Grading in Fieldwork Space

 

Grades often cause anxiety for students and “are gatekeepers and too often they shut student out of further learning, even when that is not our intent.” (Siggins, 332) As a student, it’s very hard not to take grades personal. As far as I can remember, grading was an emotional rollercoaster experience for me. Whenever I received a bad grade on an assignment, I saw that as a reflection of my personal worth. I thought the teacher was judging me personally, and that had an impact on my self-esteem.  Consequently, my self-esteem would be back up when I got a better grade.  I think the grading process of teachers have evolved (for the better) over the years. 

 

In the classrooms I’m observing, the teachers communicate their grading policies, criteria, and standards in their class’s syllabi on the first day of class.  They are transparent and upfront about their grading standards, expressing to students (and their parents) exactly what it takes to get an “A” in the class and on assignments, and consequently, what will get them an "F." The classes I’m observing are currently doing a writing unit.  In the beginning of the unit, teachers had the students brainstorm in class and come up with two topics to write about for their personal narrative essays.  For homework, they were to bullet list as much details as possible for those two topics. The next day, the teacher went around the room to light grade the assignment.  She make a checkmark on papers of students who had completed the assignment and provided them with a quick constructive feedback. This type of grading motivates students to engage in the assignment, but does not require the teacher’s full attention.

 

I think the grading for the classes I am observing are fair and reasonable.  The teachers inform students about their grading policies, criteria, and standards for the class in the class syllabi.  They express their expectations clearly and thoroughly in the syllabus, rubrics, and verbally reminds students regularly.  According to Stiggins, “Our first responsibility as teachers is to ensure that grades provide an accurate reflections of all students’ actual level of academic achievement.” (10)  The most common grade given by teachers in the classrooms are letter grades, which are a representation of students' level of academic achievement. In the narrative essay unit, students have begun to hand in their first draft of their personal narrative essays this week.  Stiggins says, “Our second responsibility [as teachers] is to minimize any negative impacts of the grading process on learning.” (334) Along with giving the students a letter grade for their rough drafts, teachers also provide constructive comments, to help the students understand why they were graded the way they were.  For example, a teacher might write, “Although your thesis statement is interesting, try making it more of an abstract conclusion and not a statement of fact or an observation.” These type of feedback encourages students to think critically about their assignments and to reflect on what they need to improve next time.