Grading, Rubrics and Assessment - Oh My!

In the May 2007 Educational Leadership, Rick Stiggins shared this scenario in his article, "Assessment Through the Student's Eyes":

Gail is a 5th grader who gets her math test back with “60 percent” marked at the top. She knows this means another F. So her losing streak continues, she thinks. She's ready to give up on ever connecting with math.

But then her teacher distributes another paper—a worksheet the students will use to learn from their performance on the math test. What's up with this? The worksheet has several columns. Column one lists the 20 test items by number. Column two lists what math proficiency each item tested. The teacher calls the class's attention to the next two columns: Right and Wrong. She asks the students to fill in those columns with checks for each item to indicate their performance on the test. Gail checks 12 right and 8 wrong.

The teacher then asks the students to evaluate as honestly as they can why they got each incorrect item wrong and to check column five if they made a simple mistake and column six if they really don't understand what went wrong. Gail discovers that four of her eight incorrect answers were caused by careless mistakes that she knows how to fix. But four were math problems she really doesn't understand how to solve.

Next, the teacher goes through the list of math concepts covered item by item, enabling Gail and her classmates to determine exactly what concepts they don't understand. Gail discovers that all four of her wrong answers that reflect a true lack of understanding arise from the same gap in her problem-solving ability: subtracting 3-digit numbers with regrouping. If she had just avoided those careless mistakes and had also overcome this one gap in understanding, she might have received 100 percent. Imagine that! If she could just do the test over . . .

What do you notice about the meaning of "success" in this classroom?

How did this teacher empower the students in her classroom to take responsibility for their success?

What similar things are you planning to do in your classroom this year?

Reading and Engaging Students

When our small but passionate group met to discuss "I Read It But I Don't Get It" we talked a great deal about motiviation for kids to read and the ability to tap into their background knowledge as they read.

I've come to learn and believe that the best readers are ones who make connections while they read. Reading isn't like watching television - sit down, take it in, turn it off - nothing left. (Unless, of course, you are watching Lost!) We need to create mental images as we read - as those are based upon our experiences. Think about David's comments in the previous post about each time he read Dickens - and why the second time was so much more meaningful.

I've posted some anticipation guide samples at the companion wiki since we talked a great deal about them. They worked with my students - even if they didn't believe they had any background knowledge, these helped them to look for certain things in the text. Even my most reluctant readers responded to this.

And I think that the new technologies available to us can help us to connect students to what they are reading. Here is a lesson from a colleague: John J. has integrated blogs into his Honors 10 class and has started posting some "critical lens" type questions for students to respond to. And they get into some pretty good discussions!!! Here's what I noticed - the students are making some powerful connections with their own lives and interests, they are responding to one another in a meaningful way, and - this one is important - they can weigh in with their true opinions on some books. What works and what doesn't. I think they read it and they get it!!

Literary Histories

We will soon be embarking on a great journey into the land of reading with our next book study, I Read It, But I Don't Get It by Cris Tovani. I have to admit that this book was chosen because it is one of my favorites and I refer to it often.

Cris Tovani is open and honest in what she shares with the reader, but also in what she shares with her students. She openly tells them of her struggles as a reader and I think that in part, it is this honesty with her own struggles that makes the strategies she teaches so meaningful. You can read Chapter 1 "Fake Reading" on-line here.

From this book, I have borrowed the idea of "Literary Histories" and often open my reading/writing workshops with this. So I thought we could start by sharing our own literacy histories before we meet!! Post your responses in the comments below - and be sure to comment on what others write as well. (I'll post my own reflections in the comments section.)

Most everyone can remember a book that has had an impact on his or her life. Often this book is connected to a pleasurable experience. It could have been the first book you learned to read. Or it could have been a book that troubled you. An important book doesn’t necessarily have to be well loved. Think about your history as a reader. Recall a book that sticks out in your mind and share with us the title/author and two reasons why this book is important to you.

Literary histories can often determine how we read and write. Past reading experiences influence our reading and writing. What are some positive or negative reading events that affect the way you read today.

I've also posted a Word document of these questions on our wiki if you'd like to use this with study groups or students in your own districts.