Assessing Chapter 9

Abstract:
Teachers must do everything they can to make sure the grades depict the level of mastery attained by the student. The following is a list of the top ten practices to avoid when differentiating instruction and assessment:
1. Avoid incorporating nonacademic factors, such as behaviors, attendance, and effort, into the final grade. Do not grade on superficial matters.
2. Avoid penalizing students' multiple attempts at master. Teachers must understand that all students learn differently and at their own pace. It's important that students know that their efforts count. Let students know they can improve their status by redoing and rethinking assessments.
3. Avoid grading practice (homework). Homework is used as a practice tool, not for assessment. Announce all quizzes. Homework is unfair to impoverished students seeing they do not have the resources or tools to accurately complete the work.
4. Avoid withholding assistance with the learning when it's needed. If students need special assistance in order to be successful, provide the assitance so they can get to the same point as the other students.
5. Avoid assessing students in ways that do not accurately indicate their mastery. Projects that are used for final declarations of mastery should only be used with students who have developed the specific skills; otherwise, students who lack those skills will receive inaccurate grades.
6. Avoid allowing extra credit and bonus points. If the student falters in the demonstration of mastery with regular test items, but overcomes thos scoring losses with points from a bonus section, we have to reconsider whether the new, bonus-inflated grade really represents what the student knows and is able to do.
7. Avoid group grades. It is unfair to give the entire group of students the same grade based on one group member's performance or on the whole group's performance on a task.
8. Avoid grading on a curve. Grading on a curve is extremely distorting as a reference of mastery.
9. Avoid recording zeros for work not done. Zeros skew the grade to a point where its accuracy is distorted. Teachers using the 100-point scale who do not replace a zero with a fifty, or sixty influence all grades earned producing inaccurate grades.
10. Avoid using norm-referenced terms to describe criterion-referenced attributes. Avoid comparing students grades to one another.

Reflection:
This list offers many practices that do not work well in the classroom. It basically revolves around discussions we had while observing in schools. Most of these practices were witnessed. I am not sure that teachers are aware of the problems they cause themselves.
I honestly like number 9 because giving a zero really does distort the grade. I believe that students should have a chance to get a grade, even if it's low. Brian felt that number 9 was wrong. He feels that the zero should be counted. He believes that the student that they need to make-up work next time, and isn't fair to everyone else who had to do it.
Overall the list is insightful and really makes you think and reflect on what to do and not do in the classroom, fair or unfair.