This article is part of a three-part series. Section One was posted last month, and it covered Homework. It is still available for review under the Monthly Columns section of the website.
ASSESSMENT:Assessment does NOT mean you have to grade everything. There are many other options to consider when determining if students understand the concepts you are teaching. Save the real "tests, essays, and quizzes" for the time when you need to determine exactly what a student has learned. Here are some ideas to help you so that you ultimately take home fewer papers to grade.
Buy one or more EZ-Graders. It is a $5 teacher tool that can be a lifesaver if you are creating an assessment with an unusual number of questions up to 95. It also quickens the math process if you have a larger number of students to teach. If you need assistance immediately or your EZ-Grader is not where you are, Inspiring Teachers has an online Simple Grader that will help you for tests with any number of questions. It can be found under Classroom Resources in the navigation menu.
Do not grade everything. Having made this statement, do not allow students to ask the question "Is this being graded?" Tell them that everything you do in class has a purpose, and they should do their best no matter what. In one form or another, everything receives a grade whether it is a class participation grade or a line item in your grade book. Assessments can take many different formats. You do not owe your students an explanation. It is your classroom.
At the beginning of the year, assign each student a number that corresponds with their number in the grade book or online grading system. Instruct students to put their numbers (and names) on all of their papers. When you collect papers, simply put them in numerical order (even a student can do it for you). Placing grades in the grade book or online grading system becomes a snap because you are no longer jumping from name-to-name to find a particular student. Some teachers use this numbering system for peer-editing and peer-grading. Have students use ONLY their number to identify themselves on a quiz or written paper. Then, collect papers and return them back to different students, so they may grade each other anonymously. Better yet, if you teach more than one section of the same class, and students receive the same assessment, have students from the second class grade the papers of the students in the first class, and vice versa. If you ask students to include the correct answer on their partner’s papers, they are more involved in the learning process. Students truly enjoy doing the grading and "playing teacher." The pile of paperwork will be less for you.
After you get to know your classes, privately choose three students in each class as your "point of reference." You can try choosing three students on grade level (middle), or three students on varied levels. Observe those students. When they lose interest in the lesson, or show difficulties in understanding, it is time to re-teach the material in a follow-up lesson. This simple strategy can also be used on homework. Look over those three papers for common mistakes or excessive errors and re-teach as needed.
Allow students to grade their own papers. You will be surprised how honest they are, and if you are just using those grades as a benchmark for deciding what to re-teach, you will still get the same results. Have students put away all writing utensils and pass out a consistent writing utensil for the whole class (crayons, green pens, blue thin markers, etc.). This method gives students immediate feedback, and also allows you to see where the weak spots are in any given area. Plus, it saves time. Before using this method, you could have students reflect in writing how well they understand the material, and afterwards reflect on what they learned by grading it themselves. Anyone who is caught with the wrong utensil will have their paper collected and graded by you. If students get caught changing their answers, they receive an automatic zero and the paper is photocopied and sent home to their parents. Some teachers have students switch papers, but it can cause problems if someone gets a poor grade, so choose the switching strategy carefully. If you really like the idea of switching papers, see the previous suggestion about assigning students individual numbers.
Grade papers while students are working on them. Try assigning two papers at once (most important and reinforcement paper). Have students do the most important one first and bring it to you when they are finished. Grade the paper while the student is watching. Or, have the student bring you the first paper and let them work on the reinforcement paper while you are grading the most important one. This method allows for the provision of individual assistance and can often provide immediate feedback. It also ensures that no papers will pile-up for grading.
When possible but not all the time, grade papers using easy formats. True/false, multiple choice, matching, puzzles, and fill-in-the-blank all work very well and make the grading process quick and painless. When using multiple choice, have the answers spell out small words, so it is easy to grade. For example: On a twelve-question quiz use: ace, dad, ade, bad. Line up papers on your desk, with the answer key, and grade four or five papers at once. Doing either of these ideas also makes it easier for you to see consistent errors. This process may lead you to find an unfair question or an item that needs re-teaching.
For larger papers and projects, use rubrics or checklists. There are many sites on the internet for creating rubrics (see below for a small sampling), or you can simply create a checklist of your expectations, and give these to your students with the project sheet, but do not include point values for each item on the checklist. This option gives every student the chance to meet your listed expectations, and you can use the same checklist when you grade their assignment. If each item on the list has a point value, your grades can be easily calculated. These steps allow for fair and objective grading which is rarely disputed by students because they had the list of expectations upfront.
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=NewRubric
http://landmark-project.com/rubric_builder/index.php
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/general/
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr248.shtml
You will have less paperwork if you give less paperwork. Use wipe-off boards or play games for instant individual assessments and feedback during lessons. Provide each student with two playing cards, (example: jacks and kings). Ask students questions aloud, and have them hold up the card that best responds to the questions. Make a list of true and false questions to go with your daily lesson. Jack is true and king is false. True or false, is the sky blue? Students hold up the card they think offers the correct answer. Another idea is to assess which students need further teaching or assistance. You can ask a question like: If you need more help understanding scientific method, hold up the appropriate card. Checking-up in these ways keeps the students anonymous to each other, and it is less embarrassing for them to admit they do not understand a concept. Lastly, everyone must pay attention, so it keeps students actively involved in the learning.
Use accurate student papers instead of making an answer key. Very soon in the year, you will learn which students have the right answers on their papers. Check two or three of those papers against each other first, and find one that is correct. Use that paper to check all the other papers. This method is quicker than making an answer key, and you can photocopy the child’s paper to use it as a key for the next year. It can also work for assessing open-ended responses. It can easily give you an overview of what could/should have included in a possible answer.
Instead of having students write on the test itself, have them use a spelling strip paper and list the question number and the answer. If you teach the same subject yearly, and you are already sure the test is fair and accurate for assessing the learning, saving tests from year-to-year can assist the school district and the environment. Plus, grading by viewing a list is much quicker and easier.
If your students are completing a group assignment, have each student periodically fill-out a self-assessment form that you create for them. It can include what the student specifically learned, what the student did for the group, and even an open-ended response. It will give you an overall view of the group’s work, and how well the students worked together.
The final element of this three-part series on classroom organization will be posted next month. It will cover typical housekeeping ideas for both inside and outside the classroom walls. Return and read the final part of the series. I also regularly post the ideas at my own twitter account: www.twitter.com/GuidingTeachers (Jeri Asaro) and Emma McDonald, the author and owner of this website also has a twitter account to follow www.twitter.com/itpg. Feel free to follow us!
