Judgement Day

“Reproof should not exhaust its power upon petty failings.” -Samuel Johnson

Who would want to go to work if they were called a failure each day? Not me!

Why would a student want to go to school if they were given poor grades each day? Students who are struggling is school, who are at risk, who have learning disabilities or emotional issues that prevent them from performing at grade level are subjected to grades that label them as ‘disappointments’. No wonder there are so many disciplinary problems on campus! How could a child continue to feel worthwhile when presented by  red-marked, low-grade, records of their failings.

In order to provide a sense of accomplishment and pride for my students, I modify and individualize their tests and assessments. For a comprehension check, some students are allowed to give an oral report. Others may be presented sentence frames where they can ‘fill in the blank’, and they may even be provided a word bank. Some students have only 3 questions to answer, while others have 10. The rest of the class may be asked to research answers from the text, or write short paragraphs from their notes. What form the assessment takes is based on what the student is capable of, based on teacher observation and student work (from their current portfolio – not their previous scores or, heaven-forbid, their standardized tests).

Grading on a sliding scale like this guarantees student success. It provides a process of growing and garnering knowledge. A child might start with sentence frames, and move into self-authored writing over the course of the semester. This creates a feeling of accomplishment and pride. If grades are used to show what a student knows, rather than what they do not know, the grades become gifts to the learners.

In all the years I have tailored tests in this manner there has NEVER – as in not a single time ever - been a complaint from a student. Teachers predict the children that receive the more labor intensive, long form tests will belly ache and whine and ask why so-and-so only has half as much to do. But I conference with the class, and explain the different assessments, and therefore each child knows why they get the test they get. My experience has been that once I present a test that appears harder to one than the test of a neighbor, with a simple aside of, “I know you can do this, you have really improved in your work” , the recipient of the tough test goes right to work without a grudge. And the students who get the abbreviated tests then seem compelled to progress to the higher, harder levels of testing.

I like to be challenged on the job almost as much as I like to be appreciated for the work I do. I assume students like the same blend of challenge and appreciation. Carefully tailored testing can provide this combo, and lay a foundation for success in the classroom.