gradeless first

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Home : 2003 : September : 18

gradeless first
By Julianne

I'm working with a similar report system. I like it because it takes the pressure off parents to see to it their young child has "straight A's". It also gives me more latitude in how to report a child's progress. As you
found out, that's also a problem. For the reading marks we look at what reading level a child is on. If he/she is on or above grade level they are marked as making satisfactory progress. Nearly there - improving, and significantly below - needs improvement. We actually grade and record many language arts papers. We keep some in a portfolio to show parents and to account for our decisions.

Often, I have a child fix their mistakes on corrected papers. I make sure parents can see where the trouble was (I circle mistakes, for example). Then I give the child a smiley face or a star. But in the grade book I record the actual first score. We do the same thing for math, but while it's easier to grade math, it's trickier to decide who falls below grade level. I try to use the chapter tests from our math book, teacher observations and daily work to make that determination.

I find anecdotal records are a good addition to standard grading. But it can be tricky to determine level of proficiency from a teacher's written comments. I may forget why I said a particular thing, or I may be biased against or for a student. When I look at their actual scores on a test or worksheet I am sometimes surprised by the difference between what I thought they knew and what they were able to do.