Shifting End-of-Term Conferences

So... we still don't have standards-based grading at the middle school level. We were well into our second year as a committee when the pandemic shut everything down. We haven't yet started up again, and I am so ready to be there instead of still hearing about extra credit and late penalties and..... Anyway...

I had also been going without grades until the end of the term for five years and then had to stop my own 1:1 grading conferences in March of 2020 - due to the pandemic and how we were teaching from April until June. And... last year I decided it would be too hard on me (and the students) to try going without grades. Was it about accountability? Honestly? Yes. The good news? We're BACK!

This is my sixth year of going without grades in our seventh grade ELA class (albeit not consecutive years - I forgive myself - and I blame the pandemic). I've learned to be proactive with parents. I've learned to share a TON with parents - a "welcome to 7th grade ELA" letter, the grading letter (after I have the discussion with students), updates on what's going on in class each month, helpful links to find books or publish writing, and pictures of the students plopped into a WeVideo. I've TRIED to learn to not get headaches wondering what the parents will think of the grading system (even if only ONE parent ever balked about it - but he was downright mean), and I've found being proactive really helps alleviate the stress. This year, as I was taking our writing time in class to write affirmations to myself ("I am fair. I am kind. I am caring. I am doing all I can do with what I have..."), I decided I needed to send one more reminder home that one grade (the final one) will be appearing in the online gradebook at the end of the quarter. So, during our next writing time, I wrote (and later sent) this:

Student grades will be posted and shared soon. My hope is that my 1:1 conversation with your child is comprehensive and helps the student become reflective. We'll be emphasizing the skills I believe they'll need in order to succeed and improve in reading and writing. You and your child will be receiving an email with the notes we discussed attached, and this should explain how we got to the grade that will be put in PowerSchool either the day we have the discussion or the very next day. If you need more information, please check with your child first, then reach out to me. These 1:1 conversations (that take time - we've got them scheduled the next two weeks) with seventh graders are one of my favorite things about going without grades during the term. Please ask them how it went once you get the report!

I then changed the form I had used in the past. I've used forms before where students and I fill them out in pen or pencil - both of us filling parts of them out ahead of time. Then I would copy them and send a copy home, never knowing if it even got home. This term, I typed in student responses and my observations on the spot - on a form that only included what we accomplished this quarter. We looked it over, I downloaded it as a PDF, then sent a copy to parents that day. The final grade was posted onto the grading platform (we use PowerSchool) later that day. The reason for this - What if parents are like many students, and look at the grade but not the feedback? In this way, I'm postponing the grade a few more hours, to give them a chance to read through the notes with their child.

I save our 1:1 conferences for our independent reading time. In those twenty minutes, I can get in solid chats with three students. I like to share snippets, and I haven't blogged in a long time, so here I go. 

All names are changed.

------------------------------

Ada had a difficult time deciding on what her grade should be. In my eyes, and according to our grading guidelines (that are subject to change each year), she should have a solid A. She kept telling me she "can't make decisions." The more she talked, the more I realized she thought I would do what "every adult" does to her - make her feel like she made the wrong decision. We checked off the list, put the A on the document, and then it was time for her to come up with a goal. Ah, but this, too, demanded a decision be made on her part. At this point, we'd already gone past the time students had to read independently, so I felt I should walk away from her and help other students. I'd let her try this on her own. When I got back, she asked, "Can I type it in?" YES! Her goal was worth the wait. She wants to be able to accept feedback from me without getting upset about it. Tough to measure, but it's a goal that speaks to her feelings of judgment from adults.

Alan struggles in ELA, yet he's put forth the effort of looking at tips I provide and getting better at his comprehension checks (our articles of the week), and he even revised his writing two times. According to the checklist, he should not be getting a B or an A. We went back to his articles of the week, and noticed the improvement. He was proud of his grade, and he created a goal of asking for help understanding what what the questions are actually asking.

Kim is so, so quiet during class. She will, however, ask me for help when she needs it during independent work. I commended her for that, saying, "There are some students here who are still 'on mute.' I don't know why they don't ask me for help - they must be scared of me or something. Nice job advocating for yourself when you need it."     ---     She replied, with her hand patting my knee, "Mrs. Kirr, you're like the least scariest person in this school." I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but I'll take it.

One other bit of discussion I feel I need to document... During parent/teacher conferences, one parent said that when he got the letter explaining about the grades for this year, he was very impressed. He wanted to write back, but he said his written English is worse than his spoken English, and knew he wanted to wait until he could tell me in person how much he likes this philosophy. He also thanked me for sharing so many books about, and written by, characters and authors that are "not what Americans deem the 'norm,'" but that belongs in an entirely different post.

Lisa avoids school. Last year was really rough on her, and this year she's been in school more, but when she's not here, she misses classwork and doesn't take the time at home to catch up on it. She chose the last day of our 1:1 conferences to meet to talk about the grade, and I made sure to not let her know she was going to go the next day... I wanted her in class! She did come to school, we chatted about the evidence, and she thought she should get a B. I asked her to go through the grading guidelines to show me what she accomplished, and she noted then that her comprehension skills were in the 60% range. So... she adjusted her grade to a C. This was up from last year when she received all Ds and Fs in ELA. I told her that if we only relied on the computer, she would be receiving a D. This encouraged her to continue reading the entire time in class and putting forth the effort in writing, as well. I reiterated what we'd said at parent conferences - that when she's in classes, she does better.

