By Linda Rief
There are a few ideas that I really latched onto in this piece. The first deals with assessment of writing. I have be reassured that we will talk about this issue at length later in the class, but I still want to make mention of it in regards to this article. The author states that ‘evaluation should move the writer forward.’ I really appreciate this idea. I try during writing conferences to move each student forward. During my evaluation of each draft of a student’s writing, I try to move them forward. Eventually however, I have to put a grade down in my grade book. Turning their hard work into a numerical value, even when using a rubric, is hard for me. I still struggle to give writing grades for individual pieces. Grades at the end of the quarter should consist of some mathematical average of all of the graded work over that period, but I have a hard time giving weight to each part of the writing process and product. In the article, Rief declares ‘that process and product are equally important.’ I completely agree. This is really the foundation of my grading philosophy in writing. I still have a very hard time translating this balanced approach to grades. I wish my guidance was enough. Can anyone else offer me any insight? What do you do in your classrooms?
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12 years ago
3 comments:
I wish I had the magic answer to this question; it would save thousands of teachers thousands of hours worrying over this very issue! Like you, I also appreciate Rief's idea of evaluation as a vehicle to advance student growth and not just as a means of assigning a grade.
I have a variety of grading methods: Looking for specific things (eg metaphors, format, dialogue) allows for more "objective" grading at times. At others, students know they'll receive a 95% as long as they go through all the steps (peer conferences, revisions, teacher conference, revisions, editing). This takes structuring / scaffolding on my part, of course. I don't just say, "You'll get an A regardless of what you do." :D
I break mine down into the process. Students earn points for each step of the process with more points for prewriting and drafting. Points are given for specific things I am looking for in revision. I also give points for classroom participation and for turning everything in by the deadline. My motto in my class is "Everything counts!" From the time you walk in until you leave...every learning moment counts. Students can then go back and revise and redo to help with that growth part.
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