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Going Gradeless, Grades 6-12

Shifting the Focus to Student Learning

By: Elise Burns, David Frangiosa

Foreword by Jon Bergmann

Sharing their successful shifts to alternate assessment and their perspectives as experienced classroom teachers, the authors show you how to remove the negative impacts of grades while still maintaining a high level of accountability.

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Product Details

Grade Level: 6-12
ISBN: 9781071837542
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2021
Page Count: 184
Publication date: March 25, 2021

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Description

Reform assessment, reduce stress, and strengthen learning

Great things happen when students are able to focus on their learning instead of their scores. However, assessment reform, including standards-based grading, remains a hotly debated issue in education. Going Gradeless shows that it is possible to teach and assess without the stress of traditional grading practices.

Sharing their successful shifts to alternate assessment and their perspectives as experienced classroom teachers, the authors show you how to remove the negative impacts of grades while still maintaining a high level of accountability. Readers will find concrete examples of how these approaches can be developed and applied, plus:

• Sample assessments and rubrics
• Student work samples from all grade levels
• An accountability checklist
• A review of collected data

It is possible to go gradeless! Focusing less on letter grades allows students to interact with the content more deeply, develop better relationships with their teachers and peers, and gain confidence in the classroom, school, and beyond.

Author(s)

Elise Burns

Elise Burns has been a science teacher for 30 years, teaching physics, chemistry, biology, math, and earth science. Her work is characterized by trying new technology and approaches, in order to provide the best possible learning experience for kids. She presented at conferences annually at either NSTA, ASCD, or NJSTA, with workshops on rubric design, inquiry, standards-based learning, project-based learning, writing CERs, and assessment design, amongst others.

David Frangiosa

David Frangiosa has spent 14 years as a high school science teacher, teaching biology, chemistry, physics and a number of science electives. Over that time, he has been a driving force in many initiatives across multiple districts. He developed, wrote curriculum for and taught two courses for a medical academy. As part of this initiative, high school students were placed in allied health internships at a local hospital. This program piloted a paperless classroom that led to a district-wide one-to-one program. Shortly after moving on to Pascack Valley Regional High School District, he began conducting action research on grade reform. As a result of this work, he was asked to be on a county-wide Growth Learning Assessment and Mindset (GLAM) committee. In addition to presenting these ideas with the district and at the GLAM meetings, he has presented at ECET2Metro, the New Jersey Science Teachers Convention, and many online workshops.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Chapter 1: Why?

How This Book Is Organized

A Note on Terminology

Chapter 2: A Discussion About Equity

Chapter 3: Educational Theory That Grounds Our Model

Chapter 4: Development of the Model, 2015–2020

The Beginning: 2015–2016

First Revision: 2016–2017

Refining and Reorganizing: 2017–2018

Realigning: 2018–2019

Ongoing Adjustments: 2019–2020

Chapter 5: Creating Language for the Learning Progressions

Example: History Contextualization

Example: English Language Arts Thesis/Claim

Example: Math Problem Solving

Example: Art Elements and Principles

Chapter 6: Assessments

Introduction

Setting the Stage: Our Past Practice

Why Did It Need to Change?

Addressing the Concerns Regarding the New Structure

On Curriculum and Planning

On Sustained Effort

A Note Regarding Integrity

Scalable and Progressive

On Grading (Time, Stress, and Feedback)

On Conversations With Students and Parents

Our Types of Assessments

Chapter 7: Aligning Progress With a Traditional Model

Grade Translations

Development

Scaling the Course

Using for Quarterly or Semester Grades

Reporting Skills Progress in the Gradebook

Reporting Habits of Scholarship

Conferencing

Missing Work and Extra Credit

Concerns and How We Address Them

Chapter 8: Our Evidence

Chapter 9: A Step-by-Step Guide to Going Gradeless

Step 1: Identifying Your Values

Step 2: Grouping the Standards

Step 3: Creating a Learning Progression

Step 4: Pairing Assessments and Standards

Step 5: Aligning Assessments and Activities

Step 6: Reporting Out

Day-to-Day Implementation

Presenting to Students/Parents

In Conclusion

Resources A: Assessing Student Work

Resources B: Student Progress and Setting Benchmarks

Resources C: Some Full Rubrics

References

Index

Reviews

"This book shows there is a way to hold students accountable while allowing them to step away from the stress of traditional grading. What a win for moving education forward! It shows evidence that going beyond traditional grading can push students to the next level without the stigma of that letter grade. We can teach and assess with out the stress! In our ever-changing world, we have to find ways to take our students to the next level. Going Gradeless will allow students to focus on their learning and free their minds to explore the content at a deeper level without the fear of failure."

Gayla LeMay, Teacher
Waycross Middle School

Other Titles in: Content Standards | Standards & Accountability | Grading

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Related Resources

Chapter 2: A Discussion About Equity [Book Excerpt]
Chapter 7: Aligning Progress With a Traditional Model [Book Excerpt]