Email comments from parents this time around:

• We could see much thought had been put into the evidence document. Thank you for the meaningful recap. 
• We really like your format.
• Thank you for the detailed summary of ____'s First Quarter grade.  ____ and I spoke about his grade last night and he seems satisfied...
• We really appreciate the feedback.
• Thank you for your time and effort...
• I appreciate the feedback and the chance to see ____ comment on his strengths and weaknesses.
• This is great feedback and I’m glad to know ____ is doing well in class for the most part. We will encourage him to read more independently so he can reach his goal...

Some teachers would disagree with the grades we came up with. Oh, well. I feel that the reflection process is worth it, or I wouldn't put in the work doing this. I do have one student who told me it would be less stressful to her if she had "typical" grades. She, however, takes three times longer taking short assessments during class (the articles of the week and the book club book check ins), because she strives for 100%. I truly think she may have ulcers early in life due to the pressure she puts on herself. We should not be adding more stressors to children's lives - Some student don't do so great in certain classes, and some feel they need to get 100% or they're failures. Oh, how I wish we'd get going with the standards-based grading discussions once again!!

Other posts of mine regarding 1:1 conferences with students

Even more resources: 
     Frequently Asked Questions for Parents on our classroom Weebly
     Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents (and teachers) to peruse
     My own reflections on this journey (since May, 2012)

Shifting Grades Once Again

I was so very excited... I hadn't felt this way in over a year... We were ten days into the school year, and I was finally going to tell my students about our grading (or lack thereof). After a year of going back to grades, this felt so refreshing! 

First we talked about who liked grades and why, who didn't like grades and why, the unfairness of averages, late work, how the words "extra credit" make me want to puke, and then we talked about the goal of school (to learn! to improve!). I showed a video of how they can see their progress in the online grade book (how they can view the narrative or video feedback). And I left it with, "If you think this is not for you, and you go home and share with your parents, you can always let me know you'd like the computer to figure your grades for you, no problem."

I've already had to repeat a few things... No, your grade won't go down because you didn't turn it in yet - just turn it in, so I can provide feedback. No, the grade book won't have a grade until we chat and decide on one the last week of the quarter. This isn't worth ANY points - we're working on this, this, and this...

And I LOVE it. The language is shifting already. Students are still doing the work, because our lessons are useful and will help them learn and improve.

Here is some feedback from my seventh graders (I didn't get any negative ones yet!):

My teaching heart is full once again. #ShiftThis!

Eight Tips for Providing Feedback

After providing video feedback on myriad pieces of writing from my seventh graders, I was inspired to write this post. I'd read Matthew Johnson's post titled, "What Story Does Your Feedback Tell?" a few days ago, and thought now would be the perfect time to share some feedback tips I've learned. Most of these tips, if not all, can be applied to more than writing pieces. Consider using these for artwork, posters, presentations, and anything you'd like students to try improve the next time.

As an ELA teacher who has also authored two published books, I take providing feedback on student writing very seriously. I never liked writing until I started this blog and was able to write about whatever I wished. I remember all the red ink on my own papers, and I remember the lack of ink, as well, when a teacher simply put a letter grade at the top with a couple of words. ( From "Great job!" to "More thought needed.")

I remember when rubrics started becoming popular, and we had a heck of a time trying to make the words in each category become more and more objective. We even had some professional development time grading sample essays to help us become more objective. I remember on these days we'd give each sample a grade, write about one thing the student did well, and write one piece of feedback to help the student improve. Looking at other educators' ideas of feedback was very informative, and I found these days useful, even if they were exhausting.

I've since read a few books that have helped me to provide better and better feedback, even if I still have room to grow:

• The Feedback Fix: Dump the Past, Embrace the Future, and Lead the Way to Change by Joe Hirsch
• Feedback that Moves Writers Forward: How to Escape Correcting Mode to Transform Student Writing by Patricia M. McGee
• Creating a Culture of Feedback: Use Grading to Motivate Students to Move Forward by William M. Ferriter and Paul J. Cancellieri
• Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning by Peter H. Johnston

Since I am the curator of the Feedback in Lieu of Grades LiveBinder, I've also soaked up the articles and blog posts on this tab titled "How to Give Feedback."  Today we use all kinds of colored ink, yet as soon as we attach a grade to the piece, all our work on the feedback is often ignored. This, too, has come into play in how feedback is received by students, so the most important feedback is provided BEFORE students turn in the work to us. Conferring one-on-one is my favorite way to do this.

When students turn in completed work, I use the following tips...

