FIAE+B1+Chapter+11


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Rachel B.
I didn’t realize until I was in practicum that teachers may record a zero or a sixty for an assignment/assessment that was not handed in (different than an incomplete). It is a very interesting topic, and quite perplexing. In this chapter the issue of whether to record a zero or a sixty when a student doesn’t hand in work, is discussed and many points of view are offered. My point of view is that the student should receive a sixty because without that 60 the other grades that the students received, which are recorded in the grade book, become an inaccurate measure of the students overall mastery of the subject.

Rachel F.
Record a zero or a sixty? This is the very first line in this chapter and it caught my attention. In the first part of this chapter the issue of whether to record a zero or a sixty when a student doesn’t hand in work, is discussed. My mentor teacher and almost all teachers that I’ve known record zeros when students do not hand in work. There was an example in this chapter that I loved. If you record the temperature outside for days and you average in a zero at the end, your four day average will be thrown way off. This is the same idea with student’s grades. Even though some teachers might not agree with the idea of giving a student 60 points even when they didn’t even bother to do the assignment, remember a 60 is an F just like a 0 is. However, a 0 will totally warp the accuracy of the student’s final grade. Another problem with grades is weighting and making students feel like they are always competing for the valedictorian spot. I remember the only thing that mattered to me was to be as high up as I could get in my class rank. I graduated number seven in my class but what does that really mean? Maybe my classmates who didn’t quite do as well had a really biased teacher who didn’t grade accurately. The current grading system is definitely messed up and needs to be fixed. Hopefully, overtime, the system does undergo some radical changes.

Courtney
This chapter deals with specific issues a teacher may encounter when it comes to grading and provides solutions or suggestions for these problems. The first problem is the big zero burning in a grade book which can really be the downfall of a student, with just one zero. It is suggested that a zero should be replaced by a 60 for fairness, so that it won't completely ruin a students overall grade. They provide many convincing arguments for replacing a sixty with a zero, and the most convincing of all is that all grades including A,B,C and D have a range of about ten points, but then an F has a sixty point range, with this they had me convinced from the beginning of the chapter because I never thought of that before. If I do use this method as a teacher I just need to be sure that students do not take advantage of this. Next was dealing with gifted students where basically when grading them it is important to show the highest grade that they have obtained in a higher level class. Then it goes on to state that weighting grades is basically not a good idea which I completely agree with because it is not a good reflection of the students mastery. Grading is supposed to show not just a letter but it should provide some sort of feedback in a way and provide a good snapshot of where a student is at in their learning.

Stephanie L.
This chapter makes an interesting point about recording zeros in the gradebook. A zero can have such a big effect on a student's grade and may not accurately represent the student's overall performance in that class. I really like the idea of giving at least a 60 instead, so the effect on the grade isn't as large. It just makes more sense! I also agree with the idea of weighting grades. There are some assignments and assessments that are going to be more important than others, and the gradebook should reflect this. However, I feel it is important that the system used is very well thought out and reflects what is important. However, students may start to slack in certain areas that may not be weighted as much as others. "Oh, that is only worth 5% of my grade, there is no reason for me to make an effort." A system should be created in order to prevent that kind of attitude in students.

Jen P.
Page 137 discusses the fairness of turning a zero in the gradebook into a sixty. At first, I did not understand how this would be fair. I wondered if one might do this to get closer to the “good” grades that the students got, especially if the student only got a zero on something because he or she was absent. Eventually, I understood that changing a zero to a sixty would make it so that the “bad” grade did not counter the “good” grades, well, unfairly. Some teachers I have talked to are furious that they are forced to change zeros into sixties. I have to agree that, if the student does nothing, but still gets a sixty, the rule is unfair. However, if the student is genuinely trying or if the student only has a few zeros, then it would be beneficial to give the student a sixty. School is not just about passing classes, but really learning the material. Therefore, it is better to give credit to students who have learned some of the material than to penalize them for not learning all of it.

Karin
This chapter made me learn a lot. I learned to completely ignore the idea of giving a “60” instead of a “0” because it brings the student’s grade down. If the student didn’t do any work, why should that student get a 60? How is that fair? If the student did zero work, then they deserve zero credit. If the student knows that they will never get below a 60, then they won’t do the work, because they know it won’t bring their grade down much. I have experienced this first hand in the classroom, with grades that were only “30”. Once the student found out it wouldn’t be a complete “0”, they decided passing in the work just was not worth it. Weighting grades, on the other hand, is a good idea, in my opinion. If the student’s homework is inconsistent, but the student participates well and learns the core of the material well, the student should not be penalized too much. Things that aren’t as essential to the curriculum should not hold as much weight in the grade book. This chapter had a big impact on my classroom, because I learned one procedure I will NOT do with my grades if I can ever help it. Weighting grades, on the other hand, is something I had always planned on doing.

