Five Obstacles to Grading Reform
by Thomas R. Guskey
LEADING E.D.G.E. |
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I've always been a big fan of Thomas Guskey's writing on grading and reporting and here he has come up with five gems that are keeping us from shedding the unproductive traditions of the past. As he put it, "Student report cards today look much like they looked a century ago, listing a single grade for each subject area or course." Take a look at his obstacles and see where you stand on the issue. Five Obstacles to Grading Reform by Thomas R. Guskey
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Last spring several of our clients asked Leading EDGE to design a half/full day workshop to help teachers understand the “essence” of the new reforms (i.e. The Regents Reform Agenda) coming their way from the NYSED.
In preparation, I’ve been spending a great deal of time exploring the on-line resources available to support teachers who are just now trying to grasp the implications of this massive three-pronged reform effort that promises to fundamentally change the nature of public instruction here in NYS (1. P-12 NYS Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) in ELA/Literacy and Mathematics, 2. Data-Informed/Driven Instruction, 3. Annual Professional Performance Review). I am sure my response is not much different from any other New York State educator who has spent time in a similar pursuit. “Wow”! What a massive amount of information to engage, let alone process thoughtfully or implement effectively. Clearly, my greatest need was to put together some resources that participants in our workshops can use to streamline and simplify their search for relevant and accurate information. The “overview” documents on our resource page are two that I will be using and that we think might be helpful to a wider audience. Initially I decided to just “scout” the territory and see what is out there on-line to help me. The “Common Core Standards Initiative – Website Resources” is my most up-to-date effort to compile a list of those sites I’ve found valuable. You’ll note that I say “up-to-date”! Given that this reform effort is a rather classic example of “rebuilding the plane while it is flying”, the information that is available changes rapidly. Some of the sites I visited last March are no longer current or even on the web. The same goes for some of the information on the sites. Earlier this week a colleague informed me that the research element of the Regents Reform “triad” originally labeled as “Data-Driven Instruction” (D-D-I) was being renamed “Date-Informed-Instruction” (D-I-I). I can’t verify if that is an “official” change from NYSED or a local modification in nomenclature. Either way it makes clear that we must pay close attention to a reform landscape that is shifting as we speak. This is particularly true regarding the still evolving structure of assessments to measure student progress/achievement. It also suggests checking references across sites --- and creating a scorecard to keep track of the acronyms! By far the most comprehensive site I visited is www.engageny.org. If required to choose only one web resource to consult, this would be the one for me. I do not claim to be qualified in any respect as an expert in website design, but this site seems to have almost everything an educator in NY might need to get started. I found its organization very helpful and easy to maneuver with some practice. Be warned, however, that virtually all the headings on the homepage “menu” (Teachers, Principals, Network Teams, etc) will take you to links that contain multiple pages of documents and/or instructional video clips. Let no one be misled – slick organization cannot disguise the fact that the scope of this reform agenda is all encompassing. New York State educators are going to be held accountable for expectations, understandings, and processes that take hundreds if not thousands of pages to outline and describe. The mass of information is clearly a “Beast”! A second document I plan to use in our workshops is the “Tour Guide to New York State’s Common Core Resources”. I created this reference to help workshop participants locate specific documents that will help them address direct questions/issues related to the P-12 NYS CCLS. In addition to a brief description about the document, we’ve put in a web link so that an observer can access and download the document as a personal reference. Neither of these workshop resources is comprehensive and both are certainly subject to improvement. It is also important to once again acknowledge that updated or modified versions of these documents may be available but remain undiscovered at this writing. Having registered these disclaimers, we nonetheless think these are a useful guide to exploring the vast terrain of this reform effort. Let us know what you think. Sycamore Academy August 16th through 18th, Leading E.D.G.E. facilitators Bruce Bonney and Cyndi LaPierre led a three day session SPEC workshop for the Sycamore Academy for Science and the Cultural Arts in Lake Elsinore, California. The charter school is currently holding classes in a shopping plaza aptly named the Renaissance Plaza. They worked with a group of energetic and committed teachers of grades K through 6 and their administrators. They also had an opportunity to get together with long-time colleagues and supporters of constructivist teaching, Gary and Thenell Hangii. Grant Wiggins does an excellent job talking about what makes good feedback which ultimately tells us what good coaching is in this blog entry. This is what I was trying to do in training good outdoor leaders and what I try to do in training good teachers. Good stuff! Here are a couple of websites to help you think about how you are going to incorporate technology into your classroom. It is not good enough to convert your age old notes to PowerPoint. You have to get the kids using the technology! 131 Tips for New Teachers - Advice from the readers of Free Technology for Teachers 45+ Ideas For Class Blog Posts - If you aren't blogging or getting your kids blogging you are missing a great learning opportunities. Mariko Nobori provides 10 tips for teaching critical thinking here. They should look familiar to SPEC Teachers. I like the first one, Question, Question, Question. The key of course is asking the right questions. My thinking is, if the question can be answered by Googling it then it isn't a good question. Here is a very good and concise explanation of Project-Based Learning I have yet to read a report about what we need to do to train learners for the future that doesn't put a large emphasis on collaboration. Randy Nelson does a very good job of differentiating cooperation from collaboration and citing its importance to Pixar's success. If educators aren't providing opportunities for learners to work together and struggle through the challenges of collaborative work then they are missing the boat. It is what Leading E.D.G.E. training is all about. Make sure you listen to the entire piece. He saves the best for last. Susan Ohanian summarizes the Atlanta test scoring scandal at: http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1020
I found the links and commentary extremely disturbing. The lack of moral leadership by our school leaders is appalling. In addition the leadership style of some of these school leaders is from the dark ages. The authoritarian leadership style exhibited in this case and in too many school systems I visit should not be tolerated. It makes me want to be Howard Beale in the1976 film Network where actor Peter Finch plays a news announcer who gets fed up and starts yelling, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." His followers go to the windows of their homes and apartments and start yelling the same phrase. I think it is time to go to your windows folks. |
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Sharing Observations on Education, Wilderness, and About the AuthorThis blog was created and is maintained by Jack Drury with contributions from Bruce Bonney. Jack and Bruce have been working together since 1984 providing professional development in four areas: Categories
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March 2015
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