1. Allow for multiple revisions. No, I cannot accept revisions the day before grades are due. I can, however, accept revisions one after another until I create a cut-off date. I've learned to provide time in class for students to revise, and I've learned to give them a time frame, as well. When they used to turn in a revised piece that was a month old only because they were worried about their grade, I would become so frustrated. I now say (in my recorded feedback), "Revise by (insert date here), or your revisions will be too far removed from when you wrote your original."
2. Record your feedback when you can. I used to use the free version of Screen-Cast-O-Matic. This year I splurged and paid for Loom. (The decision is explained in this post.) Video or screencasted feedback helps my students feel as if I'm sitting right next to them. They can hear the inflection in my voice, hear my smiles and laughter and thinking, and hear when I'm confused. With using a picture-in-picture, they can see me, as well, and knowing this actually helps me keep the feedback more positive. I focus more on next steps, rather than what went wrong.
3. Keep your feedback short and sweet. If using video feedback, definitely keep it under five minutes per child or piece of writing. If the writing is much longer, either read it ahead of time or only read the portion you can read on screen.
4. If all students have longer pieces of writing, ask them ahead of time to highlight the section they'd like for you to look at. This way, you're either looking at their best work or the work they would like help with. 
5. First, share how proud you are of what they've done. Share the positives - where you can hear their voice come through, where they've used a technique practiced in class, the strong start they had (yes - even if you told the class exactly how to begin), a literary element they implemented... anything you see that shows a skill they've used.
6. Share ONE thing students COULD improve upon, if they so desire. (See below for phrases that promote ownership.) This may be a grammar skill that they can work on throughout the piece. This may be giving more background information so readers can understand the evidence they used. This may be the introduction or the conclusion. It will be tempting to ask them to revise MANY aspects of their writing, but in my experience, they'll only edit one item anyway. Since you're providing opportunities for students to revise their writing, you and the student can tackle one issue at a time. The research I've read shows that students learn each skill better in this fashion.
7. Have a system for letting students know you provided feedback and for students to let YOU know they've revised and are ready for more feedback.
8. If you can, do NOT put the grade on the writing until all feedback and revisions have been completed. For my own notes, I jot down where I believe students are on the rubric(s) I've shared with them, but I try my hardest to not tell them until they decide to stop revising. (Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam's research titled "Inside the Black Box" persuaded me to update this practice, and my own observations in 2016 settled it once and for all for me.)

Ever since I started writing what I've wanted to write (instead of "back in the day" when teachers chose what I wrote), I've become more defensive about my writing. Much (real) writing is personal. Writers can get offended if someone tells them something looks "wrong" or could be said "in a different way." Since becoming a writer of my own blog, I've learned that I don't have to conform to anyone else's way of writing. It's MINE. If I had a teacher now who told me how to "fix" my writing, I may simply quit. I don't want to be the reason my students stop writing. I want to be the one to help them put strategies in place to improve.Therefore, I've learned how to approach what they could improve upon with certain phrases. For example, if a student's grammar is horrendous, I may say, "As a reader, I get distracted with your choice to not use our rules of grammar here, and it makes me either not understand what you're saying, or not want to continue reading. If you decided to capitalize names and spell words correctly, your message would come through clearer to your readers."

Phrases I use often that provide choice and ownership of their writing:

• "What would happen if you..." (ex: ...added more evidence here...)
• "You may want to think about..." (ex: ...moving this piece over here...)
• "You might want to consider..." (ex: ...getting rid of this sentence because it distracts or refutes...)
• "Your readers might appreciate..." (ex: ...if you elaborated more here...)

Sometimes, after all this, I am exhausted. I hit "stop recording" on a video with one particular tough piece of writing, and my smile falls. I sigh. I've figured out that my students respond to more positive growth statements, so I keep them up for the video, and then I copy the link to the video, paste it into the online grade book for them to watch, and move on to the next child. I don't linger on the myriad issues we need to address until it's time to teach in front of them once again. In essence, my "red pen" isn't flying all over the page - my voice reflects that of hope and encouragement.

Conference Musings - Shift in Focus in Year Five

I work in a school system that requires grades at the end of each term. Although I do not have points or marks during the term, I am required to come up with one often-arbitrary letter that is supposed to represent student achievement in our ELA (English Language Arts - reading, writing, speaking) class before report cards are issued. This year, the elementary schools in our district are in their second year of standards-based grading, and I'm hopeful we'll have it at the middle school level by the time I retire. Until then, I believe the way I'm trying to help my students learn without the reward, threat, stress, or constant checking of their grades is the route I need to take.

Since I piloted "Feedback in Lieu of Grades" in 2015-2016 with one class and then used it each following year, my favorite part of the year is conferring with students each quarter. (Sadly, it's also the time of the year when I get a migraine due to the stress of "getting it right" and "not making parents mad or students cry." This quarter, I blamed the migraine on the barometric pressure, but my friend and hubby may be right, as they saw the correlation before I did.) Conferring is my favorite part, as I can look through the evidence with each student individually, and they can voice their opinions on what they believe they should get on the report card based on that evidence. They reflect on the goal they made last quarter, and they either create a new goal for the next quarter, or keep or tweak the one they had. I am able to write about their achievements and habits, along with their contributions, as we sit alongside each other. I love to see the smiles on their faces when they read what I've written, even if the grade they are getting isn't that often-sought-after "A."

This quarter, one of my students lost a parent. Another has a parent in hospice. Others are dealing with hurt I can't comprehend. My focus as we started conferring this past week was compassion and celebration. I've been the calmest I've been during these conversations. I, myself, have carried less angst into these conversations, as I'm truly NOT focused on the grades. I'm practicing what I preach, focusing on what they've learned, and the habits or mindsets that have gotten them to where they are at this point in the school year.

