This is one of my favorite pictures of Quinn on skis. I always think of this as his "I did it" pose. It was from two years ago when, much like his mother, my boy was a little timid on the steep and bumpy trails. This time, he stood at the top for a few minutes looking down over the lip into the challenge below and called over his shoulder, "You go in back of me Mom and tell me what to do if I get stuck. Oh, and can you watch in case I fall?" Finally after a lot of preparation, he jumped into the first turn and picked his way slowly and carefully down the hill. I followed behind at a distance observing and making a mental note of the things he did well and what I knew he needed to keep practicing. Luckily, we both made it to the bottom without losing any equipment, or breaking any major bones! When he stopped, he turned to me with this big grin and said, "That felt awesome! How'd I do?"
Quinn's question was not much different from what my own students ask me every day. "How did I do?" feels like one of the oldest education questions in the book. For many of us up to this point our answers were probably quite similar- "you got a B+" or "you did fine". But these kinds of vague and non-specific answers really aren't very helpful when it comes to making sure kids, parents, future teachers and community members really understand what our students know and are able to do. When a student asks me today "How did I do?" I can give them a much more focused and meaningful answer. By developing learning targets and scales for each course I can say to my students that they were able to support their thesis with accurate and appropriate evidence, or that they can participate effectively in a small group discussion by asking follow up questions. Reporting out on how well a student is meeting clear and specific learning targets also puts the responsibility on students to think about what they can do and where they still need to practice. After handing out progress reports this year for quarter one, I found that the conversations were already turning away from "what was my grade," and turning toward, "how can I improve my analysis thinking? I can see that was one target I was weaker on." And, while a student's habits of learning are important to their overall success in school and life, we have to begin reporting them to families separately from academic mastery grades. It does nothing to help a student be ready for life to give them an "A for effort" if that only covers up the fact that they aren't mastering important skills or knowledge.
It's like Quinn and his skiing- I was psyched that he was willing to overcome his fears and take on the challenge of a black diamond trail- that said something about his mindset. But if he wanted to improve as a skier I also had to give him honest feedback about what he needed to do in order to get better. He'll need to polish those skills if he wants to tackle even tougher trails in the future. So when he asked me "how did I do?" I could tell him, he used really solid pole plants and picked out a good line to ski. But, if he wants to be ready to tackle a steep trail, bigger bumps and trails in the trees he still needs to get more comfortable making smaller, quicker jump turns. I'm not being harsh, I just being realistic and so the "I did it" pose isn't just a hollow achievement.
Quinn's question was not much different from what my own students ask me every day. "How did I do?" feels like one of the oldest education questions in the book. For many of us up to this point our answers were probably quite similar- "you got a B+" or "you did fine". But these kinds of vague and non-specific answers really aren't very helpful when it comes to making sure kids, parents, future teachers and community members really understand what our students know and are able to do. When a student asks me today "How did I do?" I can give them a much more focused and meaningful answer. By developing learning targets and scales for each course I can say to my students that they were able to support their thesis with accurate and appropriate evidence, or that they can participate effectively in a small group discussion by asking follow up questions. Reporting out on how well a student is meeting clear and specific learning targets also puts the responsibility on students to think about what they can do and where they still need to practice. After handing out progress reports this year for quarter one, I found that the conversations were already turning away from "what was my grade," and turning toward, "how can I improve my analysis thinking? I can see that was one target I was weaker on." And, while a student's habits of learning are important to their overall success in school and life, we have to begin reporting them to families separately from academic mastery grades. It does nothing to help a student be ready for life to give them an "A for effort" if that only covers up the fact that they aren't mastering important skills or knowledge.
It's like Quinn and his skiing- I was psyched that he was willing to overcome his fears and take on the challenge of a black diamond trail- that said something about his mindset. But if he wanted to improve as a skier I also had to give him honest feedback about what he needed to do in order to get better. He'll need to polish those skills if he wants to tackle even tougher trails in the future. So when he asked me "how did I do?" I could tell him, he used really solid pole plants and picked out a good line to ski. But, if he wants to be ready to tackle a steep trail, bigger bumps and trails in the trees he still needs to get more comfortable making smaller, quicker jump turns. I'm not being harsh, I just being realistic and so the "I did it" pose isn't just a hollow achievement.
My Standards Based Grade Book: