Vignette 9: Ryan's Impending Doom

Ryan was a struggling Language Arts student and was nervous about how successful he would be in English 10.  His semester didn't start out well but with the help of his teacher, Ms. Wong, his achievement began to improve. School policy requires Ms. Wong to use all grades in determining Ryan's final mark.  Ryan ended up with a 45% finish going into his diploma exam even though he had brought his grades from 30-40% up to 50-60% in the third term.  Ryan feels defeated, and goes into his diploma exam feeling like he may not pass the course.


Think and Discuss
Ryan's final grade does not reflect his improvement or his achievement.  It is an average of how well he did throughout the year.  The challenges he faced at the beginning of the year are still haunting him even though he has made significant improvements.  Ryan's confidence and self-perception are low.  He knows he has made great gains throughout the year but he is still looking at a failing mark going into the diploma exam.  It would be pretty tough to look past this as a student.  I think it is important to use the most current and relevant data when assessing student achievement.  We need to grade in the "now" and plan for the future not dwell in the past.  Students are always evolving as their thinking and learning changes.  I think looking at a whole year's worth of marks is unfair and does not prove to be a true testament of a student's current skills.


Reflection

I think it is difficult to assess all subjects the same way.  Language Arts is a subject that continually builds skills throughout the school year (i.e. writing) whereas, Math or Science are more unit based.  I could be completely wrong in saying this but I think it is important to grade accordingly.  A unit might be graded as per unit whereas, LA marks might be adjusted throughout the year to what is a more relevant or current assessment of learning.  I hope to be able to use my professional judgement when grading so the marks I assign are a true reflection of the current learning my students' are achieving.