Independent Learning and Personalized Assessments

Today my Integrated Math 2 students had a planned assessment. Last week we went over the concepts we had been working with that they would be assessed on. I then gave students the option for 2 additional concepts that they still needed to show understanding of. With progress reports a week away and each of my 30 students at different places in the content, I wanted them to have the choice of what they were going to show that they knew. Depending on the student, some of the options they had available were tailored to them - I have several students still working on concepts from last quarter. Some options were stretches for students, but I love seeing if they are ready and willing for the challenge. I've also been trying to add more open-ended questions (thanks David Sladkey, Scott Miller, Nanette Johnson, and Robert Kaplinsky) as part of the assessments. And while the feedback is probably going to take twice as long as normal because of the number of different assessments given, I'm happy that I provided the students with the choices.

So yesterday during class they were given "independent learning" time. Basically, I told them they knew what they needed to work on and study and that they had resources I provided to them, they had each other, and they could grab a computer and utilize that. That was basically the instructions! Students (well, like 75% of them) were practicing and studying! I had students coming up to me to check how they were doing on problems and to ask for another to try. Other students were watching videos on the internet, finding practice problems online, and helping each other. I was blown away!! It was exciting to see that the unstructured time was probably some of the most productive I've seen them! I'm hopeful after going through the assessments that will shine through.

Providing Feedback

In January I decided to take another cannon ball into my Standards Based Grading journey (you can read about why here). I decided to jump into feedback only on assignments and assessments. Students were given a list at the start of the semester with concepts and skills that they must know and demonstrate in order to pass the course. I think of them as non-negotiable and students had to be proficient, demonstrating the ability to complete it correctly, independently (most likely on an assessment). There are some other skills listed that they should know, but I think of these as negotiable, so they are there for students to be able to negotiate a higher grade (A or B).

I have problems that we work on in class. I try to put up answers at the end for students to self-correct or I'll have them turn it in for feedback. I also provide frequent Independent Learning Opportunities outside of class that students can also turn in for feedback (I'm not the best at getting these back timely tho- and answers are online for students to check). Compared to the fall, this is getting more students to practice, but there should always be more that do.

I've had students self-reflect twice already, and we are currently finishing just finished up the third one for midterm/first semester grades (official report card and transcript grade). This was the second time we met to go over a letter grade. So far, students have accurately reflected on their learning and have stated they were understanding relative to where I felt! During the first round of conferences, I did have 1 student who was pretty off (he's been really struggling with the content), but he has been coming around and realizes the additional help he needs toward learning and understanding. I'm also having students write goals for the second half of the course, with me hoping to remember to hold them accountable. After the midterm test, I assigned a reflection for students so I could start to gather their thoughts on the good, bad, and areas to improve with this system -you'll see a few of their quotes throughout.

"I really enjoy this grading system that we have been doing. Some things I enjoy about it is that we do not have the pressure of a grade on an exam. We can also demonstrate on other exams that we understand the concept." ~M.W. (freshman) 

I've always believed that students learn at different rates. In the past, I've always told students that I know that and I'll always look at end performance over beginning. But, in the past, it never made too much of a difference. With this feedback system, I'm seeing kids continue to work hard to improve and understand. Students who would have given up beforehand, are continuing to practice and learn. As we learn new concepts, I continue to cycle older ones on assessments so 1) students who previously showed understanding continue to demonstrate understanding, and 2) those that didn't understand could now show improvement. The extra time for many has been great.

"I really appreciate our grading system and the way it works. Instead of basing our grades solely off of points without explanation, this system helps ensure that we are getting a grade we deserve  and why. I see the drastic improvement of teaching tactics compared to other classes by seeing how much improvement and understanding is found in me and also all of my peers." ~E.A. (freshman)

Since I'm really trying to get students to understand the concepts, I had a few students who weren't there YET when midterm grades came around. I approached the AP who oversees the math department with my idea of assigning an Incomplete to these students. He checked the Student Handbook to be sure, then gave me the go ahead! With that support, I spoke with 3 students and parents about the incomplete - which will provide them additional time to show proficiency. On a point system, these students would have been failing the first few weeks and wouldn't have the opportunity to still earn a passing grade. I'm not sure if they will be able to pick up on the past concepts while we continue to learn and connect new ones, but this is still an opportunity they would not have had otherwise.

