Using Grades to Motivate    

        When thinking about school and all that goes on during school, grading and getting good grades is an important aspect. Students are sometimes more worried about getting a good grade on an assignment rather than learning the actual material. It is the teacher’s job to give students an assessment that is directly related to the learning of the specific topic. In order to enhance children’s learning O’Conner (2005), author of Seven Practices for Effective Learning, suggests some “assessment and grading practices that can enhance teaching and learning” (12). These include assessing before teaching and offering students choices.

        In Wingers article, Grading to Communicate, he explains how to use grades to promote learning. The final grade a student receives in class is much more than just how well they do on tests. Teachers need to decide what learning they value most; a major part of the grade should be the part connected to the actual learning and then students work habits or attitude. These grades should be thought of as feedback for students. Feedback from teachers is among the top of the list. The only way for students to know how they are doing is to receive excellent feedback that teachers’ base on formative assessment. Feedback is not a grade on a paper; just giving an “A” or “C” grade doesn’t tell students what they need to improve on. O’Conner (2005) makes it clear that feedback must meet four criteria in order to help student learn. “It must be timely, specific, understandable to the receiver, and formed to allow for self-adjustment on the students part” (16). Feedback should to be written in a way students can understand; thus helping them to improve the areas which are in need.

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        In order for teachers’ to truly be familiar with the skills of their students, teachers should provide tests for their students. O’Conner (2005) explains, “Diagnostic assessments provide information to assist teacher planning and guide differentiated instruction” (11). These types of assessments are given at the onset of a unit; they aren’t given for the purpose of grading. Instead they are a tool used by teachers to familiarize themselves with their students. They use this information to steer their lessons in the right direction. As a teacher gains insight into what to teach, a lesson may not be so appropriate because ...

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