Chapter 8: Grading and Reporting Achievement

The eighth chapter of UbD discusses grading in a differentiated classroom. The book argues that students should not be graded in such a manner that one child is competing against another. Instead in order to make sure the student is getting accurately graded; they should be evaluated on progress towards their goals. Using an average grade seems to be the standard process in classrooms but this book recommends not doing that. In my future class I will have a point system for grading in that each student is only aware of their own points. Assignments will be worth a certain number of points and students will have options as to which assignments they will do. I agree that an average grade is not a great way to give grades. It leaves out the human aspect of bad days. If a student has a bad day on the day of the biggest test in a semester they may perform poorly. That is not necessarily a reflection of their learning, more so it is an effect of having a bad day on test day.