"I like how we are able to work on the problems on our own time that we have challenges on instead of getting homework that we already know. I like how you can consult with us about our grade instead of just basing it off of homework and worksheets." ~L.Z. (sophomore)

Two of my colleagues are using the SBG system I did in the fall. I listened to them the last few weeks leading into the end of the grading period, and I could see and hear myself in the Fall. After this semester of providing feedback to students, I'm really enjoying this and would recommend it to my department! It hasn't always been easy - I'm reorganizing curriculum yet again and having to write new assessments frequently. Earlier assessments required a lot of writing, so that took time to go through. And at times it has been difficult to figure out what meaningful feedback to give. It takes much longer to grade things since I'm writing all over them. And, I haven't found the best way to keep stakeholders informed. Currently each student has a spreadsheet that I populate feedback summaries on to, and the link is posted in the gradebook for parents to access - but I don't know if they are doing that, or even know about that. And a lot of my time is spent recording the written feedback onto the spreadsheet, so at some point I need to evaluate if this is the best use of my time.

As we go into this final semester, I'm excited to see the full understanding of students. I'll be trying to track them next year in Integrated Math 3 too to see if the learning sticks. I'll end this post with the following response from a student (the same from earlier who is very positive about the change I've made), which has me thinking about how to convince others in my department to make the cannon ball into the deep end with me!

"A worry I have is that when I go on to future math classes that they will not use the same grading system." ~M.W.

Look into my Journey with SBG

I've now completed a full course using Standards Based Grading (I previously completed just 1 semester) for my Integrated Math 2. I only had 1 section of it this time, so I'm not sure if my successes and struggles are common or a fluke. Here is the good, bad, and ugly of my experience this year. I'll include my reflection and next steps at the end too.

Good: Most students appreciated that I was trying to emphasize learning over memorize, regurgitate, and dump. And many appreciated that they were allowed to have multiple opportunities to show understanding of skills. I had several students who said that really helped to alleviate stress. And many really took the opportunity to learn and improve.

Bad: I felt like I was constantly assessing (I really was). I assessed every week on concepts from the previous week (usually 2-4), and allowed the opportunity for anyone who needed to reassess the previous concepts. Since students only needed their best effort, many stopped practicing the concept after they achieved the desired proficiency level.

Ugly: since students weren't graded on completing assignments, many just didn't do them. The times I was providing for students to practice became social time for several, especially as we got to the end of the term. This became very evident with results from the final- students showed little ability to recall and apply what we had worked on throughout the course.

Moving forward: I start over with a new term in just a few days and spent the past month reflecting and refining so I improve. I went through the concepts taught and prioritized them by MUST know (to pass with a C), should know, and good to know. My plan is to collect classwork more often and assess less often but cycle concepts more frequently. I plan to strictly provide feedback on assignments and assessments. This feedback will highlight what was done well and what steps should be taken to improve. Students will self-assess and keep evidence of their learning and understanding. I will conference with students prior to each  grading period ending to determine a letter grade. I have 1 section so I really feel this will be manageable, and I'm excited to see an increase in learning and understanding, and therefore retaining. I know it still won't be perfect, but I'm hopeful of the opportunities it will provide students.

I'm getting ready to do a presentation (today) on this journey to some of my staff members. You can access it here. 

Learning over Grades

Finals was last week! Well, we call them midterms, but it's the end of the first semester so I will be forced to give a transcript grade for my classes. Yup, already! We just finished our 8th week of instruction, so on our 4x4 that means midterms!

Last spring I had started Standards Based Grading for my Integrated Math 2 class. I liked the idea of it, but I wasn't happy in the end with how my system translated to a semester letter grade. I refined a little this summer and stared this school year with a modified system. So far, I am so much happier! It was a little difficult at the start since it was something new for the students, so they had some trouble comprehending and understanding. But with constant communication, I feel students are getting it. Some are working hard to improve. They are coming in to ask questions and clarify misunderstandings, though I always wish there were more doing this. Several students have commented that they feel less stressed about math and they are "happy your teaching style stresses learning rather than memorization." Students take an assessment and are provided feedback over points or a grade. The hope is that students are looking at their mistakes and learning from them.

I've tried really hard to focus on the concept and skill, and students learning it- both conceptually and procedurally, and having the ability to explain it. The "explain it" part is where some students really struggle. But, I think it is a vital part of understanding and I will continue to push students into doing it.

I have not perfected this! Heck, I've been teaching 13 years and will never perfect that. But it feels good to be constantly improving and working toward improving. I just wish more appreciated the learning over the grade.

Concept Mastery Data

Disclaimer: I am not a Google Sheets expert! But I'm pretty good and able to eventually achieve what I'm thinking so that I'm working smarter, not harder. It takes some time, but Sheets is so valuable and such a time saver.

One thing I need to improve on with Standards Based Grading is the recording and reporting of progress. I had a long, painful process this Spring (you can read about it in this reflection post, #5). As I was looking more into options this summer, I ran across Mari Venturino's post on Tracking Data. She has a Google Sheet she keeps and she did a lot of conditional formatting and "=countif". She uses a binary approach to the mastery tasks with either a 0 or 1. I like how she determines the letter grades, and that was something I was already considering (still working out though). Her Sheet was a good starting point for me. I made a copy and started to adjust to the needs of my class and my students. Since it will include student names (alphabetical!) it won't be something I can share with students and parents. 

