Because we're not ranking students, but rather, assessing and reporting on how well their work demonstrates the grade level (or possibly modified, if they're on an IEP) expectations, we use letter grades to synthesize and label this description:  A Level 4 (or A), for example, is basically a shortened way of saying, Hey, this student's work shows most or all of the criteria for assignments, tests or class work.  The student consistently does them really well ('proficiently" or "to a high degree").

A B (or a Level 3) indicate that the student demonstrates most of the expected criteria considerably well, a good portion of the time.  A student working through Level 2 would earn a C, demonstrating that work is getting close to meeting the grade level expectations, and a D, or a Level 1, would indicate that a student is just beginning the journey towards meeting grade level expectations.

Even percentages, used to report on Grade 7 & 8 report cards, are aligned with these 4 levels (Growing Success, page 40), and in an attempt to make assessment more holistic at the intermediate/senior levels, many boards have even taken to using anchor marks, where a B, for example, is given a certain specified percentage.

Spinning Gold from Straw...

Given that marks therefore basically describe the degree to which a student's work meets a set of pre-determined criteria, teachers should be able to translate comments to marks with relative ease.

I recently had a unique opportunity to practise what I am preaching here.

... Even in a Pinch!

As I am often out of my classroom due to various professional projects I am invited to participate in at the board or provincial level, I try to work closely with a regular OT to almost "co-teach" (or at least co-plan for) our class curriculum.  This term, that included my OT assigning a small group research project to the students in my class.  They'd been learning about substance use and abuse, and about addictive behaviours. My OT and I decided that the students would work in groups to develop and deliver a short multi-media presentation about a drug they had researched.  The OT and my students worked together to develop and record a list of criteria according to which their presentations would be evaluated. Shortly before the day they were to present and be assessed on their work, my regular OT got a long-term contract to the end of the school year, and had to cancel the rest of the dates I had booked her in!

A new OT took over the job, and -- with a little guidance from me and the help of my students who by now have been well-trained in the process -- she stepped fairly seamlessly into the gap and assessed the students' presentations.

The feedback she offered them was directly linked to the criteria they had co-constructed, and her observations were noted in considerable detail on a template I had developed and sent her ahead of time.

The comments were detailed (and distinct!) enough for me to translate into marks for both Language and Health.  I recorded the corresponding letter grades in my marks folder on my iPad with relative ease, and also made a few relevant notes in the folder were I collect anecdotal evidence to inform my learning skills comments when reporting.  Then I cut each student's comments from the farthest column on the right and pasted them into their online portfolio on Edmodo, where they had submitted the presentations they'd created, so that they could see their specific feedback (and so that their families could also read how they had done on the assignment in my absence).

Holistic Reporting

While I am still cautiously optimistic that the formal process of reporting to families in this province will one day encompass a less contrived (and less stress-inducing!!) and more wholesome approach, I do rest more comfortably in the fact that even with the existing letter grades we are obliged to assign twice a year, assessment-literate students and their families can read between the lines and find specific feedback to inform their future learning goals.

Teaching as an act of social justice was a concept frequently discussed among staff during my time at Tyndale in the early years of their Teacher Ed program.  The idea of service leadership through teaching was one that seemed like a good match in theory.  Over the past few years, back in the high needs classroom environments I so enjoy, I've been wrestling with how best to make this theory a reality.

Of particular interest to me has been the assessment lens.

High Expectations for All

A colleague from the Ministry of Education's Assessment Branch recently suggested that I think about "how assessment can offer support for closing gaps in student outcomes for groups of students who are doing less well than others: e.g., LD students, FNMI students, students in Applied math", etc.  In particular, she encouraged me to consider how can we have high expectations for the achievement of all students? "We cannot have equity of outcomes", she noted, "unless we start with equity of expectations."

My colleague suggested that this would mean fewer modified expectations, but, perhaps, greater access to accommodations to meet the expectations.

And indeed, that philosophy does seem to align with the guiding principles from Growing Success.  But what does that actually look, sound and feel like in practice in a real life classroom?

What's Important?

I also feel like although learning to read and write and "do math" (whatever that means) and just generally become a literate citizen is still important, the very definition of literacy itself is changing.  What students need to be "competent" at in order to lead successful, fulfilling lives in the 21 Century is vastly different than the skills our parents and grandparents needed to thrive.

As page 10 of this new resource from the Ministry notes, "Studies in health and well-being have found that characteristics such as perseverance, grit, and tenacity are sometimes a more accurate predictor of success than IQ scores. For example, among intrapersonal competencies, the characteristic of conscientiousness (a tendency to be organized, responsible, and hardworking) is “most highly correlated with desirable educational, career, and health outcomes” (Pellegrino & Hilton, 2012, pp. 4–5).

While some jobs still require "knowledge" and basic arithmetic skills, increasingly, the working world demands skills like effective collaboration and teamwork, creativity and problem solving, responsibility, positive attitude, the ability (and demonstrated desire) to learn continuously.  

How to divide fractions can be googled.  Developing tenacity?  Well...

The Role of Descriptive Feedback

I believe that  offering students timely, specific feedback can help to develop growth mindset, perseverance and an interest in learning.  It also models a collaborative spirit:  When I take the time to offer my students feedback, I am suggesting that we are partners in learning, that we are in this together, and can help each other figure it out.

​For example, when two of my students recently submitted this "product" in response to a call to explain their understanding of area measurement after a class activity we had engaged in earlier in the day: https://voice.adobe.com/a/BBO3L/ I recognized the value of what they had created, while also identifying the gaps in mathematical understanding.
 
It was their first time ever using this app, and I thought they did a fantastic job of collaborating, especially considering that both students have special learning needs.

The task had been to define the concept of area. 

My feedback?  

