Weigh Semesters Progressively

5 thoughts on “Weigh Semesters Progressively”

1. Chris

   March 24, 2015 at 3:04 pm

   This is the best one yet (in a test-manic American context).
   I do something similar (but better 😉 hehe):
   — I keep track of speed and relaxed write wordcounts, exit quizzes, a modified JGR, and simple reading assessments so the kids have a “mark.”
   — Every time I do a set of assessments, I make the former mark worth zero, so their “mark” is always changing.
   — if they miss an assessment, I omit it if the kid has a legit excuse. In 3 years this has only been a problem with one relentless test-day skipper who I sent to admin (the only TPRS kid I have ever sent to admin).
   — I weight their classwork 20% of grade and 80% final assessment.
   If we are gonna actually be “rigorous,” we should only asess at the last possible moment, cos that’s when the kids are going to be at their most skilled. Anything earlier is just practice.

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2. Michael Coxon

   March 25, 2015 at 10:24 pm

   I am going to chew on this topic for a while. I too love it! It makes sense for learning language over time. This follows the pattern of delaying student output and the fundamental understanding that results emerge overtime after the exposure to CI.
   I asked a few math teachers about this and will ask a few more. (sometimes I have trouble rationalizing numbers and these numbers aren’t expected). It seems like teachers would pick 10, 15, 20, 35, and 30 or something. Why 16 and 31 and 18 I wonder?
   The initial feedback from Math teachers were actually in regards to early learned information being equally as important as later learned material. That being said they admitted to students being overall more PROFICIENT in Math at the end of the year overtime…sounds familiar!

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3. Nathaniel

   March 26, 2015 at 12:22 pm

   Itneresting feedback, Michael.
   1. “early learned information being equally as important ” That may be true. Now if we were teaching “information” that might be relevant. Also, the parts of the year are not equal. Everyone has different levels of energy they bring to the task, depending on whether at the beginning, middle, or end of an event. Furthermore, each successive term should work with the previous terms in a synergistic way. Thus an isolated first term is not really the same as a term which can build on and interconnect with the previous terms. Each successive term is richer and goes deeper. It really is worth more than the previous terms. It is compounded interest, not just plunking down another equally high stack of pennies.
   2. What caught my mind is that the difference between each semester descends by one (8 to 7 to 6), and 16 is what is left over.
   10 + 8 = 18
   18 + 7 = 25
   25 + 6 = 31
   18 + 25 + 31 = 84
   100 – 84 = 16
   Note that there is no Mid Year exam figured into this calculation.
   This is not just a numbers game though. It reflects their philosophy which states that they are committed to the “proposition that all students can learn a foreign language” and their avoidance of ability groupings at the beginning levels.

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   1. Michael Coxon

      March 26, 2015 at 1:29 pm

      Nathaniel…I love it! It makes so much sense.
      What would you do with all those numbers for admin and others that say “We must have a midterm!”
      I know what I would like to tell them hahaha!
      It surprises me that I have not seen more of this. I guess the pressure for data driven teaching and instruction has put teachers in a place to be creative and thoughtful with what students earn while acquiring.

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4. James Hosler

   March 26, 2015 at 12:50 pm

   Can we somehow unveil this to students sometime during 3rd quarter? I’d hate if students start the year feeling like what they are doing doesn’t matter and using the grade distribution as an excuse to slack off early–which of course means slacking off for the entire year.
   THIS IS WHY I HATE GRADES!

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