DI/UbD -Chapter 8 synthesis

DI/UbD
Chapter 8


Abstract:
Chapter 8 discusses the difficulty teachers face when it comes to grading in a differentiated classroom. It states that if we choose to look at grades as a means of providing clear and helpful feedback to important audiences such as parents and students to further the learning process, then we are following the inherent beliefs and methods of backwards design.
Grades should reflect personal ability based on standards; they should not be based on a student's placement in comparison to the rest of the class. Grading should focus on achievement and report evidence of learning and the evidence should be a valid indicator of the student’s understanding of the learning goal. Emphasis should be placed on what students learn as opposed to when they learn it. The author goes on to discuss what should and shouldn’t be factored into the final grade: pre-assessment clearly should not be, and formative assessments should only be included now and then because their primary purpose is to provide feedback and direction.

Reflection:
We agree that students should be aware of the standards because it may help them with direction, and their grades reflect student understanding of those standards; grades should use assessments, but assessments do not, and should not, always be graded. There must always be an alternative for assessing student's learning; students learn differently, and we must remember not to grade a student relative to the rest.
We disagreed amongst ourselves on the topic of whether or not “other factors” such as effort, participation, attendance, behavior, etc., should be counted. I say that ALL OF THOSE FACTORS come into play in student achievement, especially when some of them may or may not affect the learning of peers. Meanwhile, Carrie says that there are certain things she certainly wouldn't include because those things wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of her unit, and that the grades she gives her students should reflect what she wanted them to gain from the unit.