It's about the learning, right?

Congratulations! You survived another semester and I hope are enjoying some well-deserved R&R.  Take this time to enjoy family and friends and a brain break from school and all things academic (:  at least for a short time.  When you are ready to gear up for 2016 take some time to reflect on the past semester and things that went well and things that need improvement.  Since I'm an assessment nerd, I want to pose a few questions for you to ponder before beginning the new semester:

1. Did your students learn everything they needed to learn?  (Of course not - but it's something to think about)
2. Are their learning targets clear?
3. Do your students know what success looks like?
4. What indicators do you and your students use to determine if they mastered the learning targets?
5. Who keeps track of their mastery?  You?  Your students?  Both you and your students? (Someone keeps track, right?)
6. Does your grading system tell you and your students what learning targets they still need to master and/or where they are in relation to the learning goal?
7. Does the grade that you assign at the end of the semester indicate their current level of mastery, or does it average how they did at the beginning with how they did at the end?
8. Does the grade you assign actually indicate their level of mastery, or their ability to PLAY THE GRADE GAME?
9. Do you assign zeroes for missing assignments?
10. Do you deduct points for late papers?
11. Do you give extra credit for things that are not related to the learning?
12. Do you still swear by the grading curve and make sure your grades conform?
13. Is there a way to teach "responsibility" without it being included in their content grade?
14. Is there evidence that deducting points for late papers improves the learning?
15. Are your homework assignments important to the learning? Or do you assign homework to increase the number of grades for your gradebook?
16. Do you let students off the hook by giving them zeroes for work they fail to turn in?
17. Which is a better way to teach responsibility?  Making them finish assigned work to the best of their ability, or deducting points from their grade?

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Is it really about learning or about playing the grade game?

Want some answers?  Watch for my next blog...