Grading

This kind of an extension of my last post I guess. Funny enough, we talked about grading last night in lecture and that was what I was planning on writing about today. Funny...

Grading for a performing arts class can be difficult. You do want present an accurate reflection of abilities to the parents at conference time to make sure they know how their student is doing. At the same time, the parents might become upset with the results. Band and choir are supposed to be "fun" classes. Parents (and students) don't always feel like it's necessary for a student to be punished for doing poorly in a "fun" class. However, there are people who see these classes as more than just fun. It's unfair to give all the students A's just for showing up to class when some students are fulfilling their potential, and others are not.

Someone at lecture last night said that grades were a way of communicating with students about their progress or how well they did on something. I think this is an excellent way of describing what grades should be. Grading should be based on an individual's skill level and not be a cookie cutter that's expected to work for all students. However, the students should be told that this is the case so there is no confusion.

Teachers should also let their students what they're looking for when they grade. I know personally that if I didn't know what my teacher was looking for in an assignment, I wouldn't know where to begin or what to include. If I know how my teacher grades and what s/he is looking for, it's easier for me to complete the assignment. It also equally important to allow some wiggle room in your grading strategies in case there is a time where something not what you expected.