Robert wrote this as a comment within the general recent thread on output, but I think we should make it into an article for ease of reference. I love the Excursus thing. Is that like a kind of car?
When I think of the assessment in terms of
- Advanced
- Proficient
- Basic Below
- Basic
- Far Below Basic
rather than in terms of traditional grades, then output belongs in the Advanced category. Since ACTFL’s position paper on Target Language includes using the target language outside of class as well as in the class, I make a mental note of students who speak to me in German out on campus – even if it is just “Guten Morgen!” for the level 1 students. That moves them up the scale. Even this far into the year, after hearing me say either “Guten Morgen” or “Guten Tag” every day at the door, some students respond with “Hi”. (At least they respond, which is probably more than most teachers ever get!) Does their grade go down for this? No, because they are for whatever reason not yet ready to give me that output; but students who are replying in German and using the language outside of class have their grade go up. A student can be proficient (at least in level 1) without actually speaking German, but not advanced because “advanced” means going above and beyond expectations.
Excursus: I believe we often get caught up in the general grade inflation that takes place in schools. Some of us work in an environment where a “C” is the new “F”. As a result, there is a lot of pressure on both students and teachers not to have any grade lower than a “C”. Last year my school had a big push to lower the D/F rate, so this year there are far fewer Ds and Fs, but I doubt that the quality of work has improved. Lots of As ought to truly be the exception rather than the rule; on the other hand, I also believe that lots of Bs should be the rule. In our school system, however, this rarely happens. On the one hand, we have teachers who pride themselves on having “rigorous” classes that force students to work for hours outside of school just in order to pass; on the other hand, we have teachers who misunderstand and misapply Susan Gross’s mantra that “nothing succeeds like success” and confuse a letter grade with success. By giving “easy As” they think they are encouraging their students to continue in the language. Instead they ultimately undermine student confidence in their own judgment, because they know they don’t know the language but they’re getting an A so it must be okay, only now they don’t have any idea how the grade is determined – the teacher just “gives” it to them. In addition, the “praise” rings false because the students know that they don’t really deserve it. This is why I think the following components are important:
- Grading on the Three Modes of Communication: this helps students see where their communication skills shine or are lacking.
- Emphasis on Interpersonal Communication, including a rigorous application of jGR: this makes students show up for class, which leads to true language (or any other kind of) success. Students can take pride in their ability to use the language and know that the praise is genuine. End Excursus
So, I have a different take on this from David. The challenge is to be able to apply it in a way that the overachievers don’t impede their own progress. BTW, I recently had an IEP meeting for a student and explained my grading rubric to her mother. The student is Proficient (= 4 = B) in Interpersonal Communication, and I explained that the only reason she isn’t Advanced (= 5 = A) is because she is not yet ready to output – but that will come with time, and then she will be showing Advanced skills. Her Interpretive score is a solid Advanced, so her overall grade in the class is Advanced (= A). The student was happy because she can still get an A in the class without having to produce something she isn’t ready for, and mom was happy because she was hearing good things about how her daughter participates in class and shows that she understands. Perhaps part of the answer is helping the overachievers understand that they can still have an A in the class even if they have a B in Interpersonal Communication – but they have to participate rather than get a D or F.