How do you turn Assessment into Grades?

1. How do you turnAssessment into Grades?

2. Because I believe there are many dimensions to mathematical learning, I have my students involved in a variety of learning situations. Thus my assessment tools are designed to assess more then “mathematical knowledge”.

3. Dimensions of Student Learning • Content knowledge: Assessing content knowledge involves determining what students know and what they are able to do. • Mathematical disposition: A student’s mathematical disposition is healthy when he or she responds well to mathematical challenges and sees himself or herself as a learner and inventor of mathematics. Disposition also includes confidence, expectations, and metacognition (reflecting on and monitoring one's own learning). • Work habits: A student’s work habits are good when he or she is willing to persevere, contribute to group tasks, and follow tasks to completion. These valuable skills are used in nearly every career. To assess work habits, it is important to ask questions, such as "Are the students able to organize and summarize their work?" and "Are the students progressing in becoming independent learners?"

4. How do I put it all together? My students and I assess many learning components • Homework • Journals or reflections • Participation and attendance • Mathematical Summaries (tests, partner quizzes, check-ups) • Group work and problem solving • Projects

5. A sample of how a middle school program (Connected Math Project) sorts these dimensions of learning and assessment tools:

6. Summing it all up • Everything is scored on a 4 point rubric (with different criteria for different learning goals – see example rubrics in handouts) • Scores are averaged for each of the different dimensions and/or components – (and in the best of all worlds, I could report these scores separately) • But because most of the time I am required to determine a single letter grade, I weight the categories and come up with a score between 0 and 4 = 4 is an “A” and so on…

7. I use Excel and make the process fairly simple these days (though that was not always the case!) • Mth 211 example:mth 211 grades(w03).xls

8. How does student self-assessment fit into this picture? • I have students self-assess every assignment and activity using a class created scoring guide (then I double check, adjusting if necessary) • I assess Math Summaries. • Student fill out a final reflection form and assign themselves a grade. Most of the time – my spreadsheet grade matches their self-assessment. If not, we meet and discuss the evidence. • Note: My assessment practices ebb and flow as I learn new things, try things (that don’t always work) and receive feedback from students and peers. As of today – I am still thinking!!!