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Case: Unfair Assessment
I have been a successful middle school teacher. I know it sounds strange when I call myself successful, but I have received recognitions at the school and county levels for the quality of my teaching. I have a big dilemma this year. I have two students who are not your ordinary students. Selena is a Hispanic student who is an English Language Learner, but her English proficiency is quite high. She fully participates in all class activities, she functions well in group and individual work, and she is always motivated. She is an ideal student. However, she never makes passing grades on tests. Her current grade is an F. Shelly is a White student. She shows no interest in course activities. You cannot even know if she listening or not most of the time. She chooses not to do group work. If I force her, she does not really contribute. She also does not turn in any assignments. What puzzles me is that she usually receives the highest grades in tests. Her current grade in my course is a high B. If she had turned in the assignments, her grade would be an A. The course grade in my class is determined mainly based on what students make on tests, because I feel that tests are the only means for me to know whether students have retained what they learned or not. Lately I have been thinking that my grading is not doing justice to Selena. At the same time, I think Shelly does not deserve a B with the attitude she has displayed. I need to revise my assessment system. Please help me with this.
Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!)
In our county, test grades must be 45% of the final grade. If you have a rule regarding this, you may try having different types of tests, in addition to any system wide tests that you are required to give. You could attach rubrics to your group projects and count those as test grades. In my county, we have system wide tests, which are required, but we can add our own tests as long as they are approved by our lead teacher. Projects, which are closely aligned to your standards, would be a great way of seeing if your students understand the material. On your rubric, you could give a great deal of weight to project participation and even have the students rate each other. Another thing that you could use as a test is a writing assessment.
I would also investigate why Selena cannot pass the traditional tests. Maybe she needs help with notes or with comprehension. Maybe she needs some tips on test-taking such as reading all answers, answering in a complete sentence, and eliminating bad answers. Maybe a study buddy could be assigned to her to help with test preparation. |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 11, 2013 2:32 pm |
| Rated By: Michelle Plumer |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
|
| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
|
| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: April 18, 2013 8:00 pm |
| Rated By: Lili G |
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