{"id":362,"date":"2021-11-11T12:06:03","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T20:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/?p=362"},"modified":"2021-11-12T10:46:57","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T18:46:57","slug":"more-lessons-learned-from-the-equitable-grading-think-tank-grading-is-more-than-grades-2-retakes-redos-extra-credit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bend.k12.or.us\/dean.richards\/2021\/11\/11\/more-lessons-learned-from-the-equitable-grading-think-tank-grading-is-more-than-grades-2-retakes-redos-extra-credit\/","title":{"rendered":"(More Lessons Learned from the Equitable Grading Think Tank) Grading is More than Grades #2: Retakes\/Redos & Extra Credit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Equitable Grading: The Power of Points<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many teachers use some version of points in their grading system.  Points may be given for assignments and assessments, extra credit, behavior, participation, and\/or motivation.  Most of us probably had teachers who used points in the classrooms we grew up in.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The downside to using points is that they can turn into a commodity that students use to get a grade, rather than an accurate representation of a student\u2019s knowledge.  Students may ask how to earn a few more points to get from an 87% to a 90%, but none would ask for those three points to move from an 84% to 87%. However, as long as the point increase is accompanied by an increase in learning, shouldn’t all increases be considered valuable?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redos and Retakes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of us have taught a lesson that did not go the way we\u2019d hoped, only to get to try again the next period or the next day. What if our students stopped us and said, \u201cSorry, you can\u2019t teach that to us again, you taught it yesterday!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is true that the world has timelines, but it also gives grace for learning. The ability to redo something happens all the time in our students’ lives.  (Retaking a driving test is perhaps the most important retake our students will have in their adolescence! When our children don\u2019t do a good enough job cleaning their room we don\u2019t say \u201cYou got one chance to clean it!\u201d We say, \u201cGo back and do it until it is done correctly.\u201d They – and us – get redos every day, when the first effort wasn’t successful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the goal of a class is to impart knowledge to a student, then when<\/em> the student demonstrates that knowledge must be flexible.  The ability for students to try again to show their understanding of the content taught shows we value their learning, more than our timeline. Furthermore, if the students can represent full knowledge of course standards, they should earn 100% of the points available. Removing an artificial celling (i.e., student can only earn 80% of the original total may reward a student for persisting, but it also punishes them for not learning as fast as others. Why do we want to do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retakes and redos as mandatory practices in classrooms provide an equal opportunity to all students to show what they have come to understand as a result of our instruction and purposeful tasks in the classroom.  If a student has a history of low success in school, providing multiple opportunities to be successful breaks a cycle of low achievement.  It tells the student the game is not won at halftime, but at the end – and that adjustments can be made along the way.  We also send the message to the students \u201cI will not let you fail!\u201d We continue to push the students to learn the critical information that we have determined is worthy of their time and effort.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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