Sara
This chapter addresses glaring grading issues. Should students be given a 60 or a 0? The issue boils down to the individual grade’s influence on the overall grade. Giving the student a 60 is a more constructive and recoverable way of grading them. Students’ grades need not be so impacted by a zero because they failed to show mastery. A 60 is failing, yet it is a more conscious F that allows the other grades a little compensation. Grades should not be weighted in my opinion. It makes students in lesser classes feel that their grades and achievements are worth less then those in a higher level class. All grades should weigh the same because the grade SHOULD demonstrate the amount of work and the amount of progress made by the student. I feel late work should be allowed to be turned in with full credit if it is not a habitual problem. If it becomes a problem it should be given partial credit.

Megan
This chapter talked about grading students in a way that won’t distort a student’s overall grade. I see where the authors are coming from. Yes a 60 is failing; just like a 0. But I do have a problem giving a student a grade that they don’t deserve. I don’t feel that replacing a 0 with a 60 is being fair. I plan on being fair when I give students an assignment. I will plan on giving them ample time to complete the work in. I will also give students the chance to redo the assignment. Especially if there are extenuating circumstances. But ultimately, in the end, if the student blows off the assignment then I feel that a zero is exactly what they deserve. I feel that a 60 indicates that the student did something. If the student did nothing then I want their grade to reflect that. If the student tries and puts forth an effort and still fails because they don’t get it, extenuating circumstances, and can’t redo it for whatever reason then I would maybe give them a 60. Giving a student a zero would be a last resort. The student will have many opportunities to get their grade up. If they get a zero it will be because the student put in NO effort.

Geoff Cyr
Chapter 11 of //Fair Isn’t Always Equal// features six very controversial issues concerning grading, and the one that irked me in particular was the very first one: //when work is not submitted, do we record a zero or a sixty//? This is a very emotional issue right now at Mt. Blue High School (bring it up in the Social Studies lounge if you want to see for yourself), and I find myself strongly disagreeing with Mr. Wormeli on this one. Wormeli claims that giving sixties (or a fifty, which is an F at Mt. Blue) instead of zeroes is not giving something for nothing, but makes the final grade a more accurate indicator of mastery. The questions remains, however, that if evidence of mastery is not handed in or completed, does a sixty provide any more of an accurate picture than a zero? How do you know? Wormeli accurately points out the devastating influence of a zero. At the same time, will they be any more motivated to do the work—that is, demonstrate understanding—if they get a sixty rather than a zero? One thing I get frustrated about with Wormeli’s writing is his overreliance on anecdotes and supposed anecdotes, and one he uses in defending the sixty-versus-zero principle is easily torn down. When addressing the concern that students who get sixties instead of zeroes may brag about it, he assumes the role of a student in saying that “Hey, check it out: I didn’t do the project, and I still go an F.” However, when the range of an F is 60 points, I believe that this hypothetical student would be saying that he still got a 60, and not an F, which turns Wormeli’s anecdote on its head. I agree with Wormeli’s stance on another burning issue in the chapter, involving flexibility and investigation into late work and allowing for turning in late work with little or no points deducted, and I think we can extend that principle to solve the burning issue at hand. Instead of getting an automatic sixty, I think that teachers should be flexible and have a clear, routine policy of working on late work, so that instead of getting credit where credit is //not// due, students can do the work for full or nearly full credit, and therefore prove their mastery and understanding.

Jordan
I understand why some would feel it is a good idea to replace zeros for sixties on smaller assignments. Let’s say a student didn’t pass in an assignment and his or her teacher put in a sixty instead of a zero. The student would still fail the assignment overall, but as Wormeli writes, a sixty is “the upper, more constructive and recoverable end of the F range” (140). It is easier, grade wise, to recover from a sixty averaged into your grade than a zero. When averaged in with the rest of the student’s grades throughout the quarter, term, or semester, a sixty will not decrease the average as much as a zero would. I do also believe, though, that giving a student a full sixty points for doing no work at all is not fair to other students who put in effort and still only get a sixty. If students know that they will not recieve a zero for not doing any work, but instead a sixty, why would they want to put in the effort? In the same aspect, why would students who work hard on assignments but still find themselves being graded in that sixty range, want to keep putting forth effort if they could simply not do the work and land the same grade? I think that as a teacher, I will not use the "sixty instead of a zero" strategy, becuase it, frankly, seems to be unfair.

John
I think that if the student has made no attempt at trying to learn the information, nor have they offered to make the assignment up, then the grade should be marked a "zero", so that the student may see the repercussions that it has on their total grade. If there is evidence of effort (again with the student effort). So, rather than dumb the significance of all the assignments down by making a hard and fast rule that you will never really fail because you'll only give a 60 for the worst grade, the two systems of grading unacceptable work should be used liberally. It should be clear, however, what constitutes an absolute zero and what will garner a recoverable grade like a 60. Effort. Effort. Effort.Effort.Effort.Effort.Effort.Effort.Effort.....