Assessing 13

Abstract:

Chapter 13 is all about grade book formats and what kind of format works best for differentiated instruction. Ken O’Connor suggests that differentiating teachers record formative assessments as well as summative; this way, teachers can track progress with accompanying “f’s” that indicate formative assessment in the grade book, and determine a final grade with those items with an “s.” The overall gist of this chapter is to make sure your grading system and grade book reflects you and the way you teach, and your students and the way they learn.

Reflection:
Our group agreed with most of the suggestions given by the author in this chapter. We all appreciated the discussion on grade book formats, because it is not something that we would have really thought about until we faced the situation. I personally am most familiar with the date format, but the other options seem interesting and may be more useful once I become more comfortable with them. Grade books should reflect our teaching styles and differentiated instruction but as Abbie said "we need to find a balance between grade books that focus on our students, but that are also set up in a comfortable and relatively easy format for us to manage."