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In this episode, we’re continuing to talk about transforming the systems that uphold inequity in our schools. Specifically in this episode, we’re addressing classroom, school, and district grading policies.
Why? A-F, 0-100 grades work for a small number of students. Meta studies show that kids who get high grades are the ones that know how to do school, and these are often students who have inequitable access to that information. (Joy Nolan in a Competency Collaborative presentation). Averages penalize students who enter the class without already knowing the content and skills. A student who is struggling with a skill in the first month of school has a grade from when they were first practicing the skill count equally with a grade they received in the last month of the school year? That’s nuts when you think about it. 0-100 scales seem to me to be based on the percentage of recall-based questions a student gets right or wrong on a test. We know from the research that tests are inequitable and not super effective at measuring transferable skills. Project-based assessments are much better, as students in PBL classrooms understand the content on a deeper level, retain content longer, and still perform as well or better on high-stakes tests than students in traditional settings (BIE research summary). What? Step 1: Discuss the why with staff Share the research. Invite questions and concerns. Interrogate deficit language or harmful beliefs that arise in the discussion. Bring it back to equity, and ground it in your shared community values. Step 2: Discuss the why with families and students This is new for students and families too! Have conversations with families and students about the new practice, what it is and is not, and why you are making the shift. Use the same key ideas as listed in Step 1 above. Step 3: Learn from those who’ve done it Competency Collaborative is an organization in NYC. They are an excellent resource for relevant research, examples, and stories of equitable grading shifts across many schools. Check them out! The Crescendo Ed Group developed guidelines that emerged from their research, which includes:
Ashley, a teacher who worked with Competency Collaborative, discusses her shift to competency-based teaching and assessment in this video (from 34:41 to 37:00). Step 4: Co-create an equitable grading policy Create a policy that works for your community in partnership with students, families, and educators. Consider the why when making decisions, and be sure to leave with the structures that will need to be put in place to support implementation of the new policy. Step 5: Implement with solid systems for feedback and revision Specific Skill-Based Rubrics: Embed specificity and feedback into the rubric with which you assess all of your students’ work. For more details, check out the previous episode) Resource Banks: When students receive feedback that they have not yet met the standard, give them a next step. Share with students: instructional videos or texts as well as activities or mini projects so they can improve specific skills. Workshop or “Upgrade” Days: Revision or feedback cycles are important and take the place of typical “grade inflation” practices such as homework or completion grades. Get Metacognitive: As you implement or after a specific amount of time, gather feedback from stakeholders on your new system of feedback and grading. Adapt as needed. Final Tip If this is absolutely a no-go for you this year, try this as a stepping stone: All feedback, grading, and rubrics use competency-based categories, but the grades are translated at the end to correspond to a 0-100 scale. For one example of this, check out the “JumpRope to Transcript Grade Conversion” table on this webpage. To help you facilitate the adaptive conversations mentioned in steps 2 and 3 above, I’m sharing my Root Cause Analysis Worksheet with you for free. Use this strategy when you are digging into the beliefs around grading and the inequitable distribution of grades among your students. And, if you’re looking for more details on the ideas in this blog post, listen to episode 160 of the Time for Teachership podcast. If you’re unable to listen or you prefer to read the full episode, you can find the transcript here.
If you enjoyed this episode, check out my YouTube channel where you can learn about my student experience data strategy here:
1 Comment
Yolanda Tickles
5/1/2024 08:40:59 am
You are AMAZING!!! Thank you so much for doing this transformative work! When I can back up my beliefs with your work, experience, and research, it makes my job sooooo much easier. I just wanted to express my gratitude for you and all those you collaborate with. Have a wonderful rest of the week!
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Time for Teachership is now a proud member of the...AuthorLindsay Lyons (she/her) is an educational justice coach who works with teachers and school leaders to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice, design curricula grounded in student voice, and build capacity for shared leadership. Lindsay taught in NYC public schools, holds a PhD in Leadership and Change, and is the founder of the educational blog and podcast, Time for Teachership. Archives
January 2024
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