Imagine getting a report card where the only assessment is: Established, Emerging, or Developing.No A's or B's, no 5's or 4's, no 72.5% just one of those three words and some teacher comments. That is exactly how a school Division in Parkland (west of Edmonton) has reportedly decided they will grade students from now on.
Alberta Prime Time recently had a short panel discussion about this issue. Watch the video here. Proponents on the panel include Eryn Kelly who is co-president of the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils. She argues that this system is a good assessment technique. Alternatively, Michael Zwaagstra an Associate Researcher for the Frontier Center, feels the three positive assessors are too vague and may limit motivation for your student to do better.
What do you think: would you rather see a percentage mark/grade or 'emerging' on a report card? Are we being too careful with our student's esteem?
This is a start in the right direction, but using three vague standards isn't enough. Detailed, meaningful feedback, both throughout a marking period and at the end of it, is the only way to allow students to demonstrate mastery learning.
ReplyDelete