180 likes | 270 Views
Journey Towards Proficiency Based Grading. Carla Dahlin ~ 7 th Grade Math Teacher Hedrick Middle School, Medford, OR Carla.dahlin@medford.k12.or.us. How are we changing our philosophy of grading practices?. A lot of d iscussion about Ken O’Connor’s books!.
E N D
Journey Towards Proficiency Based Grading Carla Dahlin ~ 7th Grade Math Teacher Hedrick Middle School, Medford, OR Carla.dahlin@medford.k12.or.us
How are we changing our philosophy of grading practices? A lot of discussion about Ken O’Connor’s books!
What did my grades REALLY consist of? • How well a student can demonstrate core concepts • Assignments designed for practice • Task-oriented skills • Expected Behavior • Extra Credit Now, only the first bullet remains in my grades, the rest all support the success of making the first happen!
What Proficiency means to me… • In the Standards and their math journey K-12 • In the reasoning for Assessment • In the communication of Grading Practices • In self-assessments of what a student knows and still needs to know • In the necessity for Suggested Practice (homework) TRANSPARENCY…
Ability to Track how the student is doing in each standard … however,…averagingoccurs At the bottom making up the overall grade.
Repeated PARENT COMMUNICATION Letter sent home to parents at Mid-Quarter reminding them of policies and grading practices
Let’s talk about what my grades are and what they mean… • Mastery (M) ~ Through extensive evidence, the student consistently surpasses the proficient level and demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the standard. • Proficient (P) ~ The student regularly meets the standard and demonstrates a working knowledge of essential skills, while there are still some weaknesses, the strengths are dominant. • Developing (D) ~ Though student is occasionally demonstrating a working knowledge of the essential skills that encompass the standard, there are still more weaknesses than strengths. • Emerging (E) ~ Partial understanding and some skill demonstrated with greater omissions or errors evident. • Beginning (B) ~ No understanding or skill demonstrated yet.
Use of my Proficiency continuum to score and communicate a grade on an assessment
StudentSelf-Assessment and tracking of practice necessary in becoming proficient or achieving mastery
An example of how the MEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT grade book system was used SUGGESTED PRACTICE and how it works… SP ~ Suggested Practice Q~ Quiz SP SP SP SP Q Q Q SP SP
An example of how the MEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT grade book system was used A little room for reporting Behavior… B ~ Behavior SP SP SP Q Q Q SP B SP SP B
So…what have I tried and where do I go from here? • Display all standards on the wall K-12 • Develop syllabus with the standards that will be covered and the corresponding essential skills that go with it. • Help students see their progression through each standard. • Work regularly with my PLC • Weekly quizzes • Assessing after working through a few essential skills • Quizzes graded 0-5 • Assessments will begin with emerging questions and then progress on to proficient and then mastery questions.
Our five year plan has been put into high gear due to HB2220! • Developed an Assessment and Grading Philosophy • Put together 15 minute presentations for Professional Development that highlight the 15 fixesand created the Proficiency Continuum to present to teachers (MS and HS) • Secondary administrators became proficient in the philosophy through discussions and a book study • Committee met with a parent advisory to bring them up to speed on the philosophy • All Secondary teachers attended two-day DuFour workshop and implemented PLCs to unwrap all of our standards and identify Power Standards • In the process of revamping our current grade book system to accommodate a smooth transition for teachers • Created common codes for entering grades at both Middle Schools and High Schools • All North Medford High school teachers will be piloting PBTL along with groups of teachers throughout the other secondary schools What has the journey looked like from the Medford School District’s point of view?
Provide hours of Professional Development in the Philosophy of PBTL and time for collaboration within PLCs to make PBTL happen by 2013-2014 school year • Professional Development on our new gradebook and how to use it • Create a new report card for secondary schools (already have one in place for elementary) • Create an alternate report for effort, work habits and citizenship • Educate students on proficiency and explain how interventions in helping them obtain proficiency will work • Educate parents on what this means for their children through media, meetings, and many parent letters • Most of all, we realize that the only way for this to work is clear communication of what is expected of every teacher, parent, and student. We must ALL be on the same page! Things our District still needs to do
Journey Towards Proficiency Based Grading Carla Dahlin ~ 7th Grade Math Teacher Hedrick Middle School, Medford, OR Carla.dahlin@medford.k12.or.us