Maybe it's because my own mindset is better this year. Or maybe it's because parents haven't complained about how they have to take more time if they want to know how their child is doing in our class (they have to go into each assignment and click "view" to see the comprehensive narrative feedback). Or maybe it's because I had one parent tell me that she actually gets MORE information from our class than from the others. No matter the reason, I'm glad my focus has shifted again. I'm glad I have enough confidence in the system I've created in my tiny corner of the school to be able to simply reflect on how the quarter has gone with each student. In this fashion, we can make a plan for next quarter and start working towards it.

Made with Pixabay + Keynote

Last quarter, due to this type of grading being a bit too stressful for the grade-driven seventh graders, I switched two students over to more "typical" grading. This quarter, at least one other student is going that route. The other students aren't even aware of this, as we're still doing the same activities, and we're still speaking the same language of doing this work in order to learn... not in order to get a good grade.
I still don't have it all figured out. I still have four days of conferences this week with students and one or more may cry. I may still get an angry email from a parent. At this point, however, I am glad the students and I have the relationship we have in order to reflect honestly on how the second quarter of the year has gone and to make plans as to where we go from here.

Want more stories? Check out the reflections I've shared on other times I've conferred with students. Looking to have conversations like this with your students? --> Pages three & four of this document show what we discussed at our conference this past quarter (third and fourth quarters will be added when I need them).

More resources: 
     Frequently Asked Questions for Parents on our classroom Weebly
     Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents (and teachers) to peruse
     My own reflections on this journey

Screencasting Feedback

I'd written about using Explain Everything to provide feedback back in 2016. I then started using Screencast-O-Matic for most of my feedback, as we are now a 1:1 Chromebook school. I had in my notes this year to try Loom, a Chrome extension. (Thank you to whomever suggested it!) I'm a large proponent of FREE tools, so I'm going to share today how Loom compares to Screencast-O-Matic.

First, here's what Loom video feedback looks like. The only difference in looks is that it's the entire tab, and my photo/video is in the corner.

And here's how I add the link to the document students are working on - it's just like how I added the Screencast-O-Matic YouTube links:

Screencast-O-Matic

• free (up to 15 min)
• easy to find on my computer
• can be used on both home and school MacBooks
• can edit the name of the video
• captures student writing and my mouse or highlights as I read it aloud and provide feedback
• can share the video with a single link
• can embed the video if you'd like
• students can respond

Not the best: 

• need to set the screen size
• uploading to YouTube takes almost the same amount of time as recording the video
• when I upload to YouTube, I need to make sure it says "unlisted," so only those with the link can view it (me, student, parent)
• I need to go to and look up on YouTube who's viewed their feedback

Better than Loom:

• can choose exactly what to screencast - can size it to where you want it
• can see the timer

Loom

• free trial of Pro, and there's also a free version (up to ?? min)
• easy to find as a Chrome extension
• can be used on both home and school MacBooks
• can edit the name of the video
• captures student writing and my mouse or highlights as I read it aloud and provide feedback
• my picture is in the bottom left - I hear students take feedback more seriously when they can see you
• captures student writing and my mouse or highlights as I read it aloud and provide feedback
• can share the video with a single link
• can embed the video if you'd like
• students can respond (right in the video? I'm not sure yet)

Not the best: 

• no embedded timer - I need to look at the clock or set a stopwatch

Better than Screencast-O-Matic:

• no upload time - it's instantly ready
• can simply hit "record current tab" instead of setting the screen size
• I can be alerted when someone views it - if I choose to not be alerted by email, I can easily see in the extension who's viewed their video
• fun reminders to smile pop up for a second when you open it (see examples here):

 

It wasn't until I'd completed my PRO trial, that I saw the limitations of the free version of Loom... Here are the full pricing details: www.loom.com/pricing

I currently have just under 70 students, so we need access to more than the last 25 videos.

The debate in my head was a quick one. I'm going for it. The time I save uploading the videos is worth the $96 in my opinion. Others will think differently, especially if they don't give video feedback on students' writing. Since my students value the video feedback (only four this year said they'd prefer the comments only on their documents), I'm going to stick with this for the long run. I think the personal touch and the instant uploading time is worth it.

Conference Musings Q2

Once again, it's my busiest time of the year. One-on-one conferences with my 7th graders to decide what tiny little letter represents all of our work and learning from the quarter. (Past reflections on conferring with students are here.)

I've conducted 61 one-on-one "grade" conferences with students the last two weeks. I need to meet because even though I've gone all quarter without points or scores averaged together, I still need to put a final letter grade in the online gradebook. Some conferences go faster than five minutes, and some go slower, and they all leave a paper trail for students to take home and explain to parents. This quarter, we used pages 6 & 7 of this document. These were the second grade conferences we've had this year, so they were a teeny bit faster than first quarter. It's still quite the learning curve for some! 

Here are some snippets (all names are changed)...

Alan -

     I know he's got an "A." There's no doubt. He had trouble with his writing, but followed the feedback and improved it dramatically in his first revision. He asked me if he could average the numbers for the scores he had. Sure - even though this is one thing I think is wrong with typical grades. He came up with a 94.5%. "Yeah, I'll take that," he said.
     Me - Hey, [Alan], since you like to average the numbers, would you like to just simply go with a regular grade next time?
     Alan - Hmmm... Will I get the same feedback?
     Me - Nope. It's either grades OR feedback, as it's too much for me to do both, and the research says it doesn't help, anyway.
     Alan - Then I'd rather stick with the way we've been doing it. I think the feedback helps me learn.
     Me - (with a tear in my eye, I swear) Thanks for making it all worth it. It sure is a heck of a lot more work, but when I hear it's helping you learn, it's all worth it.

