Courtesy of San Benito High School:
San Benito High School’s pilot grading practices for 9th and 10th grade are finishing up their first semester of the 2018-19 school year. There are 66 teachers who are participating in the pilot and approximately 40 of those teachers regularly meet after every six-week grading period to discuss challenges they face and share positive practices that celebrate the “why” behind the revised grading philosophy.
“Our last grading practices meeting confirmed that the 4 BIG ideas of the grading philosophy are being implemented at varying degrees,” said Educational Services Director Elaine Klauer. “Teachers discussed how they are providing more feedback to students in a timely manner so students have time to improve their learning. Additionally, teachers are revising and creating new assessments of learning that are focused on specific targets within the content areas. These assessments have become more rigorous by design and provided teachers with added feedback on how to adjust their instruction.”
At the meeting, teachers discussed the self-reflection tools they use to help students take ownership of their learning. Some English teachers are using Academic Focus Time (AFT) to conference with students one-on-one with focused feedback. Others are using reflection tools after the assessment to zero in on the specific point of confusion for relearning and reassessing.
“Overall, the participating teachers who have attended the feedback sessions have agreed the new grading practices are positively affecting student learning and growth,” Klauer said.
Teachers finishing first semester with pilot grading system