What an engaging multi-media product you have created to share your current understanding of area! You've defined the concept of area reasonably well, using relevant words and symbols.  Next steps: Include the type of unit it is measured in (square units), and describe whether and how the area of different shapes can be found using the same or similar methods (formulas).

For another student who had written a short paragraph noting that area was simply the "inside of a shape", I offered this confirmation and provocation to stretch their thinking:  You are right, area is the inside of a shape.  How is it calculated?  What units are used?  Is there a formula that works for ALL shapes?  Why or why not?

Taking the time to provide specific feedback and appropriate challenge to move students forward in their thinking, wherever they are, is an example of equitable assessment.  Not every student will get identical feedback, but every student will get what they need to move ahead.  And, if the purpose of assessment is to improve student learning, then isn't this the whole point?

Gaining  Learner Trust

A student in my class recently told me I was the best mentor in the whole world!  We'd had some guest speakers in who were talking about mentorship, and after defining what it meant to have a mentor and to be a mentor, students were invited to share their own "mentor stories" if they wanted to.

This student has significant learning needs, and superficially presents as much "lower" than grade level.  The more I got to know this student, however, the more I wondered to what degree their learning needs and subsequent anxiety were interfering with their ability to truly show what they knew.

I suspected that the student knew more than they were currently able to show, and I treated the student with respect, dignity and love.  Assessment became a conversation we had, over many weeks and months, about what was "important" for the student to show me, and how I could best support that student in showing me.

Not only is this student showing a significant improvement in achieving many grade level expectations in various subject areas, but they are also smiling considerably more than they were in the fall.

The student's explanatory comments that accompanied their "Ms. Teschow for Mentor of the Year" story underscored the role that gaining their trust had played in earning this title in their eyes!

Communication & Collaboration: Diversity in Action

My students bring a rich diversity of culture, language, and personal schema into our classroom, and as a public educator, I feel compelled to honour this diversity and build on it -- not just within the classroom, but beyond it as well.

The Ministry of Education document referenced above notes that "Communication in a 21st century context refers not only to the ability to “communicate effectively, orally, in writing, and with a variety of digital tools” but also to “listening skills” (Fullan, 2013, p. 9)

The range of ability and experience in my classroom makes practising and developing these competencies a breeze!  We do a lot of talk and paraphrase in my room, since my students have such diverse experiences to share and connect to in-class learning activities.

Digital technology is our tool of choice when it comes to collaborating and sharing our learning with others.

We recently begun collaborating with a class in Perth, Australia, to learn more about one another's cultures and currency, and to develop our financial literacy.  Students who had never used a computer with any regularity until this schoolyear are commenting on one another's work, are creating Thinglinks, Animotos and other Media products that include input from students on the other side of the world, and are chastising their cross-global peers when an assigned deadline is not met!

Needed: More Time

Learning ourselves so we can model for our students, providing descriptive feedback rather than a mark on a page, and getting to know our students multiple identities as learners, as people, as citizens takes TIME, and it ofte seems as though there is never enough of it!

If I could change just one thing about public education, it would be the amount of time we have to prepare for and spend with each student.  (I would do this by drastically reducing class size, particularly in socio-economically challenging school communities, and by ditching the provincial report card in its current incarnation, but that's all fodder for another blog post, and one I may never get to write!!!)  Freeing up more time for teachers to read, research and collaborate with colleagues, and to spend directly with their students, supporting their learning, would -- in my opinion -- profoundly change (for the better!) the access that students have to robust assessment opportunities with their teachers.

If we don't make space for our students to explore the future with the guidance and supports they need to do so effectively, and offer them the descriptive feedback they need to progress along the way, we risk inadequately preparing them for that future.

Teaching as an act of social justice can be extremely rewarding, especially in concert with equitable assessment practice. But to do it effectively is incredibly time-consuming. Time for pedagogical self development would be an excellent first step to achieving better outcomes for our students!

Participating in a little professional learning with Crystal Lake through OTF... love the video she shared of the SAMR model -- explained by students!

Even more exciting is what she shared here afterwards... 

We had been planning this birthday party for a while, ever since seeing a live kangaroo from a local exotic animal shelter/educational/entertainment organization at an event downtown last summer, and this weekend, we finally hosted Simon and Alex's 12-year-old birthday party at a friend's house nearby.

As you can see by exploring the Thinglink below, it was a smashing success...

A colleague and I got our classes together today to watch and respond to a variety of media texts today in preparation for Day of Pink.  First, we asked students to share what they already knew about this particular day, and then we watched a video summarizing the Canadian story:

Now that her leg is healing nicely, Sneakers is out and about again for leash walks (and soon, apparently, off-leash walks, too!)  Today's adventures took us along the waterfront trail in Mimico, and -- undeterred by the cloudy skies above -- the dawg happily pranced about, even attempting to collect rather a large "stick" along the way...

Yes, yes, I know I just blogged about the benefit of more "pure math" and somewhat less "real life application", but this was just too good a problem to give up, so here goes...

Recently, Ms. Teschow was invited by the teacher federation to present a math workshop for teachers in London, Ontario.  Since Ms. Teschow lives in Toronto and teaches in Mississauga, she decided that the most efficient way to travel would be by train.

She called to inquire about train tickets to London.  As it turns out, the train that leaves Toronto Union Station for London makes a stop in Oakville, not too far from Mississauga, and on the way to London.

I recently rediscovered my love for Pattern Blocks.

While preparing to explore fractions with my Grade 6 students, some colleagues and I co-planned a lesson from the Pattern Block volume of the ETA Cuisinaire Supersource Series, an oldie but goodie when it comes to constructivism in math.

I had been introduced to pattern blocks and other manipulatives early in my teaching career, and found them helpful in teaching myself math concepts, never  mind introducing these concepts to students!