Paul -

     Similar to the conversation with Alan, except Paul actually said he "crunched the numbers." When I asked him if he'd like to go to normal grading, he thought about it and finally said, "No. Let's wait one more quarter. If it doesn't work out in my favor, we can switch over fourth quarter." (Seriously. I can't make this stuff up. Oh - and this is the kid that reminds me of my one and only nephew.)

Ally -

     Oh, how Ally was nervous. Her legs were shaking up and down, her face was blotchy red.
     Me - [Ally], what do you think when you see all this evidence? What does it tell you?
     Ally - (quietly) I don't know... I don't know.
     Me. - Let me change the question. How does this make you feel?
     Ally - (straightening up) Proud.

Upton -

     This quarter, he's been blowing off directions, asking me every day to repeat what I'd already said (and what was on the board), going on YouTube so often that I had to block it for our class, and has been talking a ton while I'm sharing how we're going to work each day. I haven't talked with him about it, as he's not the loudest one in the class. He's also a huge reader, so I don't worry about him figuring out the directions or following through when he gets down to work.
     These were the comments he chose for his report card:

He knows. 

He knows. 

This, in itself, helps me to realize, once again, how important it is to take time to reflect.

Mike -

     He, too, has been ignoring my directions, distracted as heck at ANYthing happening in the room or outside the room. Head turning this way and that, busting out laughing at things I cannot see or hear. He's not distracting the class - only himself.
     For our "analysis of evidence" writing, he wrote three sentences. I marked it as "incomplete" and let him know I was available before and after school, and during lunch. The day before we were to meet about his final grade, he "wrote a new one." When we sat down to chat, I asked him where his paper was with the page numbers for the evidence he'd found for his writing. He mumbled that he didn't do it. When I asked who he went to for peer editing, he said he did it on his own. When I asked why there was a blog post about something totally unrelated to ELA, and yet he didn't yet post his reflections on our book clubs, he said he didn't get to it. We looked at his evidence. He did not try to inflate it. He was honest and reflective. We agreed on his grade. Then he set a goal to "use class time more wisely."
     Yes. Yes. Yes.
     I will help him with this goal as we move forward.

Conference Musings

Seventh graders - what a mix of minds!

I've conducted thirteen one-on-one "grade" conferences with students this week. I need to meet because even though I've gone all quarter without points or scores averaged together, I still need to put a final letter grade in the online gradebook. The end of the term is next week Friday, so I've reserved five days to have 5 min. conferences with students. Some go faster, and some go slower, and they leave a paper trail for students to take home and explain to parents. The first conferences about grades are always tougher than the rest of the year. Students have never done this before, and it's quite the learning curve for some! We use this document (the first two pages) to discuss evidence so far.

Here are some snippets (all names are changed)...

Evelyn - 
     I see, on our documenting sheet, that she has earned an A. It's solid. She's gotten proficient or mastery on her writing skills, and she's got 90% or higher on her reading comprehension checks. I ask, "What do you think your grade should be?"
     Her response - again and again - "I don't know."

Cassie - 
     She knows she should get an A. I ask, "What is your evidence?" She can't find it. We need to look through everything and write it off to the side, so she can see what I see. We end up deciding a B- is more representative of her learning right now. I look at last year's grades when I have time. Uh oh. I might be hearing from parents. She had all As last year...

Jimmy -
     He starts by saying, "I've never done this before, so I'm going to do my best, but I might make mistakes. So...." and he goes on and on about his skills, how he's doing, where he could improve... He's got three goals for next quarter and wants to narrow it down to one that will have the most impact... I don't have to say a thing.

Norman -
     Has been in trouble this year. Only once from me. I "let him get away" with things that do not impede other students' learning. I pick my battles, and I think we have an "okay" relationship. He seemed scared, yet put on his tough face. He seemed surprised to know I agreed with his assessment of himself and did not bring behavior into the mix. Behavior doesn't belong in a grade. If it did, however, he'd have an "A" for looking me in the eyes the entire time we talked.

We have different seating options in our room. I make sure to sit on a chair that is the same height as the student's chair. I want them to know this should not be scary. It's just a conversation about how they're doing right now, and where they can improve. I LOVE these conversations. Some are tougher than others, but I feel like I learn so much about the students, and I feel that we build more of a bond of trust with each other. If (when?) we do go to standards-based grading, I'd love to keep these conversations going at the end of each term.

My "gradeless" resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

A Tidbit of Success

In the first quarter of the school year, many teachers don't have a lot of grades. When you're "going gradeless," or not putting points or marks to be averaged in the grade book as I am, it's even fewer. Going into our sixth week, we currently have six assignments that have narrative feedback attached.

The "Article of the Week" actually already has three pieces of feedback embedded in the one assignment. I change the date on that one and move it up to the top when we have a new one to add.

I've got 7th graders, and first quarter for them is all rainbows and unicorns when they're not getting points or marks averaged.  In fact, I saw this on a locker the other day and thought, "Yup. That's where we are right now."

