DI/UbD Chapter 8

This chapter discussed the 6 guiding principles of effective grading and reporting. The author stated that the following principles should be adhered to when setting up effective grading:

1. Grades should be based on clear and specific goals and performance standards;
2. Evidence used for grading should be valid;
3. Grading should be based on established criteria (such as in a rubric) not on subjective norms;
4. Not everything should be included in grades;
5. Avoid grading on average;
6. Focus on achievement and report other factors separately.

The chapter emphasized how grading and assessments don’t always go hand-in-hand, and that as educators it’s important for us to know the difference. This chapter is really trying to show how it’s possible to have a differentiated classroom with achievement standards which also takes into consideration individual growth, personal development and progress towards further understanding.

Mostly everyone agreed that these principles will be very helpful in aiding us to develop our own grading system. We also all seemed to agree that although it’s a strange concept for most of us, the idea of not emphasizing grades was very appealing, albeit a bit difficult to implement. There was discussion on how taking emphasis off grades is going to require more of a reporting system rather a report card, with emphasis on discussion rather than symbols for evaluations to be sent home. A few of us discussed how we have had classes where even though we got bad grades it was possible for us to learn more than in classes where grades were more easily given; so we’ve experienced that grade not matching the learning. Many of us seemed to worry that this system of assessing rather than grading was going to be more difficult but in the end more beneficial and well-worth the extra work.