I have mixed feelings on this article. I found myself going back and forth as far as agreeing and disagreeing. I took a look at the first quote of the article "I remember the first time that a grading rubric was attached to a piece of my writing...Suddenly all the joy was taken away. I was writing for a grade..I was no longer exploring for me. I want to get that back. Will I ever get that back?" (a student in Olson 2006). What I find today is that students today only look at the grade at the grade at top of the paper very rarely will they read the comments to see what they did right or where they went wrong. I agree that rubrics take all the creativity and imagination out of writing or doing any assignment. The author also suggests that rubrics think for the students that over time they come to rely on a rubric and can't figure out for themselves what is needed to succeed at the assignment. "Unable to function unless every required item is spelled out for them in a grid and assigned a point value." Rubrics make everyone the same, to write the same and think the same. That's not what school is all about. We're supposed to foster free thinkers, to instill confidence, and create an atmosphere that is challenging and rewarding. A rubric does just the opposite. The article suggests that students become less engaged with what they're doing and more focused on how they're doing. But I'm not sure how my students would react to no grades. I'm fairly confident that many who are now struggling would think it a great idea while my honores students might feel cheated or that they did the assignment for no reason. If you tell students this assignment will not be graded will they put less effort into it? Will they research for the sake of knowledge? I can hear my 7th grades voices in my head as I was reading this "why do we have to do this?", "this is so boring". Or when I tell them an assignment will be counted as class work which is only 10% of their grade, then they hand in junk and complete it with very little effort or concern.
" Just as standardized assessment for teachers may compromise the quality of teaching, so standardizing assessment for learners may compromise the learning. Standardized assessments are black and white no gray area is allowed or given credit for self expression and independent ideas. There isn't just one form of writing or one way in which to do an assignment to reach a conclusion. Also, doesn't this contridict what we're all gearing up for- The Common Core? Yet students are led to believe there is only one way to achieve success and only one way to achieve success. Classrooms will become filled with robotic Stepford Wives. This way of teaching and nongrading will take time, but everyone has to be on board; Districts, schools, teachers, parents, and students. We have for so long placed a value on letter or number grades and being labeled and put into categories that it would take a completely different mindset to understand the benefits of this and come to the understanding that rubrics and standards based assessments are detrimental to the learing process.
"Standardized assessments are black and white no gray area is allowed or given credit for self expression and independent ideas."
ReplyDeleteAs an English teacher I am constantly frustrated at the little creativity, voice, and thoughtfulness that students put into their writing. The ones who do put in that extra effort are not really rewarded in the "grade" category because the rubrics do not allow for this. You are right Shannon, things have become very black and white. Teachers are looking for specific, standardized parts of a students writing, or research. It has become very uniformed.
I agree with you Shannon, I was torn throughout Kohn's articles. I also find that students look for that grade at the top of their papers and often ignore the comments. Last year on a writing assignment, I only gave comments and did not put their grade on their work at all. Although it made them read the comments, they immediately asked what their grade was. Because it was a formative assessment for me to find out where they were with the topics, there really was no grade for me to tell them, but to them, that meant that the assignment really didn't matter. As teachers, we are supposed to foster free-thinkers because they are all very complicated learners as they build their confidence, but then in the end, we are required to sum them up in one grade.
ReplyDeleteShannon,
ReplyDeleteI hate it when kids just look at the grade, then I find their papers on the floor in my classroom. I spend SOO much time writing comments on their paper, that this year I made the kids sit in silence for 5 minutes to read all the comments I wrote so they could learn what sorts of techniques to improve upon for the next paper. Maybe next time I'll have them write an exit slip about their papers after reading the comments??
I understand that there is something innately frustrating about rubrics when used to standardize students and student performance. I also understand the frustration with institutions that attempt to ameliorate this trend by eliminating grades altogether. But, the more time I spend thinking about this stuff, the more I feel drawn to a kind of centrist conclusion. Namely, isn't it great that so many people are continually thinking about "THE BEST" way to educate children? There are less productive ways to expend time, energies, and monies, it seems. And this, in pursuit of excellence for children and justice for educators? That has got to be worth something...
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of students not getting grades, but even if they are fine with it, will the parents? I do not design my lessons with parent reaction/questions in mind, but if a teacher does not feel supported by administration, you almost need the grades to keep the parents up to date on how things are going
ReplyDelete"it would take a completely different mindset to understand the benefits of this"
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. In my thoughts, as posted on my blog about rubrics, I always thought rubrics were meant to show how to improve, not how to get a good grade. I've often thought about the "no grade" aspect, including some of the very things you thought (what would students do in response?, etc.). But there's more to this than what Kohn's proposing. He's not just proposing no grades, he's proposing, like Wesch, exploration. And while I love both of these ideas I can't help but wonder, "How do kids know when they get it right? And that "it" can be anything; the notecards, the works cited page, the actual research paper itself. I'm fine with letting them explore, but then what? And while the tings I just mentioned are the products that are getting the grade, how do they get judged for learning otherwise?
Great insights each week Shannon. As you become a more comfortable blogger, I hope you will play with some of the hypertextual elements here: links, pictures, videos etc. I think you could have fun with it! :)
ReplyDelete