FIAE 11,12,13,14


FIAE Chapter 11 is about the concept of grading in gradebooks. The chapter talks about everything from weighting grades to putting zeroes in a gradebook. The chapter talks about ways teachers deal with late or missing work. Personally, I don’t like to see zeroes in a gradebook so putting in blanks instead would be more helpful. I also think that there are some students who need to see their grade drop in order to get that work done and then they can feel accomplished by seeing the grade go back up again. In my field placement, there were several students who came in concerned about grades, got the work done, and then you could see some pride they had when their grade went up. When it comes to weighting grades I don’t agree with weighting in individual classes but classes as a whole should be weighted. Students who take AP level classes should have that AP weighted higher into their grade. In my senior class there were people in the top ten who did not take a single AP or honors class. This skews the students class rank and can show on college applications.

Chapter 12 is about the variety of grading scales a teacher can use in the classroom. The scale that I have the most experience with is the 100 point scale. The 4 point scale was used when I was in elementary school but stopped in middle school. I preferred the 100 point scale but that does form a lot of competition between students to get the higher grade. The large scale is more subjective and nit-picky while the 1-4 scale is more broad and is more holistic. In elementary school I remember being graded 1 to 4 on areas that didn’t seem to matter, like behavior and socialness. I think that if schools start using a 1 to 4 scale they have to avoid using it grade behavior and stick to just academics.

Chapter 13 in FIAE is about grading formats and gradebook formats. I thought that the author did well including the diagrams of different grading formats because it gave a nice visual. The author also included pros and cons of each option. Right now, I do not have any idea which grading system will work best for me because I have not had a chance to implement it in a classroom. The teacher has to find a grading method that works for them and fits in the class they are working with. 

Chapter 14 also talked about affective grading, specifically, report cards and progress reports. I am not a fan of just showing parents a letter grade. I would prefer to show them what standards we are working towards and what the students are doing to reach that standard. Parents can be too concerned with grades and put to much stress on their student to reach these grades. If grades are replaced by the meeting of standards than that pressure may be alleviated.

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