GRADING

PHILOSOPHY

The purpose of grading is to measure student learning. While

behaviors like participation and time management are important
for students to develop, they do not reflect course learning
goals and should thus not be a part of students' grades. In my
class, grades are based on how well students demonstrate their
learning and their achievement of course objectives.

Equitable
Students come into the classroom with a
wide range of resources at their disposal.
When not every student has access to
every resource, it is essential that
students' grades are not affected by that
inequality. My students' grades will
reflect what they do in my classroom.
Things like homework (which advantages
students with stable home lives) and extra
credit (which frequently requires
additional time and money) will not be a
part of my gradebook.
Rewarding
If grades are a measure of student
learning, then students' final grades
should reflect what they can do at the
end of a marking period, not at the
beginning. In order to achieve this,
students in my class will always have the
chance to revise or redo assessments to
earn a higher grade. I believe in
rewarding student growth and in
encouraging students to continuously
revise and improve their work.

Encouraging
Learning requires experimentation.
Students need to try new things to
discover what works and what doesn't. I
have found that grading assignments
with a rubric stifles student creativity and
risk-taking. Students continue doing the
same thing for fear of getting a low
grade. In my classes, students will
receive full credit on all writing, provided
that they follow basic requirements. If
students do not meet expectations, they
will be asked to revise and resubmit for
full credit. This will help my students feel
more comfortable with experimenting.
Meaningful
I never want a student to view their
grade as a measure of their worth.
Grades should give students meaningful
information about their strengths and
weaknesses and help them continue
learning in the future. In addition to a
traditional letter grade, I will give each
student a detailed report, explaining to
what extent they have met each of the
standards and/or objectives. I will then
conference with each student about their
progress and set individualized goals.