Social discussion of CS in K-12

[Robert Stake <stake AT illinois.edu>]

Charles,

    Teachers' grades is a topic within my specialization as an educational measurements specialist and about which I have written and lectured.  I can say that my most strongly rejected advice (from college faculty members it was) over the years is on this topic.  I have had almost no professional interaction with parents, but quite a bit informally.

    Many teachers (at all levels!) consider grades to be a tool to do with as they please, particularly to influence student behavior, academic or otherwise.  The idea that it is part of an information process regarding recent achievement of assigned work is part of the picture but not agreed upon and seldom talked about.

    Grading is seldom capricious, even among the advocates of no grading, of whom I often admire.  Most teachers feel they are doing what is best for the student.  Were they to be teaching the same subject matter and evaluating the same student work, there would be a high correlation among grades teacher give.

    There is high agreement that all students should be held to the same standards.  The advocacy of grading on particular standards for each student has not made sense to most teachers.  I have long advocated such relativism and "equity" and gotten mostly nowhere. 

    Most parents and many students want grades that show their standing among other students for enhancing their enrollment in subsequent degree programs.

    Henry Chauncey, the first and long time president of Educational Testing Service was a leading advocate in finding other criteria of excellence than those based highly on mathematics and verbal skills.  His research department, of which I was associated, successfully talked him down on the basis that those criteria were not as well psychometrically validated.  (Lemann's book, The Big Test, is relevant and good reading, although not directly on "school grading.")

    In my view, standards-based education generally is a bad idea, bringing out some of the worst in teachers.  There is no evidence or reasoning to believe that a society or classroom is served by holding tight to pre-stated goals, although realizations of intent are valuable to work toward and away from.

    The idea that it is unfair to grade on standards or criteria unspecified has its advocates, but usually not among advocates of equity.  Such grading has usually assured that the grades will correlate with aptitude test scores and previous grades and not with ratings as to who has gotten fresh insight from the courses.

    Enough for one rant.  Bob

   





On 10/31/17, 9:48 AM, Charles Schultz wrote:

Just to follow-up, had a great email exchange with Angela Smith (Unit 4 Assistant Superintendent for Achievement & Equity) on this topic, which has prompted me to read a little more. Also, just stumbled on a recent post this morning: Why I don't grade.

On Wed, Oct 25, 2017 at 9:15 AM, Charles Schultz <sacrophyte AT gmail.com> wrote:

Good morning,

Wondering if I could plumb your thoughts about how parents and students should appropriately respond to issues with the implementation of standards-based grading. Note, I realize this email list goes out to a very broad audience, so to be very clear, it is not my intent to complain or expect any kind of resolution from this email. I am looking for advice, from a parent's point of view, as to how I can best support my child. (and yes, we will be talking to building teachers directly in the near future)

What I hear from my child is that the expectations are not clear, thus it is a great big mystery what it takes to "Exceed", "Meet", "Approach" or be "Below" expectations. Additionally, my child has expressed frustration when attempting to voice these questions in the classroom itself, due to a completely unsatisfactory response from a teacher in a specific case.

What is also puzzling is that I have read a number of online articles about the great benefits of standards-based grading, and yet the reality I am perceiving is not that great at all.

Thoughts/comments?

--
Charles Schultz

--

Charles Schultz

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