Chapter 9: The MI School

Chapter 9 of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom was all about the MI School – a school that not only uses, but is actually built on the ideas of multiple intelligences and differentiated instruction. Key elements of the MI School include daily instruction in all eight of the multiple intelligences. Actual physical differences in the school include things like “pods,” which act as student/teacher groups which focus on specific disciplines or pursuits, or the flow room, where students do activities that stimulate their intelligences rather than letting them flounder. Another key aspect of the MI school is mixed-age grouping. This is based on the theory that having students at different ability levels is more enriching than having a class full of students who are theoretically at the same level of mastery and ability.

Chapter 14: Responsive Report Card Formats

Chapter 14 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal looked at the differences between teachers’ and parents’ views on report cards. Parents focus on how their child is doing in comparison to the other students in the class, where a good teacher is concentrated on what the student is doing to accomplish the standards. The approach that the chapter listed that I found most helpful was called the dual approach. This involved grading both the student’s growth and achievement in relation to the expected standards. The growth element will indicate how much the student has progressed in the course of the year. I really liked the idea of presenting the grade in a format like “A3” or “B2.” I think this reaches a good balance between what the teacher thinks is important and the satisfaction of the parent worrying about his or her student’s abilities and performance.

Chapter 13: Gradebook Formats for the Differentiated Classroom

Chapter 13 focused on gradebook formats in a differentiated classroom. The system that the chapter proposed that I liked the most was categorizing graded activities by the standard that they were designed to meet. For me, this will help me stay on track – if I have to constantly list what standards were met by which of my assignments, then I will stay on track more than if I just put it on autopilot. This will keep me focused on meeting the standards I have set out. The other gradebook formats the chapter proposed, such as listing assignments by date or weight seem kind of arbitrary. The organization of the gradebooks by these systems seems to focus on the teacher more than the content or standards. The date format could help track student progress over time, however. It would be great if there were a type of gradebook that could list these grades in different systems. Can powerschool do this?

Chapter 12: Grading Scales

Chapter 12 is all about different grading scales. The bulk of the chapter focused on the pros and cons of the two most common grading scales, the 100-point scale and the 4-point scale (which also included other small-scales). The chapter discussed how things like minus grades are useless and harmful to student morale. I hadn’t heard of school districts that didn’t use minuses, and I think it’s a tiny little change in grading systems that could make an improvement on student morale. I thought that the chapter got really interesting, however, when it moved on to the section that listed more grading scales, such as “A, B, C and ‘not-yet-achieved’ or ‘you’re not done’,” or ones that listed how often students showed understanding (consistently, usually, sometimes, seldom). Also, there were scales that boiled the grade right down to the standard itself (exceeds the standard, meets the standard, making progress, getting started, or no attempt). This scale emphasizes that students can make up work and see assignments not as hills they have to get over but as roads that they can always keep going down.

Chapter 11: Six Burning Grading Issues

Chapter 11 deals with six grading issues that come up very often. The first one listed, the “Zero or Sixty” argument is one that I feel strongly about. I don’t think having a permanent zero in the gradebook is ever acceptable. On one hand, if the grade is intended to reflect understanding, it is irresponsible to assume that a student has a 60% understanding of the content. On the other hand, it’s irresponsible to assume that they know absolutely nothing about the content being graded. I also really liked the chapter’s suggestion for grading late work where you record two grades – one that reflects mastery and one that includes the late penalties. I also agreed with the suggestion that a full letter grade off is more punitive than instructive.

Chapter 10: Conditions for Redoing Work for Full Credit

Chapter 10 was about something that I feel very passionately about – full credit work redos. When the author said that in some situations, mostly when the issue is the student’s character, it is better for the student’s learning to rescind the option to redo work, I agreed – while redos are allowed in life, they’re generally not preferred. Also, bragging about knowing how to rip off the system is not a life skill. I agreed with most of the segments listed in the chapter. Not allowing redo work during the last week of the grading period sounds like it prevents many stressful situations for the teacher – as long as the students are well-aware of this policy. Of course, as mentioned before in Chapter 7, it is important for a teacher to be able to bend if it will facilitate learning in one or two individual cases.

Chapter 9: Ten Approaches to Avoid When Differentiating Assessment and Grading

Chapter 9 was a list of ten grading ideas we should avoid in our classrooms when grading. I agreed with many of these but disagreed with others. As I stated in the chapter 8 response, I think the important life skills of participation and behavior are important enough to merit grades in the classroom, as long as it is made clear to students. I agreed with most of the tenets though. I strongly agreed with the segment against grading multiple attempts at mastery. I think revising and rethinking work is very important in the classroom and in life. Students need to learn that it’s not only acceptable to make mistakes, but it is acceptable (and desirable) to try to correct them and deepen understanding of a topic. Grading students in ways that doesn’t reflect their mastery is also a bad idea. If you’ve only given verbal practice, asking them to draw a picture of what they learned just doesn’t make sense. My classroom will ensure that all students have a fair chance during assessment. I also agreed with the statement that we should avoid recording zeroes for incomplete work.