Long Awaited Update!
Hello, all!
Long time, no post. With getting lost in the shuffle of Benchmark testing a few weeks ago to starting the new 9 weeks and preparing for another Benchmark, I've been neglecting this platform.
I would like to update all parents and students on how the grading is working now, and why your/your child's grade may be thriving or suffering. The first 9 weeks was a great starting point for us to prepare our students for the upcoming Benchmark test. It took some time for us to acquire the data. When we did acquire the data, we were able to finally have some idea of where we needed to turn for improvement/reinforcement.
The types of assignments and grading have changed from the first 9 weeks. The assignments are more heavily standards/test based, with bellwork and a few random participation grades in between. I need to make sure that I am doing right by my students by giving them proper resources for the upcoming tests. I have been giving worksheet packets for the literature that we read and taking many assessment grades ranging from the FOCUS tests to CommonLit assessments that I pull online. They are very useful in gathering information that I need.
With that being said, the grading is a little different that what may be reflected on the actual assessments. For example, on the FOCUS test, if your child's actual score was 33% (4 out of 12 correct), then I would not put a 33 in the gradebook for that. Rather, I would put a 60. This will give you/your child a better chance at getting/keeping their grade up since a 60 is a lot easier to come up from than a 33. If your child scores a 75% (9 out of 12 correct), I would put an 80-85 in the gradebook. When it comes to testing data, we are looking for students to pass. A passing score on the Benchmarks starts at a 3-, which is around 70% of questions answered correctly.
I want to see my students thrive, but I also need them to understand that these high stakes tests do matter towards their grade, and they need to be putting their best effort in working with me to find the methods for success that works for them.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or join my Remind @kd469f and send me a message there.
Let's rock out the rest of this year!
Long time, no post. With getting lost in the shuffle of Benchmark testing a few weeks ago to starting the new 9 weeks and preparing for another Benchmark, I've been neglecting this platform.
I would like to update all parents and students on how the grading is working now, and why your/your child's grade may be thriving or suffering. The first 9 weeks was a great starting point for us to prepare our students for the upcoming Benchmark test. It took some time for us to acquire the data. When we did acquire the data, we were able to finally have some idea of where we needed to turn for improvement/reinforcement.
The types of assignments and grading have changed from the first 9 weeks. The assignments are more heavily standards/test based, with bellwork and a few random participation grades in between. I need to make sure that I am doing right by my students by giving them proper resources for the upcoming tests. I have been giving worksheet packets for the literature that we read and taking many assessment grades ranging from the FOCUS tests to CommonLit assessments that I pull online. They are very useful in gathering information that I need.
With that being said, the grading is a little different that what may be reflected on the actual assessments. For example, on the FOCUS test, if your child's actual score was 33% (4 out of 12 correct), then I would not put a 33 in the gradebook for that. Rather, I would put a 60. This will give you/your child a better chance at getting/keeping their grade up since a 60 is a lot easier to come up from than a 33. If your child scores a 75% (9 out of 12 correct), I would put an 80-85 in the gradebook. When it comes to testing data, we are looking for students to pass. A passing score on the Benchmarks starts at a 3-, which is around 70% of questions answered correctly.
I want to see my students thrive, but I also need them to understand that these high stakes tests do matter towards their grade, and they need to be putting their best effort in working with me to find the methods for success that works for them.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or join my Remind @kd469f and send me a message there.
Let's rock out the rest of this year!