"Ronna Mosher, a director in the office of the Calgary Board of
Education’s chief superintendent, said decisions on student assessment
are laid out by school principals — the same practice is used in
Edmonton — however, no CBE school she was aware of has outlawed zero
grades. Instead, she said teachers will identify struggling students and
work to help them find success." - source.
I have a hunch there is much more to the original story than meets the eye, and the media (and teacher) has perhaps chosen to focus on the most flammable aspect...
ReplyDeleteFrom a school perspective, we follow the philosophy outlined by the CBE and described by Dr. Ronna Mosher. It is important to separate the two concepts in question: student understanding of material or content, and student responsibility for completing assignments. As we progress through life, we are increasingly accountable for both. Assigning a zero to "student understanding" because the work was late, not handed in, didn't have a name on it, etc. is invalid and does not reflect the student's conceptual knowledge. Assigning a zero for work completion, work habits, organisation, etc. is accurate, provided the student had opportunities, supports and reminders along the way.
Elementary schools typically do not operate on such philosophies and work to support effective homework habits and routines. Parents also must play an important role in this. If assignments are consistently missed, teachers will involve parents, support students in improving time management and personal organisation skills, and often extend deadlines or find other ways of assessing curricular understanding. Poor assessment results, report card comments, parent/teacher conference discussions, etc. will then reflect work habits and assignment completion rates, not curricular knowledge. As a last resort, after trying other strategies, and involving all stake holders, marks may be deducted as a consequence, but will be indicated as work habit-centred issues. It is critical that learners develop both conceptual understandings, and effective work habits; it’s also important the evaluation for each, can be delineated. Ultimately it is about supporting student learning.