My elevator pitch from week one was a draft, but was somewhere along the lines of "Empowering students through engaging opportunities and relationships to prepare them for their future". While I don't think that my ideas have necessarily changed since the beginning of this book study, I do think that they have become stronger. I now have a better idea of how to engage students in their learning and provide them with opportunities for assessment/reflection. This book study also made me take a step back from current grading practices, to better understand how my view of students can impact the way I grade them. I look forward to continuing this work in my classroom and hope to provide my students with the opportunity to have more ownership in their learning.

Hi Ratha,

I agree, I found it difficult to create an elevator speech and even though at the end of this book study I don't think I have a final draft yet, I have walked away with some great strategies to make learning more student centered. Having switched from kindergarten to third grade this year, I too was unsure of what to do with student data. I think through this book study I have a new found appreciation for grading and assessment.

The part that stuck out to me most was Xavier's interview. Like Dueck, I too started reflecting on my past grading and perceptions of students. Every year before conferences, I ask students to reflect on their learning. The interesting part is that my perception of students is fairly consistent with their opinion. However, I also saw a lot of students who were harder on themselves than I was. I have only done this self assessment before conferences but, having read this chapter, I am driven to try and implement more self assessments, especially when it comes to tests and report cards. I want my students to feel like their voice is heard and that they are being accurately represented. I really like figure 6.9 on page 161. As our current math module is coming to an end, I think this would be a really great way for students to give input and be able to see the learning goals. I know that this would be more effective having started this at the beginning of the module, so I might modify it for the first time. (I thought this posted last week but apparently it went as a draft, so sorry!)

Hi Lynette,

I agree. I think the great thing about self assessments is that it not only addresses content, but it also addresses how students are feeling. There is so much more that goes on in a student's life outside of the classroom and there can be many different factors that can impact their performance on a test. I love the idea of students reporting on their behavior, especially with study skills and choices. It is a great opportunity for students to see what is or is not working for their learning. After reading this chapter, I have been inspired to do some self-assessments and goal setting.

Hi Lynette,

I agree. I feel like often times when I give back work students don't always have the opportunity to go through it and reflect on their learning. I think the biggest reason why this isn't happening on a regular basis, is because of time. Often, I feel like I barely have the time to meet with students and go over their assessments. However, this is a goal of mine and I have been trying to find ways that I can implement feedback as well as give students an opportunity to correct their work. I also love the idea of giving family feedback. It's so important that we partner with families so that they understand what their student knows and what they are still working on.

The part of the chapter that I found interesting was "The Power of Zero". I had not thought about the 100-point scale and the huge difference between categories, especially between F and D. The fact that one score of zero (below 59) could cause a student to have to "dig out" and recover their grade, is horrible. I think this is where students can start to internalize if they are "good" at a certain subject or "not". Dueck makes a good point in saying that a zero is not an appropriate score for students if they demonstrate at least some understanding. I think this idea can also be translated into late work policies. I watched Wormeli's video and loved his point about how late work is not meant to be a "gotcha" for students but instead to be a "recovery". There are so many factors for why a student turns in their work late. Like Wormeli pointed out, in real life, you aren't penalized for running late, so why would a student get penalized for turning in late work? Instead of putting a label on the student's work as a "zero"(because they are late), students instead should get the opportunity to continue their learning and understand the importance of deadlines. Instead of penalizing them, we should allow students to learn from their mistakes.

Hi Ratha,

I agree. I think it's so important for students to understand that they are more than just a grade and that an assessment is just one piece of data. I think this type of classroom culture would be important to establish at the beginning of the year and would be a great way to involve students in understanding classroom norms around grading.

The section, "A Pivotal Teacher-Student Conversation" and Dueck's video on student voice and choice stood out to me. I feel like often times, students aren't always involved in the grading process. Students turn in their papers and then they receive a grade. They don't always get an opportunity to either understand what the grade means or how the test either reflects or doesn't reflect their learning. After every math test, I talk with my students and ask how they felt it went along with addressing any questions about the material tested.

A few weeks ago, after reading a few chapters from this book, I decided to try and have my students grade their own exit tickets and assessments (to engage my students in self-assessing). Did this take more time to complete? Yes. Was it worth it though? Yes! My students had a better understanding of their learning and it gave me an opportunity for students to share their misconceptions. This also led into a natural conversation about self-assessment. My next goal would be to have a conversation with my students about grading and, specifically, how I can implement more voice and choice in our classroom.

Hi Kathi,

I love the way that you have reframed the test taking experience. I feel like often times, when students hear the word test, it can change their mindset and sometimes can even impact their performance. The way that you have helped students to see their learning as a continuum, rather than a grade on a test is so impactful. In my classroom, we also celebrate mistakes as they are opportunities for learning and growth. Thank you for sharing, I am going to give your ideas a try!

The biggest thing that stuck out to me was the section about self-tracking and the pre-test system. I love that Rachel gives students the choice to practice the math content on their own, regardless of where and when it's done and that it does not count as summative data. I currently do this in my classroom because like Rachel had noted, it's impossible to know who did the homework if it's done outside of the classroom.

I also love that she gives students the opportunity to choose if they would like to opt out of the "real test". I think it's important for students to see that if they have already met the standard and show understanding, they do not need to take a test over again for the sake of taking the test. I also love that it empowers students to be responsible for their own learning. For my next math module, my goal will be to try and implement a self-tracking and pre-test system like Rachel.

I also love her ideas of having students track their understanding on their self-assessment after each quiz. I would even take it a step further, and have students correct their own quizzes (in a different color) so that they could best reflect on their learning with their quiz in front of them. Now that I am teaching third grade, I feel like I can have my students independently reflect on their learning and allow them to be responsible for making sure they are understanding the content.

I loved this chapter, it's so important to make sure our students are involved in assessments.