Parenting students in a world without grades<\/h1>\n

<\/a>Proficiency reporting is a set of legal requirements that all Vermont high schools must meet before 2020. In essence, we’ll report only on what a student knows<\/i> and can DO<\/i>, with no ultimate judgement about how well they can do it. A? B-? C+? Out the window.<\/p>\n

Here’s a primer on four of the biggest concepts around proficiency.<\/p>\n

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Anyone ever grade you on your shoe-tying skills? Would it have helped you learn to tie your shoes if they had?<\/p>\n

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3. Assessment needs to reflect the learning, not the teaching<\/h2>\n

Assessment (testing, quizzing, projects, or anything to which we would traditionally assign a grade) should have clear goalposts. It should describe exactly what a student can demonstrate as areas of mastery, and should not be based on the preferences of the teacher.<\/p>\n

Put differently, we should be asking kids what they know and can do, and should have a system of reporting to parents on exactly that. Our current system of education reports what percentage of questions a teacher can ask on a certain topic that your student can answer.<\/p>\n

And those are not the same thing.<\/p>\n

Say a teacher writes a 50-question test on The Cold War. Fifty years of history and four weeks of learning gets distilled to just 50 questions. And those teacher-created questions necessarily belie the educator’s unconscious biases, interests and emphases.<\/p>\n

What your student knows about The Cold War may be vast and deep, but if 3\/5 of the questions don\u2019t reflect your student’s expertise or interest, they could be looking at a D-. They could walk away feeling like a big ol\u2019 failure. Then you (and your students’ advisors or college admissions officers) might think they didn\u2019t learn anything about The Cold War, even though what they do know is vast, deep, and reflected in a non-test way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s find out what your student actually knows, not whether or not they know the things the teacher decided to test on today.<\/p>\n

This leads me to my final point about the awesomeness of proficiency-based reporting:<\/p>\n

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4. As often as possible, students should have opportunities to demonstrate their learning in their own way.<\/h2>\n

The goal is for kids to learn. Check.<\/p>\n

The goal is for kids to learn at their own pace. Check.<\/p>\n

The goal is for them to get multiple chances to show their learning until they get it right. Check.<\/p>\n

So then how the heck do we actually assess that learning?<\/p>\n

If we report on what a student can demonstrate mastery of, at first, this is going to be a little challenging for parents. We\u2019re not giving your student a 60% \/ D- anymore. If we assess your student and they only know 60% of a core concept, we’re going to make a plan for them to keep at it.<\/p>\n

But how are they going to show mastery?<\/p>\n

As often as possible, students will be allowed to choose how they want to show their learning<\/i>.<\/p>\n

It will, of course, be a sliding scale of responsibility for younger students, but as they get older students will be encouraged to show what they have learned in a way that makes sense to them.<\/p>\n

Some kids may show their learning in a simple report, while others may choose to make a graphic novel, an animated short film, an interpretive dance, whatever.<\/p>\n

That demonstration of learning will be assessed using a series of proficiency standards and rubrics that the students have had the whole time, which means the target has been clear from the outset. No hidden agendas.<\/p>\n

Instead, here\u2019s a clear list of exactly what you need to learn on this topic, and what you need to demonstrate. Then the teacher and student will sit together and decide how that interpretive dance or graphic novel demonstrated their mastery of that target skill, and that mastery will be reported to parents.<\/p>\n