All Those A’s

I have a student—let’s call him Mark. If I’d been grading writing like I did last year, using rubrics and points, Mark would be getting a B-, or maybe a B at best, in English for the trimester. I’m giving Mark an A.

I knew it would happen. I knew that if I went from rubric grading to a satisfactory-unsatisfactory approach, I’d end up with a boatload of A’s and A-’s when in the past, grades in my class fell on a pretty nice bell curve centered on B or B+. And I admit that giving Ben an A makes me wince a little bit. As great a kid as he is, his writing is fairly bad. But in seventh grade, even the kids who write well write badly. And, more importantly, I have to grade in a way that reflects my values:

• Process over product. My goal is not to produce 47 brilliant essays—if it were, I’d write them myself. My goal is to help my 47 burgeoning writers develop processes that work for them. Yes, everyone’s process should ultimately involve lots of revision, but there’s no one schema that will work for every writer, every time. I want them to experience what “process” feels like and decide what works for them. And, if I do value great writing, I need to promote the long process by which a seventh grader becomes a great writer.

• Subjective interaction between reader and writer over attempted objectivity in my own reading. There is no such thing as objective reading. Reading is an exchange between reader and writer. I want my students to understand that different people will perceive their writing in different ways so they, as writers, can learn to honor and accommodate that diversity.

• Learning over natural talent. Kids come to school to learn. Different kids come to my class with different amounts of natural talent (and pre-cultivated skill) in different areas. It’s not my job to see who’s a better writer than whom. My job is to make every kid a better writer by June than he or she was in September—and to want to learn how to write even more effectively after June.

• Student-teacher partnership over autocratic grade-giving. How are students supposed to learn how to assess themselves if I don’t give them a chance to assess themselves? And if the self-assessment is meaningless because they know I’m going to give whatever grade I give, why should they bother? And, who am I to be the final arbiter of their performance without getting some input and insight from them?

As I’ve explained elsewhere, I no longer put scores on assignments. Kids get either S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory). If they’ve met my high standards, they’ve done satisfactory work. If not, they have more to learn, and after they’ve learned more, they can redo the assignment. As I expected, my new system of getting feedback from multiple readers and thinking about audience has led to more variety, creativity, and risk-taking in the students’ writing. I enjoy their papers more. But it doesn’t help me at the trimester’s end, when I have to assign a grade to each student.

What I did was, I had students reflect upon their trimesters. What did they learn? What do they need to work on? Here’s the survey they filled out.

Answer these questions thoughtfully and honestly. What did you learn this trimester? What were one or two of the highlights of English class? What are your strengths as a reader? Be as specific as possible. How have your reading skills improved so far this year? Be as specific as possible. What do you think you need to work on as a reader? Come up with 1-2 specific goals. What are your strengths as a writer? Be as specific as possible. How have your writing skills improved so far this year? Be as specific as possible. What do you think you need to work on as a writer? Come up with 1-2 specific goals. Comment on how you think you’re doing in each of these areas. Respectful Behavior Being polite; waiting your turn to speak Maintaining a positive and productive working environment Making sure you don’t distract others or disrupt the work environment Speaking respectfully, without putting others down or making inappropriate remarks Responsibility Bringing all materials to class Doing and turning in assignments Arriving on time to class Getting class notes and homework assignments when you miss class Participation Listening actively during discussions Taking notes as needed Contributing relevant comments to discussions Asking appropriate questions Commitment Following all directions on assignments Using guidelines to do well Making assignments challenging and interesting for yourself; taking them to the next level Focus Using class time wisely Staying on task Avoiding side conversations Circle the grade you think you should get in English, keeping in mind the following policies: 1. Your trimester grade drops for every unexcused late assignment. (“Unexcused” means you did not contact me BEFORE the assignment was due.) 2. If you have any never-revised “U” assignments or never-done work, you can’t get higher than a B- in English. The more unrevised U papers or missed work, the lower the grade. A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D F Explain why you think you should get this grade.

Students were astoundingly perceptive. I don’t know which impressed me more, when they picked up on strengths and weaknesses I noticed, or when they came up with strengths and weaknesses I hadn’t thought of. And they were specific in how they stated their strengths, achievements, and goals.

For the most part, I entered the grade students gave themselves. I bumped a few students up—mostly those who felt uncomfortable giving themselves A’s. And I bumped a few students down if they violated the late policy or the unsatisfactory work policy, or if their behavior in class made it difficult for other students (and themselves) to learn. My breakdown looked like this:

21 A

18 A-

3 B+

2 B

2 B-

1 C

So, they’re entered. They’re in the computer system for any of my colleagues to see, and they’ll be printed on the home reports for parents to read. And it feels scary, and it feels good, because I’ve fully and irrevocably committed a system of assessment that reflects my values.