The classroom i have been observing as been mostly focused on formative assessment instead of assigning grades. Learning, not tracking students, is the main goal of this classroom and it is reflected by the teacher and how he runs the classroom.
Throughout the unit there is continuing formative assessment. Punishing students for right and wrong answers can often times turn students away from learning, so by keeping assessments formative John can see where students are and give them feedback on how to improve. This also helps him to improve his teaching. He can revisit old information and cover it more in depth or try to teach it in a different way.
When students are graded he takes into account
where they started at the beginning of the unit and where they are now. How much have they actually learned? What evidence shows how much they have learned?
Since I have already completed my observations in Johns classroom I have not been able to see how he completes his actual grading, however i think he does have students best interest at heart and does his best to be fair. However, how do you determine a standard to grade students work against? What accountability is there for you? While I like the idea (again I have not seen it in practice), I have have a hard time seeing it being 100% fair and free from bias.
Throughout the unit there is continuing formative assessment. Punishing students for right and wrong answers can often times turn students away from learning, so by keeping assessments formative John can see where students are and give them feedback on how to improve. This also helps him to improve his teaching. He can revisit old information and cover it more in depth or try to teach it in a different way.
When students are graded he takes into account
where they started at the beginning of the unit and where they are now. How much have they actually learned? What evidence shows how much they have learned?
Since I have already completed my observations in Johns classroom I have not been able to see how he completes his actual grading, however i think he does have students best interest at heart and does his best to be fair. However, how do you determine a standard to grade students work against? What accountability is there for you? While I like the idea (again I have not seen it in practice), I have have a hard time seeing it being 100% fair and free from bias.