Fair Isn't Always Equal; Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom - Chapter 11

Book: Fair Isn’t Always Equal - Wormeli

Chapter: 11 – Six Burning Grading Issues

Write a brief abstract of the chapter:

This chapter covers many topics in relation to grading, the first one being about whether or not teachers should record a zero for work not turned in. It boils down to the fact that an F ranges from 60 (commonly) to 0 on the 100 point scale. As differentiated teachers we should be more apt to record a higher F than the lower one. The second topic is about grading gifted students. It discusses how accelerated students should be graded. Should students who skip grades be graded on the same intellectual level as their older classmates? As teachers we should be fair to each student, so it would depend on the situation. The third discussion is about weighted grades. The concept of weighted grades is derived from the thought that the more complex and difficult a task or concept is the more credit we want to give students for having mastered it. The argument is how can anyone judge what is complex and difficult? Every student is different, being challenged in differing ways from their peers. The fourth topic is automaticity versus concept attainment. Is it more important for students to be able to apply concepts or to have them memorized? Issue number five is about grading late work. Should you take off a few points of a letter grade? Is it an occasional or chronic happening? All of these factors need to be considered before taking action with late work. The final issue is grading special needs students in inclusion classrooms. Who should grade a special needs student, the regular classroom teacher or the special educator? The chapter ends with a firm stance that the two should collaborate and develop a grade based off of what they both expect of that student.

How did you connect to the reading? And briefly reflect on your thoughts.

This chapter talked about some topics we had never considered before. When is comes to whether to give a sixty or a zero for uncompleted assignments some of us would opt for the sixty option, being a differentiated educators we are here to help student motivation. Others in the group are less comfortable just giving a sixty for a zero. What about the struggling student? Weighted grades frustrate us greatly. You cannot place any student over another; they all achieve great things and overcome complex problems. When is comes to automaticity or concept attainment many of us lean more towards automaticity. We would rather have our students gain skills and content instead of just content. Late work should only have a few points removed, but students should be held accountable in other ways. Finally with special need students we agree with the text. Their assessment should be derived from the thoughts of both educators.