I've been trying to meet with students on a more regular basis to go over grades and what they need to be working on, so this wouldn't even work for that purpose. My idea was creating something where I would just need to input 1 set of information (student ID#) and then it would import the students data (scores and current grade). Enter "=vlookup"!!! I copied over some data and went to testing. It works BEAUTIFULLY! I'm so excited about this aspect - this will be a game changer to student conferences and discussions. Data Template. The letter grade assigned is based on the level they are performing at on the concepts overall. Here is the current break down that is programmed into the Sheet (subject to change, but thinking it's pretty accurate for this school year):

A… at least 85% of skills are Got it or better; no score is developing, not yet, or missing

B… at least 70% of skills are Got it or better; less than 10% of skills are developing or not yet, and zero skills are missing

C… less than 30% of skills are developing or not yet and zero skills are missing

F… more than 30% of skills are developing, not yet or missing

For the upcoming school year, I also have plans for students to record their own assessment scores. I liked the document that Everybody is a Genius posted about. I plan to make a few tweaks to it since I don't have a 3+ score. Here is my Record Sheet Template (and a second version that is portrait - I made it so it can easily go in a composition book and only 2 sides would need to be trimmed). The other thing I'm going to implement is having students do a self-assessment on the concepts (I do skills/concepts instead of the actual standard since that isn't kid friendly). I love that Sheets has the Checkbox feature now, so you can see how easy it'll be for students. Here is my First Semester Skills list and my Second Semester Skills List for Integrated Math 2. I like including the Mathematical Practices here since they are such a huge aspect of math. You will also notice I'm trying to not have too many skills, so some ideas are together (like sine and cosine are together not separate).

I also still need to figure out how I will inform parents of student progress. I only have a few more weeks though to try to figure out something!

Standards Based Grading Reflection

The school year has ended! I spent the last quarter using standards based grading in my Integrated 2 classes. Before starting, I spent some time researching and coming up with a system that I felt would work for me. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to get me to dive in and disrupt the grading system.

Below are a few things I did and my reflection on it:

1. Since I was changing this during the middle of the academic year, but at the start of a fresh grading period, I didn't want to make too radical of a change to the category percentages. So, standards/concepts were about 70% of the total grade (before quizzes were 20 and tests 50). The final was 15%, a concept extension was 5, and assignments were the remaining 10%. Reflection: Moving forward, I don't plan to count assignments, but instead have 10% or less for student reflections. Reflections on lessons and self-assessments on concepts. I also will not have the concept extension, so that makes a majority of the grade based on knowing and understanding the standards.

2. For skills, I went with a scale of 0-4, but students could earn a 5 by getting a 4 on two assessments in a row. 0 was for students leaving a skill completely blank. Students could also get a 3.5. Reflection: I'm dropping the 3.5. it was just too much and too confusing.

3. I associated each scale with a percentage in the gradebook. A 5=100%, 4=90%, 3.5=80%, 3=70%, 2=55%, 1=40%. I wanted students and parents to be able to see and understand what grade they had. Reflection: I'll be changing this aspect for next year. I'm going to go more to the idea that to have an A, you'd have to have no score below 3 and a certain percentage of the skills at 4/5. Then figure out B, C, and have no Ds. I'm not exact on this detail yet, but I'll post when I iron it out.

4. Students were assessed (at least) twice in class assessments, usually about a week apart, with highest grade being recorded. After that, students could then request to retake (copy of Form) a concept. I used Shawn Cornally's idea that students could come in once a day to reassess one concept. I was originally hoping I would do more problems on the fly and ask for more explanations, but this proved to be very difficult when I had multiple students coming in at lunch for different concepts. I had to create assessments and have them ready to go for students to take. Reflection: I will still only allow the once a day for one concept. My schedule is more limited in the upcoming school year, so students will only be able to retest at lunch. I'm hoping to make changes to the initial assessments, so those changes will then transfer to changes in reassessments. I still don't think I'll be able to do them on the fly, but I'm going to require some more explanations so I can see if students truly understand.

For the quarter, I had 169 requests to reassess! A few requests were duplicates, but this is pretty accurate. My frequent flyer had 15 (out of 30 skills) requested - I had to have a conversation with this student several times as they were not using class time wisely; this was frustrating. Other than that student, most students took the opportunity serious. I still feel it was a lot for already having a retest in class. It was also overwhelming with the difference between my two class periods - 3/4 of the requests were from my 2 period. Reflection: Rarely did students come see me to get help. They often got help from each other, which I love, but many looked at mistakes, tried to remember the procedure, then hoped for the best. In the fall, I plan to require a little more effort on their part to show they reworked problems and that they understood.