Time will come soon enough when I sit 1:1 with each student to look at their evidence and put it all into one little letter. So far, however, there has been no mention of grades. No extra credit, no late penalties... we've just been working at learning how to be better readers, writers, and grammarians.

Here's the tidbit I need to share that I heard from a student when we they went into the feedback they had for their article of the week...

"It worked! The feedback you gave worked, and I did better this time!"

THIS is why I put myself through the extra work of adding "next steps" to each student's personalized feedback.

That's really all I wanted to share today. Thanks to Jimmy Casas's latest post about blogging.  "Write like you talk. Start writing. Write for you." Tag - you're it! Time for YOU to share another story!

My "gradeless" resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

The "G" Word - GRADES

For the life of me, I can't remember how I introduced going without grades at the start of last year. I guess I skipped writing about it, but two years ago I wrote about the day I introduced this idea to my seventh graders HERE. This year, the "discussion" (really - just me going on and on and on about how passionate I am about this subject) lasted 15-20 min. at the end of each period Friday.

First, when students walked in, the question of the day was regarding grades. "Who cares more about your grades?" Answers were - my parents, both / equally, or me.

Courtesy of @MrsSalsinger

Next, they answered how they were feeling (based on "energy" and "pleasantness") on our mock mood meter (thanks to Marc Brackett at BLC18 - more to come on this in a future post), and then we read independently. After we read, wrote about our books with a prompt, and quickly reviewed genres, it was time to talk about the G word... Grades.

I began this discussion this year by asking students to not say a word... I was going to give them ONE word, and I wanted them to write the thoughts that came to mind on a sticky note. I asked them for silence because I wanted 25 different ideas, not all one idea because someone said something aloud. They were fabulous, waiting for the word. I said, "Grades," and they all got to work. Some wrote just one word, some wrote phrases, and some wrote sentences. When pencils were down, I asked students to come to the board and categorize their sticky note as either positive, negative, or both/neutral. (Want to see what the students wrote? I share the sticky notes in a later blog post here.)

Courtesy of @MrsSalsinger

I then asked if they would've written different things on their sticky, thus moving them, if I added words to the one word... such as "Grades - in ELA," or "Grades - in P.E.," etc. Many hands went up each time I said something different. In one class, almost all hands went up when I said, "Report card grades." I continued the discussion by explaining how grades are very complex, and can be very personal. We all have stories about a grade or points, or a particular teacher. Our parents and their parents all have stories they remember - some still bring up angst, and some are positive. Either way, grading can feel very personal, and I don't want it to be. I want grades to reflect LEARNING. I want grades to reflect ACHIEVEMENT. Not behavior. And not an average.

We went on to talk about averages. How, when one week you may receive 0/5 on your article of the week, but you learn from our reflection of it, and the next week you may receive 2/5. That's a 40% increase, and yet the grade is averaged out to be 20% overall. I had many different numbers on the board, and students saw how, if they were averaged, they wouldn't be able to overcome their first attempt quickly. However, if we did not average them, and instead just worked off of feedback and "next steps," they could show me how they'd learned. What if their last four assessments showed 5/5? What does that mean?

Then came the explanation of our 1:1 conferences at the end of each term. We'll be looking at all the evidence, and talking about what it means. We'll be looking at growth, revisions, and how students took feedback and did something with it - in order to learn, not for a better grade.

During these 15-20 minutes in each class, I did most of the talking, that's for sure. I had eye contact with all students, however - most seemed to be paying attention, and trying to soak it in. I asked for questions, and they were few, at best. I asked for thumbs up, middle, or down, and got quizzical faces and unsure thumbs. So... I passed out the newest parent explanation and asked them to look through it and share their thoughts or findings. One observation was, "This side (the back page right side) has more words on it than the other side."  Yes! That led me to explain that our way of grading this year is more work - on me, on them, and on their parents.

This was the time to ask them to talk with their parents about the grading procedure, as they are able to opt out if they'd like. I may have said, at the end, that, "After talking with your parents, you or they decide you want to opt out, that's fine. You can go back to having the computer average your grades, just like it has for years." It sounded a bit snarky, and I could feel it in my bones, as well. I don't drink coffee, and yet I was BUZZING with passion about how I felt we need to do this in order to portray a more accurate grade to reflect their learning. Phew! This was a LOT. I still need to refine how I present this to students - This may have been overload for many of them. Should I spread it out over a few days?

I had one more thing to try (new to me, but I'll be doing it again)... On the door, I quickly put up a green, yellow, and pink sticky note. (I've seen this same idea with green, yellow, and red hands on the door, but I didn't think of it ahead of time, and stickies work just as well!) On their way out the door, I asked them to high five the one that best fits how they're feeling about the idea...

• Green = Good for now. I may have some questions later.
• Yellow = Okay - I have a question or concern.
• Pink = What are you doing to me, Mrs. Kirr??!!

And how am I feeling after this fabulous Friday with this new group of 7th graders? Ahhhh... I am pumped up once again believing that I'm doing the right thing for me and my students. I am still worried about parent night (this Wednesday), but having this current discussion fresh in my mind, I can let parents know that I understand grading can feel very personal - to all of us. My principal said he'd stay late during parent night so I could tell parents I will stay late to answer their questions and concerns in person. My hope is that they feel comfortable enough to ask me any and all questions now and throughout the quarter, so they come closer to understanding the reasons WHY.

