Philosophy on Grading and Homework Policy
I take a very dispassionate and hands-off attitude toward the grades which my students earn because I am not as interested in whether they can reach a pre-determined quantity of paper work in a given amount of time, as much as I am in their welfare, happiness, knowledge, and Science skills gained while in my class and under my tutelage.
Since my beliefs do not really apply to what most of society seems to believe, then I must somehow meld my system of beliefs with that of the public school in which I teach. I’ve done this by providing very challenging and interesting assignments with time limits set by the average pace of my students. All assignments involve writing, and all students must write everything in full sentences, so no short answer or quick thoughtless assignments are ever given. When drawings, graphs, tables, or objects are constructed detail, color, and thought are expected and rewarded. My students are simply given however much time they need in order to do their best work on each and every assignment. When most are ready for the next assignment then we just move on, and the slow are left to complete their work in groups or alone by checking out books, materials, and tutoring from me. There are no deadlines, other than the end of each quarter. No work turned in is ever discredited or degraded by taking off points. I want my students to value their work, and feel that procrastinating has it’s own consequences; stress, doubled work loads, and lack of sleep. I need not apply the “double jeopardy” of half credit, or points taken away. If it’s done, it’s done. Some may think that this might work against me as the teacher, that I must have to grade inordinate amounts of late work at the end of each quarter. Or, students might be learning to procrastinate and gain bad habits. However, this is not the case. They are provided 4 to 6 progress reports per quarter, and a constantly updated website which they and their parents may access any time, day or night.
All of this information means that the students and parents always know the progress of the student. They keep up-to-date notebooks with assignments unfinished and graded. If there are large, or important assignments missing at any given time, then they know how it is affecting their grade at that point in time. Very few are procrastinating, and a vast majority of my students check out books and do “real” homework, as they take the work home to finish with regularity. It should be noted that they are deciding to do the work outside of class and not me.
My students are rarely given “homework” which pertains to anything outside of classroom-oriented assignments. However, I’ve decided that since the assembling and theorizing involved in Science Fair projects are so beneficial to Science students, and since we no longer require all students to enter Science Fairs, then I am requiring four “mini-Science Fair” assignments – one per quarter. These are to be done outside of class and can be done in cooperation with one other student. After the first one the first quarter this year, I am completely convinced that this is time, outside the class period, well spent and invaluable to the education of my students.
Though I see grades as being an extrinsic mostly irrelevant factor in the education of a child, I want the grades of my students to be as true to their progress in the real knowledge and skill gained in Science class as possible. So, I’ve decided that for the child who developmentally may not have achieved the necessary discipline and patience to complete 20 or 30 assignments per quarter, but who has nevertheless learned a great deal in my class, there must be a fair assessment. A percentage of 50% for tests (these may include essays and quizzes as well as extremely large comprehensive unit tests) and 50% on all class work gives what I feel to be a reasonable way to assess the actual progress of Science skills and knowledge.
Rubrics are used on all multi-day, or multi-component assignments as they most clearly cover a large range of possible outcomes on these assignments. Therefore students know what is expected and often have a voice in their own assessments.
Dave Crowder
Angevine Middle School