5. Tracking and recording scores become a lot of work! I really wanted students to be able to look up their performance on concepts, so I had them create a PIN (personal identification 'name') and then they used that to look up on the spreadsheet. Main issue was that I didn't alphabetize this since that would be too obvious when they looked at it. I had a paper sheet I recorded all attempts on, then I would type into the Sheet (I'll call it the Teacher Sheet) the score. Both of these were in the same order (not alpha). I then created another Sheet (Student Sheet) that imported whatever I typed. This only listed the students PIN, so this is the one they had access to and would view. Plus side with this sheet is that I didn't have to do anything with it as I was updating my teacher sheet (=Importrange). Here is what the students saw:

So after the second attempt, I then used my alphabetical sheet to record the best score for that skill. Finally, I recorded the score into the online gradebook, for us it is Aeries. In Aeries, I used the sayings not the number. As you can see, this was WAY more work I put on myself. Reflection: I like paper, so I still plan on keeping that since I don't grade in front of a screen. But, I'm only keeping one paper. I'm still going to have a Google Sheet, but this will be for me. I have plans to have a Sheet that I can use for conferencing with students that will bring over the concept scores automatically (more to come on a future post!). I am for sure going to have students keep track of their own scores. Sarah from Everybody is a Genius had a student tracking sheet that I liked. I'm going to modify it a bit, but it is a good starting point. I haven't figured out how to keep parents informed of student progress yet.

6. At the end of the quarter, I asked students their thoughts about this grading. The results are to the right. Most of the students that said they didn't like it gave reasons like it was confusing, they were used to the other way, and that the sayings ("not yet", "progress", "got it") felt less real than the points. It was confusing - even for me. I can understand being comfortable with the usual way too. But a lot of students preferred this since they knew exactly what they needed to work on. They mentioned they liked that they were assessed twice, knew exactly what they needed to study and improve on, and were able to reassesses as needed. Reflection: This is a WIN in my book. This comment sums it up "I feel like this is a good system because it encourages reflecting and improving on work." What teacher wouldn't want this!!! 

Moving forward with this, I know I have things to improve on. I've spent the past month thinking about what needs to be fixed, looking at what others have done, and figuring out how to make this system work better. I'm excited about what I've read others have done and am looking forward to writing about my updates soon!

Changing the Gradebook

Before our Spring term started in January, I was thinking a lot about how I can see if students are improving on concepts. The tests we administer were already assessing spiraled material. But, the way I graded, there was never a way for me to really tell if a student was improving in an earlier concept. Or rather, I didn't have a way to remember if they were!

Yes - I know what you are thinking .... Standard Based, duh! I've always agreed with the idea, but have been overwhelmed with seeing the implementation (I'm the type that really has to have it all mapped out before I execute). In my earlier years of teaching, I did Grading for Learning, but didn't feel it went too well. Anyways, back to this Fall....

Talking out my thoughts with 2 colleagues (thanks Jackie and Megan), we were able to come up with something that wouldn't be too overwhelming to implement. Our tests category in our grade book would now be broken into Chapters. Each test we gave would now be broken by chapter. So, for example, on the Chapter 4 test, there would be sections for Chapter 1-3. Each would have a new entry in that chapter in the grade book. The goal: see if there was improvement as time went on.

The quarter ended last week. I finally was able to finish up my grades, analyze effectiveness, and have the time to write this up. Thoughts:

1. When it came to conferences with students, this was great because I was easily able to tell them what area they needed to work on.
2. It was a little extra work to reorganize assessments, and record multiple scores for each assessment.
3. Students grades improved!!!!

The last reason is the best! I kept a second grade book for 1 of my classes that was my "old" way. When I finalized grades, I compared final percentages and letter grades. In my class of 36 students, I had 1 student who did worse (went from 91.1 to 89%). I'm not exactly sure why this happened. A third (12) of the students final grade improved. Of those 12 students, half of them increased by moving into the next grade (i.e. D+ to a C-), the other half increased within that grade (i.e. B- to B). I see this as successful!

What makes it worth it:
1. A student that improved from an F to a C-
2. A senior, who took 3 tries to pass Integrated Math 1, passed my Math 2 course (first half) on the first attempt! With this new way, he went from an F to a D.

Final thoughts: this wasn't perfect. It was a good step into concept mastery and encouraging to see that it helped students be more successful. As we start the next semester, I've decided to disrupt the status quo and dive even deeper into Standards Based Grading. I'm not sure how it's going to go and I'm certain I'll be driving myself crazy along the way. But I've been wanting to take this step, so now is as good as ever!