Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         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!) I do think that re-evaluating your assessment methods is in order here. I give similar weight in my own course to different types of summative assessments and do not think that tests should be the only summative measure used. With Selena, I would try some different types of summative assessment and see how well she has mastered the content. This may help provide you with some insight into why she is not doing well on her tests. Also, I would talk to her about why she thinks she doesn't do well on tests, even though she is doing well on class work, and see what information she can provide about her own struggles and learning style. Shelly represents a struggle I have been facing in my classroom all year long this year. Ultimately, what's most important is that the students master the content - they do not all have to show mastery in the same way. I also really like the idea of a homework/class work contract and think that may be helpful. Also, you might want to provide Shelly with some more choice in the type of assignments she is completing in class. By allowing her to have some choice in the type of assignment she is completing, or possibly even by letting her come up with some of her own assignments, her motivation to complete coursework may increase.