Report
Cards for Middle School Lisa
Peterson
At the
end of the first marking period of my first year of teaching, I
can remember sitting on the floor of my bedroom surrounded by piles
of papers, wondering how I was ever going to translate them into
report card grades. I managed to do this; but for my first few years
of teaching, the process was somewhat arbitrary. I would look at
all the grades, count long and important assignments two or three
times, and average it all together. I would write some appropriate
comments on the report cards, put whatever assignments were available
into a folder and explain it all to parents as best as I could.
The process got much easier for me (and much clearer for the students)
when I transferred to a school where the principal required us to
establish grading criteria from day one. (I have always
taught in schools that use numerical grades along with a limited
number of comments. The process will be very different if your school
uses narrative report cards.)
At the beginning of the year, we need to decide what components
will determine a student's grade and assign a percentage to these
components. For example, in my middle school humanities class (a
combination of language arts and social studies), my grading criteria
are as follows:
-
Projects: 25%
-
Tests and quizzes: 25%
-
Reading journal: 15%
-
Homework: 15%
-
Notebook: 10%
I record
information about each component on a separate page of my grade
book. When it comes time for report cards, I enter the component
grades on an Excel spreadsheet and use a formula to calculate the
grades in one click. Many other teachers I know have purchased special
software designed for this purpose, which takes even less work and
has the added advantage of printing out individual score reports.
If you don't have easy access to computers, you can simply weight
each area equally and average them with a calculator (although this
doesn't give you as much flexibility in weighting different areas.)
I like this approach for many reasons. First, I can adjust the grading
criteria each year to make sure that student grades truly reflect
their performance in my class. Some things we do are more important
than others, so they should count more heavily towards the final
grade. Second, I can reward student effort. By simply turning in
all homework and keeping all class notes and handouts, students
earn 25% of their grade. Because effort also plays a big part in
the grades for projects and the reading journal, students who really
try are practically guaranteed to pass my class, even if they have
difficulty with test-taking. Conversely, students who take tests
well but don't complete assignments can't slide by without doing
any work. Finally, knowing exactly what is expected of them helps
students become more responsible. The criteria provide guidance
for students who want to improve their grades. On the other hand,
adolescents love to test adult limits, so having clear criteria
prevents students from trying to manipulate the grading process.
While they don't always appreciate it at the time, students do understand
that their choices affect the final outcome. As one young man said
to me after conducting a quarter-long homework strike, "At least
I KNOW why you failed me." Not ideal, perhaps, but hopefully a lesson
in making good decisions!
As a new teacher, you may find it difficult to set grading criteria
because you are constantly experimenting with different ways of
doing things. It's fine to change the criteria after a quarter as
long as you inform the students. You also might want to include
relatively open components that allow you some discretion, such
as "participation" or even a "miscellaneous" component. The object
is for your grades to reflect a student's actual performance. A
student shouldn't be passed or failed based on the criteria if you
truly don't think that judgment is deserved. This doesn't mean you
should blithely throw out your criteria on a regular basis, but
you may need to be flexible as you experiment to find a set of criteria
that accurately reflect student achievement.
Another difficulty that I had as a new teacher was that units tended
to run over the length of the marking period. It was hard to use
projects as 25% of a student's grade if the project wasn't even
finished. It's fine to use grades for part of a project, such as
the notes, and then use the remainder of the project grade during
the next marking period. It's also fine to give a mid-unit test
if you don't have enough test grades and haven't finished a unit.
As you set grading criteria, here are some components you may want
to use. Don't try to use too many; it's more manageable for everyone
if you stick to five or six.
Any
other activity you do regularly in your class can be included. Behavior,
however, is usually awarded a separate rating and shouldn't affect
the academic grade.
When report card time rolls around, using your grading criteria
should make your life a little easier. You can communicate to students
and parents exactly where the students' grades came from and exactly
how they can be improved. If you have your students save samples
of their work from each component, you can easily demonstrate what
you mean. Finally, the criteria can help you focus your comments
in a meaningful way.
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