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Looking for assessments (and grading schema) to use now that I am teaching all classes via Zoom (and my student population is all on one form of quarantine or another).
I have been trying to figure out what is responsible, academically rigorous and valid, aligned with my goals and useful and haven't been all that successful in finding an answer. I had certain types that worked within my classes but those are out the window. I am looking for suggestions for how to assess that students are paying attention, studying on their own and integrating information and skills into their world view.
For high school English, the general subjects are
Vocab
Writing skills (grammar, structure, style)
Thinking about the literature we read and discuss
They are already working on an independent research project, the parameters of which I have to change to reflect life stuck in the home)
My usual modes are multiple choice vocab quizzes (to assess memorization under timed conditions), reading quizzes, in-class (timed) essays on literature, in-class discussion. I have been using exit tickets, kahoots and having them write paragraphs using vocab words but each other method has severe limitations and changes the nature of what we are assessing.
So if anyone has ideas about other forms of assessments and how they would be graded, please chime in.
I am a veteran teacher, not unfamiliar with technology, but cynical about its ability to replicate or replace a real classroom.
Looking for assessments (and grading schema) to use now that I am teaching all classes via Zoom (and my student population is all on one form of quarantine or another).
I have been trying to figure out what is responsible, academically rigorous and valid, aligned with my goals and useful and haven't been all that successful in finding an answer. I had certain types that worked within my classes but those are out the window. I am looking for suggestions for how to assess that students are paying attention, studying on their own and integrating information and skills into their world view.
For high school English, the general subjects are
Vocab
Writing skills (grammar, structure, style)
Thinking about the literature we read and discuss
They are already working on an independent research project, the parameters of which I have to change to reflect life stuck in the home)
My usual modes are multiple choice vocab quizzes (to assess memorization under timed conditions), reading quizzes, in-class (timed) essays on literature, in-class discussion. I have been using exit tickets, kahoots and having them write paragraphs using vocab words but each other method has severe limitations and changes the nature of what we are assessing.
So if anyone has ideas about other forms of assessments and how they would be graded, please chime in.
I am a veteran teacher, not unfamiliar with technology, but cynical about its ability to replicate or replace a real classroom.
TIA
This isn't a criticism of you but I've seeing versions of your question all over. My impression is that teachers have basically been told "You're on your own" by system administrators who thought up these remote teaching schemes over a jug of Margaritas.
This isn't a criticism of you but I've seeing versions of your question all over. My impression is that teachers have basically been told "You're on your own" by system administrators who thought up these remote teaching schemes over a jug of Margaritas.
That's not far off -- line teachers see certain realities that admins don't want to see. We fight our way forward and then they either change their position or wonder why we haven't found a way to do what they think is easy but which, in truth, is problematic. My first reaction was that assessments were a problem but the admins insisted that we find a way. It took a week but this morning, the principal said that we won't be able to use formal assessments. Welcome to common sense...
We’re not allowed to give graded assignments because not new learning can take place.
Where my friend teaches, administrators are expecting all of the students to make five weeks of progress in the five weeks that they are currently scheduled to be away from school. So, obviously, the teachers are expected to teach new concepts. It has only been a couple of weeks so the administrators may end up changing their minds.
Where my friend teaches, administrators are expecting all of the students to make five weeks of progress in the five weeks that they are currently scheduled to be away from school. So, obviously, the teachers are expected to teach new concepts. It has only been a couple of weeks so the administrators may end up changing their minds.
Assuming those administrators have minds to change. A lot will depend on how many have gone through Broad training.
Where my friend teaches, administrators are expecting all of the students to make five weeks of progress in the five weeks that they are currently scheduled to be away from school. So, obviously, the teachers are expected to teach new concepts. It has only been a couple of weeks so the administrators may end up changing their minds.
We have 11 weeks left, I think. We go until mid June and we have a 4x4 schedule meaning the kids do 1 years work in 4 classes for 18 weeks and then start new classes in late January and then do 4 new classes the 2nd 18 weeks. They had just started new classes when all of this started. We had just given out their first of 8 report cards. We can’t give new material because that wouldn’t be equatable.
My school backed down from its initial requirement that we have assessments and grades, and then it backed down from the expectation that we give the students a lot of work. It then backed down further from requiring that we give a medium amount of work. Now, we have to give them very little work, and "grade" them informally based on their attendance and whether they seem engaged, something hard to assess properly over zoom. So everything has been changed and nothing has been solved. Hurray.
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So, obviously, the teachers are expected to teach new concepts. It has only been a couple of weeks so the administrators may end up changing their minds.
