can spot trends in their abilities there too.