Want to know what those sticky notes said? Visit this post...

My "gradeless" resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

Grading Thoughts Update Half-Way Through Summer

Summer is half-way gone already?

My brain rested yesterday - pretty completely. I went into reading mode again - a sports book, no less - and I'm LIKING it!

I think since my brain rested, I had a sudden burst of inspiration for my issues with not grading. I created a T-chart of all the things that are different - from the way I used to grade - when I do not put points/marks on grades.

This led to me looking at last year's parent letter - and revamping it. It now has an invite to meet one-on-one and a teeny opt-out option included - along with the T-chart above. My hope is to alleviate parent anger the first time they see a grade at the end of a quarter. I hope, if they're concerned, they choose to make an appointment with me to chat further, or simply opt out.

I'm back on the tracks, peeps.
I'm back in the groove.
I'm back to remembering just WHY I wanted to go sans marks/points through the quarter. What really pushed me back is the video I created for parents. It really says it all. It's based on research and years of teaching. It just makes sense.

It's housed on our classroom website HERE.

So. That's where my brain is today, in the midst of summer. A month after I shared my frustrations the day after school let out this year. (I LOVED the conversations in the comments!)

Check out the NEW (so far) letter for 2018 - I'd love feedback once again - let's keep the conversation going!

My "gradeless" resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

Not Grading - Up Against So Much

I felt the pressure - big time - this past school year.
It was much tougher to go without grades this year than in the previous two.
One upset parent was the start of the pressure in October.
Migraines made the pressure worse.
I run into so many walls.
I feel up against so very much.




  - Students prioritize other classes first.
  - We still have to condense all they've learned into one arbitrary letter at the end of each quarter.
  - No matter how much I communicate home to parents, it never seems to be enough.
  - I do not know the percentage of parents who look at the feedback I provide.
  - I do not know the percentage of students who look at the feedback.
  - I do not know if students will remember these grading lessons learned.
  - I do not know if students challenged other teachers' grading practices this year.
  - I do not know if students will challenge future teachers regarding grading practices.
  - The old ways of grading are so ingrained in our students and parents.
  - In my opinion, standards-based grading can't come soon enough to my district.
  - I have written reflections and how to go without grades on my blog, but it will never be perfect.

I'm stressed out about trying this for the fourth year in a row.

So I'll look at what I've learned - again and again...

I DO know...
  - many students stop working in May, no matter the grading practices.
  - some students wait until the last minute to revise (just like when I was using points).
  - some students often see themselves as "A" or "C" students, no matter the proof.
  - video feedback on student writing is powerful - IF students watch it.
  - there have been no requests for extra credit the past few years.
  - some students (and parents) don't understand how arbitrary grading can be.
  - some parents appreciate the feedback instead of the averaging of points.
  - some parents care more about the final grade than the students.
  - I (most likely) keep parents in the loop more than any other teacher on my team.
  - students who want to do well will put forth the effort.
  - the more relevant our assignments, the more buy-in from students.
  - 1:1 conferences are non-negotiable. The more, the better.
  - it did sink in for some students that "It's not about the grade; it's about the learning."

I'm grateful for supportive administration.
I'm grateful for a supportive co-teacher.
I'm grateful for students who say not grading made a difference for them.
I'm grateful for the lessons students teach ME about grades and feedback.
I'm grateful for the 1:1 conferences we had each quarter.

What will I change and what will I keep next school year based on how this past year went?

I am considering going back to points next year,

IF I DID go back to points...
  - There will not be 100 point scales on anything.
  - Students can continue to revise writing.
  - Comprehension checks can be deleted/excused if/when students show progress.
  - Heck - ANYTHING can be deleted/excused if/when students show progress.
  - I will attempt as many standards-based moves as possible.
     This means homework, effort, compliance, neatness and behavior will not be included. Ever. It will probably always make me cringe just thinking about including those!
  - I will continue to have 1:1 conferences - about reading, writing, progress, and goals.
  - I will continue to do my best to make the curriculum relevant.
  - I will continue to share with parents what's wrong with grades along with keeping them updated on our lessons in class.
  - I will continue to be an evangelist of using quality feedback and goal-setting over points/marks.

I am considering an "opt-in" option (to no points), although it may mean different work for me - but less stress. Perhaps I could host an extra parent night to explain the reasons why and to share how it will look with just those parents who are interested. The plan would be that this would help parents and students make the most of the narrative feedback in the online gradebook. I would love to make this meeting mandatory to all who opt in. This idea seems like too much, but maybe it's how I can make it work for certain students.

I will leave the decision open until September, because we never know how our next classes will go, how my outlook can change, and what I can learn from my PLN that will help me make this decision. As always, comments, suggestions, and links in the space provided below are so very valuable and much appreciated! I'm sure there will be more thoughts on this to come as they percolate through my head all summer - such things happen when educators are so passionate about something.

I've got to share this online binder once again... tinyurl.com/FeedbackBinder

July 15th Update - Grading Thoughts Half-Way Through the Summer

My "gradeless" resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

She's Scared to Ask

Last quarter, as I conferred one on one with Christine (not her real name), she confided in me that she's scared to ask for help.

On her own, she wrote a new goal for fourth quarter: Ask for help when I don't understand.

