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A review by heatherg213
Grading Smarter, Not Harder: Assessment Strategies That Motivate Kids and Help Them Learn by Myron Dueck
5.0
I am in love with this book! Since moving to a high school setting after 22 years in elementary, I have been struck time and time again by the amount of time spent and the tone expressed when teachers are talking about grading their students. So many teachers seem to see grading as a "gotcha" opportunity, rather than as a valuable source of information about their students' progress towards learning targets. Meeting after meeting spent discussing whether grades should be total points or weighted categories, whether "passing" in a pass/fail course is 60% or 70%, whether allowing students to turn in late assignments or re-take a test were fair, whether to give zeroes, what to do about the low rate of homework completion...very seldom did those conversations EVER get around to how well the students were learning the content.
Maybe because I spent most of my career in special education, where most assessments are designed to provide information on the specific goals in each student's IEP, I have never understood this culture of carrots-and-sticks we use to determine grades. It doesn't motivate any but the most competitive students and the punitive nature of some grading practices can have real consequence not just on the student's self-esteem and confidence as a learner, but on their future college enrollment and/or employment prospects. WE did this. WE, educators, created a culture where completing classwork has become about accumulating points rather than about accumulating knowledge and skills. Dueck lays out a very cogent argument for why we should change that culture, and includes practical strategies for doing so that worked for him. I am definitely using this book as a book study for my teachers next year.
Maybe because I spent most of my career in special education, where most assessments are designed to provide information on the specific goals in each student's IEP, I have never understood this culture of carrots-and-sticks we use to determine grades. It doesn't motivate any but the most competitive students and the punitive nature of some grading practices can have real consequence not just on the student's self-esteem and confidence as a learner, but on their future college enrollment and/or employment prospects. WE did this. WE, educators, created a culture where completing classwork has become about accumulating points rather than about accumulating knowledge and skills. Dueck lays out a very cogent argument for why we should change that culture, and includes practical strategies for doing so that worked for him. I am definitely using this book as a book study for my teachers next year.