The idea of grading and evaluating students on grades alone has been a discussion topic for a number of people in this class. There have been issues such as how standardized tests can be a poor indicator of scholastic knowledge or even discriminatory. It is old news that teachers and school districts are being judged based on some of these tests while so many other issues that are important to students are being ignored. The new news is that a company has built a survey that can evaluate some of these traits.
In a USA Today article I have learned about a new type of admissions index that will help evaluate some of the things that can not be determined off a standardized test. The way the system works is a student will invite 5 supervisors or professors to evaluate them on 6 attributes. They are: Knowledge/creativity, Communication skills, Teamwork, Resilience, Planning/organization and Ethics/integrity. This evaluation will then be sent on to an admissions board of the student’s choosing. What is great about this is that it is rewarding students for have the traits that we as teachers try to instill in them. Since the program is still in its early stages it will only be available to students applying for graduate class but it is a step in the right direction.
I have commented in Beth’s blog that because of program cuts due to not making AYP we will miss out teaching many of these issues. These are the same issues that are in many ways more important that academic knowledge. I would like to see more evaluations of these traits in the future. We devote so much of our time as teachers to them that they should get some recognition. Also, it seems to me that in job interviews these traits come up more often than grades on a test.
An article by Richard Rutherford (and nearly every other article I find) states that there are a few key points that every good employee should have. None of these include high test scores. All 6 of the key points from the admissions index stated above can be directly linked to traits that are desired by employers. It is the mission of my school and every school out there to prepare our students for the future. This means molding them into good citizens that can contribute to society. Part of this is to get a quality job. The point I am trying to make is that we cannot put too much emphasis on test scores, even at the college level.
We owe it to our students to prepare them for the future. This means that we should not only continue to teach important life skills such as team work and resilience, but we should start evaluating students on them as well.
In a USA Today article I have learned about a new type of admissions index that will help evaluate some of the things that can not be determined off a standardized test. The way the system works is a student will invite 5 supervisors or professors to evaluate them on 6 attributes. They are: Knowledge/creativity, Communication skills, Teamwork, Resilience, Planning/organization and Ethics/integrity. This evaluation will then be sent on to an admissions board of the student’s choosing. What is great about this is that it is rewarding students for have the traits that we as teachers try to instill in them. Since the program is still in its early stages it will only be available to students applying for graduate class but it is a step in the right direction.
I have commented in Beth’s blog that because of program cuts due to not making AYP we will miss out teaching many of these issues. These are the same issues that are in many ways more important that academic knowledge. I would like to see more evaluations of these traits in the future. We devote so much of our time as teachers to them that they should get some recognition. Also, it seems to me that in job interviews these traits come up more often than grades on a test.
An article by Richard Rutherford (and nearly every other article I find) states that there are a few key points that every good employee should have. None of these include high test scores. All 6 of the key points from the admissions index stated above can be directly linked to traits that are desired by employers. It is the mission of my school and every school out there to prepare our students for the future. This means molding them into good citizens that can contribute to society. Part of this is to get a quality job. The point I am trying to make is that we cannot put too much emphasis on test scores, even at the college level.
We owe it to our students to prepare them for the future. This means that we should not only continue to teach important life skills such as team work and resilience, but we should start evaluating students on them as well.
For years we've been hearing that employers are not looking at grades or even at the school that you attended. Yet, as you state in your blog,we continue to emphasize the test and grades. I agree that the time has come to change the way we assess our students. It would be so much better for them if we did.
ReplyDeleteTwo comments - I use a grading system but I think I probably do what many teachers do. I will use some personal judgment and criteria and add or subtract from a grade in some cases. For example, if I have a child that is struggling a bit but is sincerely trying and is engaged, I will give them the benefit of the doubt to a degree. I won't automatically change a B to an A or something, but I do assess on the basis or more than simply the number right or wrong on a page.
ReplyDeleteSecond, although we need some sort of concrete way to assess students - if for no other reason than parents seem to need something like grades - it is getting to the point where grades often border on meaningless. We alter and provide extra credit and jump through hoops so much the validity of grades is a bit fluid. For example, say you have a special needs child. their world is highly altered, perhaps to the point that it barely resembles the regular curriculum. They get an A. Another student does all of the regular work, gets no breaks, does more difficult work better than the special needs students and gets a B. Common sense tells you the student with the B did better work from a purely academic standpoint than the special needs child, but their grade is lower. It makes no sense and makes the grades nearly meaningless. A new, well thought out system would be a god send
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI agree that if we truly are preparing students for the 21st Century we need to evaluate them on more than just standard academics. It is important for teachers to train students for life using lifeskills/strategies. Several years ago my school began to place citizenship on each student’s report card. Good idea! Problem is many teachers give every student A or S+ in that column. Their rational is "I don't know how to evaluate it."
We are all aware most grading systems are subjective. We try our best to be objective and use careful discretion. The grading system you mention above- might just be the solution. I appreciate the element of the "team" approach to assessing students. A team of six evaluators could prove to be a more objective and valid means of assessing. Teachers may not know how to "evaluate" certain skills- I am a firm believer that most things can be evaluated through demonstration. The problem being, teachers are expected to evaluate such a wide range of skills and competencies within a finite amount of time. Standardized tests effectively assess competencies and report card grades sometimes don't assess the same skills nor do they reflect the same results. As teachers, we need to arrive on the save page... somehow.
ReplyDeleteGreat article Mike! I think that it is crazy how many different forms of assessment their is for students. I just worry is this another way of assessing or is it another hoop for teachers to jump through. I think we owe it to our youth to keep coming up with new ways for them to learn and be successful in the academic world. This seems like a great way to do this as well. I just hope its not like a lot of the other assessments used in the past, and it becomes the standard for many years to come.
ReplyDelete