Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 7

Abstract-
This chapter addresses the difficult task of grading and how different teachers approach it. It points out how many flaws there are with this system due to the fact that, as teachers, we all have different expectations, needs, wants and thoughts about student assessments and how they should be critiqued. Whether it’s for a struggling student, an overworked athlete, an ESL student, or whoever else, many teachers are guilty of adjusting grades based on their own ideas of what’s fair for each individual case. This isn’t necessarily wrong, but as the chapter poses, when is this appropriate, and how should it be done? It then makes four really strong points about assessments: effective assessments can only be occur against commonly excepted criteria, teachers can only assess accurately if they are knowledgeable about their subject, grades are subjective, therefore frequently distorted, and grades are not always accurate indicators of mastery. These four ideas sum up the difficulties teachers have with the grading process.

Reflection-
We really liked the four points mentioned above. We thought that they were really true and accurate and pretty much spoke perfectly about how flawed grades can be because of a number of factors. We don’t have any experience with grading by our own standards yet so we're curious to see how we will handle it and what our personal philosophy will be about determining grades and possibly adjusting them for certain students.