This past Friday, she hadn't turned in an in-class assignment. I went to her and asked, "Do you need help on the assignment you haven't yet turned in?"

Her reply was a head nod.

I then asked her, "Do you remember what your goal for fourth quarter is?"

She softly replied, "Ask for help."

I asked her to take it out so I can help her with it, and help her get closer to achieving her goal.

Penciled in - right on the assignment - she'd written, "I'm still scared to ask for help."

I looked her in the eye and reiterated, "I'm here to help."

-----

I'm so glad she was able to tell me her thoughts in our meeting at the end of third quarter. What great feedback for me!! I was aware that it was something to celebrate. However, I still confided in a coworker how meeting with Christine was upsetting to me, and that I didn't know what to do to fix it or help her. How can she be scared of me? ME? I feel as if I'm very compassionate in class. I feel as if I praise so many little things students are doing so we have a positive relationship. I feel as if I'm approachable and allow time for students to talk with me. How could she be scared of ME? My coworker tried to assure me. She, too, was scared (maybe that wasn't the exact word for her) to ask for help from any teacher. She, too, didn't participate. She, too, did her work, did well, and then went on with her day.

Yet here it is again. That feeling that I can't do enough. That feeling that I need to do much more.

I will continue to sit and chat with each child. I will continue to make great eye contact, smile, and praise for efforts, word choice, patience, etc. Yet it looks like I'll always need to do more.

I'm reaching out to my PLN today - what can I do to help students who are scared to ask for help?

Update to the Feedback LiveBinder

It's Spring Break.
That means spring cleaning to some.
It means spring organizing to me!

My "gradeless" resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey

Conferring Once Again - Q3

The end of each quarter, I sit down with my students, one-on-one, and we talk about their learning from the past seven or eight weeks. Ultimately, we have to come up with one letter grade that represents learning they've shown. This one little letter is all they get for their work, but that's how the system is for me at this moment in time.

These conferences are my most stressful time of each quarter, and also my favorite. They're stressful because I need to make sure I have time to see each child, and I hope to goodness that they're not absent the day they were scheduled. They're also stressful because I then have to enter that one grade in the online gradebook, and I worry about parent reactions. THANK YOU to all those supportive parents who have read my myriad two-week updates and emails home. One more stress? The rest of the class is working on their own... or are they?! Letting go of that control is tough, but most students are doing what they need to be doing during this time.

These conferences are also my favorite time of each quarter. This is a result of the conversations we have, the learning that is demonstrated and celebrated, and the reflections and goal setting.

Here are some tidbits from this past quarter... All names are changed and do not even closely resemble the child's name.

Abby's goal for next quarter is to ask more questions. She didn't know where an assignment was, and was too nervous to ask me. ME. I wonder how she functions in other classes.

Bill's goal for next quarter is to set his alarm on his phone so he remembers to read every day after school. He went to his locker and set it right then.

Cliff realized, although he's doing very well academically, that he has a tough time with theme and the author's message. He decided he's going to write about the theme of everything he reads in class and at home from now on.

Donny is proud that he's now reading at home and that he found a genre he enjoys (nonfiction).

Edgar thought he should get a "D" in class, because he never reads at home. We had a great discussion about how reading habits affect comprehension, but that I don't think habits should belong in a grade. It turns out we agreed on a "C" because his comprehension was in the 70% range. He asked, "If I read more, will it go up?" I got to tell him that the only thing that helps improve reading comprehension is more reading.

Frank revised then revised then revised once again to improve the grammar in his writing the week before we met. His new goal? --> Revise as soon as he gets feedback!

George, once again, admits to playing video games all afternoon and evening. Talking with him helps me know that I can NOT do it all alone. It also helps reaffirm that we should be reading (books of students' choices) in class every day.

Helga's goal for next quarter is to stay away from distracting friends during independent reading time.

Issac is proud of his improvement this past quarter!

Judy has stepped up her participation this past quarter!

Kelly realized (without my help) she is distracting other students when they work in a group! Her new goal is to focus on getting the task accomplished when she works with friends.

Leo was nervous about his meeting with me. He came and said, "I'm nervous." It turns out that he was hyper-focused on one part of the grade. When we looked over the other evidence, he said, "I'm not as nervous anymore." We discussed averaging points in the gradebook versus taking the evidence for what it is, and he was happy he had revised his writing.

Molly's new goal is to head to our class website reading challenge page to look through the myriad lists of books and create a large one for herself so she can begin to choose what to read on her own (instead of coming to me each time she finishes a book).

Nick thought he should get a "D" because of his behavior in class. We then had the discussion about how behavior will impact his learning at some point, but for now the evidence for his academics shows he's in the "B" range. We then talked about how his behavior might be impacting OTHER students' learning...

Olga's new goal is to stop doodling during classwork time. She didn't do as well as she'd hoped this past quarter, and blames it on "not getting down to work."

Patrick told me he really wants to change seats so he's away from a certain someone who distracts him.

Those are the stories I remember offhand, without going back into my notes. When I feel as if my class is slipping away from me (let's call it "spring fever"), I can go back to these conversations and realize that we do have a connection, and we can have discussions about what's going right, and where we can improve.

My "gradeless" resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly

                                    Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
                                    My own reflections on this journey