Effective Grading Practices That Empower Learning

Erik YoungmanBlog, Grade Better

TL;DR: Evaluate grading practices. Reflect on the use of assessments, feedback, and grades. Make changes to foster a growth mindset in students. Effective grading recommendations made by Thomas Guskey, Rick Wormeli, and Ken O’Connor are ingrained in my beliefs about effective learning and grading practices. However, educators can review grading recommendations through the lens of the impact on students’ growth … Read More

Going Gradeless: A Book Study Reflection

Teach Better TeamBlog, Grade Better, Lesson Plan Better, Mastery Done Better, Reflect Better

TL;DR: This post includes reflections on a book study of Going Gradeless: Shifting the Focus to Student Learning by Elise Burns and David Frangiosa. This book provided insights about how you can shift the focus from grades to student learning! Each member of the book study shares their biggest takeaways from the book. This past month I had the pleasure … Read More

Approaching Learning From a Positive and Proactive Approach

Teach Better TeamBlog, Grade Better, Video(s)

Video Highlights: Katelyn Giordano discusses how to approach and implement a “gradeless” or standards-based classroom and the transformational impact it can have on your students. [scroll down to keep reading] About Katelynn Giordano Katelynn Giordano is a Middle Level Language Arts Educator in Illinois and the Director of Curriculum & Instruction for the Teach Better Team. She is a dynamic … Read More

Using Conferences for Grading Students

Teach Better TeamBlog, Differentiate Better, Grade Better, Mastery Done Better, Personalize Student Learning Better

In This Post The struggle of quantifying mastery with a letter or percent. Grading conferences as a solution to this struggle! Steps to set up grading conferences in your classroom & communicate about them to stakeholders. Feedback from students on grading conferences. In a mastery learning classroom, determining student quarter or final grades can be difficult. How do you assign … Read More