Growing a 'Grading for Learning' Mindset

5/16/2019

As the school year draws to a close I am hearing many conversations about continued summer learning. Some people are planning to attend conferences, others are planning to keep learning by traveling, and still others are collecting titles for podcasts and other articles they want to read. Another popular topic has been doing some additional reading and learning about grading for learning. Here are seven ideas for growing your grading for learning mindset:

| 1 |
**Read Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman**

This books connects grading with our equity work and makes a strong case for building equitable assessment tools that empower our learners. This book also gives access to a google drive of examples that match the grading for learning work our district is embarking on.

Want the CLIF Notes version? Read these two articles from Mindshift:

Feldman, Joe. “Why It’s Crucial—And Really Hard—To Talk About More Equitable Grading.” Mindshift. February 2019.
Schwartz, Katrina. “How Teachers are Changing Grading Practices with an Eye on Equity.” Mindshift. February 2019.

| 2 |
**Read Grading Smarter, Not Harder by Myron Dueck**

Cover of the book Grading Smarter Not Harder

Dueck’s book gives a lot of concrete examples for how to move to a grading for learning system that values learning over grades. He gives examples of how to manage re-assessments, how to tap into student motivation, and shares some of the struggles he’s had when making these changes.

| 3 |
Talk to the Students in Your Life

Our students have so much to tell us about what works for them and what supports their learning.

Consider asking them some of the following questions:

What kind of feedback helps you do your best learning?
What practices shut you down as a learner?
What practices support you to do your practice work even if it is not graded?

| 4 |
Engage on Twitter

Follow, and even participate in, the #sblchat on Twitter.

| 5 |
**Read Fast Grading by Douglas Reeves**

This short book is power packed with helpful tips on making your grading fair, accurate, specific and timely. Reeves uses case studies and real world scenarios as well as reflective questions to detail a way to implement grading best practices. He also addresses ways to resolve student behavior problems such as tardiness and academic dishonesty.

| 6 |
Join Pages on the Patio

Consider signing up for Pages on the Patio, a ‘flipped book group,’ that will help you hold yourself accountable for your reading and learning. Having time set aside in your schedule so you can focus on the reading is an important first step.

| 7 |
Dig Even Deeper

The members of RPS’s Grading for Learning, K-12 Task Force have compiled a list of suggested resources.

Click here to see other articles, blog posts, and books you might wish to read, along with a few short videos you may wish to watch.
Click here if you’d like to see how the task force is addressing frequently asked questions.

This post brought to you by Heather Willman, POSA overseeing Secondary Curriculum, Instructional Coaching, & Staff Development

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