Goals for 2017-2018

At the start of every year I always set some sort of goal for myself and this year I find my goal area needs to be on mistakes.  As teachers we always say "It's okay to make mistakes", "Mistakes mean we are trying" and "Mistakes are how we learn" but for me that's about as far as it went.  So are we really saying mistakes are ok?  Does this really encourage students to take more risks and to make mistakes?

This past school year I cam across the video below on how this teacher grades her tests.  It is worth watching but if you don't have time here is a quick but "does no justice" recap: She highlights the mistakes that students make on their tests, no grade is put on the test, grades are put in their online grade book the day AFTER they have received the test back, and she celebrates her favorite mistakes.  Students work together to recognize where they have made mistakes and work to correct them.  

          

I just love the idea of only highlighting the mistakes made on the test.  This way students are more focused on the learning and content rather than what grade they received.   She said it perfectly when she talks about how students get their test back, look at the grade, and then throw it away never to look at it again.  When this happens I feel we are saying that the material we taught really wasn't that important, and that the grade they received is acceptable, even when it may not be.

My most favorite part is how she celebrates mistakes.  She displays a photocopy of a mistake that a student or many students made, and calls them her favorite mistakes.  The class works in their groups and then together as a whole to identify the mistake that was made and then how to correct it.  She also brings to the students attention parts that may be wrong by highlighting them, but she doesn't necessarily take points off for it.

I've been teaching for 10 years, this will be my 11th year, and this past year when students only focused on their grades it really started to get to me.  I knew I needed to change something about how I was running my class.  Standards Based Grading was something I brought into my room about 5 years ago and it helped get the kids to focus more on the learning but the level put at the top of the paper was still sparking the conversations I was hoping to eliminate.

So my goal for the 2017-2018 school year is to highlight mistakes, enter grades in the following day, celebrate my favorite mistakes, and hopefully get my students to focus more on the math and less on their grades.  Wish me luck and we will see how this year goes!

Standards Based Grading

Just a WARNING, this is going to be a long post...

So I started doing Standards Based Grading (SBG) at the beginning of last school year.  At this point I have 1.5 years under my belt and I still keep making changes.  The one thing that hasn't changed is my policies or my grading rubric.

My policy/rubric are a combination of ideas from Jessica over at Algebrainic, Rick Wormeli, my good friend and former co-worker Terie at Crazy Teacher Lady, oh and my own insane ideas.  It took me over a year to get everything figured out before I actually started implementing it into my classroom.

How is SBG different from Traditional Grading?

• Student's grades are only based on their assessments over the standards (this is different based on which policy you use)
• Scores in the grade book change as students understanding changes. 
• Grades are not final until the end of the semester/year.
• Some students obtain a score of master sooner than others.
• If students are struggling they get more individual/small group instruction.
• Grade is a direct representation of student learning.

Grading Rubric:

5	You have completely mastered the skill on two skill assessments, meaning you received two 4’s, which makes your overall skill score a 5.  You have completed this skill. You “get” it!
4	You have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the concepts involved, have clearly showed all steps of your reasoning, have used notation correctly, wrote exemplary and clearly, and have made no mathematical errors. You can not only solve beginning problems and multi-concept problems, but you can solve Application, ACT and PARCC questions related to the concept.
3	You have a firm grasp of the skill, meaning you have demonstrated a full or almost understanding of the concepts involved, but you may have not shown steps of your reasoning, didn’t use notation totally consistently, and made a slight (but non-fatal) mathematical error.  You still need help with this skill. You can not only solve beginning problems, but you can take previously taught concepts and apply them to new problems.
2	You have demonstrated some understanding of the skill.  You may have some confused reasoning, did not completely answer the question, did not use consistent notation, made more than one (non-fatal) mathematical errors. You still need help with this skill. You can solve beginning problems on your own without any help.
1	You have demonstrated weak or no conceptual understanding.  You may have confused reasoning, or made one or more serious (fatal) mathematical errors.  You still need a lot of help with this skill.  You need assistance in order to solve beginning problems.
0	You left the problem blank; no attempt was made to solve the problem.

How does it all work?

1. Students at the beginning of each unit are pre-assessed, not only on what we will be learning but the prerequisite skills they need for that unit. 
2. The assessments are scored and the students enter that score into their folders. (we will get to those later!)  I also enter those into the grade book, however they don't count towards the students grade it's just so I can see where they started at and where they ended at.
3. Based on those scores I break my students up into group and the learning process begins.
4. Notes on the content are given using our ISN's, and then activities are given based on their level of knowledge.
5. Once students understand the content they are given a "Progress Check" to see where they are at.  If they score a 4, many will practice and try for a 5 right away.  Some wait awhile. I consider "Mastery" if they get to a level 3.
6. Students that get a mastery score, level 3 or higher, move onto the next concept, students that don't participate in re-teaching, additional activities, etc.  Once they are ready they will take another Progress Check and the cycle beings until they reach mastery.
7. The Progress Checks are scored and each score is entered into their folder, even if they have multiple scores.  The score on their most current Progress Check is the one entered into the grade book, even if it's lower than the previous one.
8. This repeats for every unit!

Things I've Learned...

• When you think you have everything figured out, you'll make changes!
• Keep students constantly informed of how they are doing.  This is something I learned after my 1st year.
• Make multiple versions of your progress checks.  TRUST ME YOU WILL NEED THEM!  I have about 4-5 different progress checks on Solving Equations.
• Have students set a realistic goal for themselves in each unit.  It can help keep them motivated.