Over the last ten years, I have had to examine my grading policy and philosophy more than once, and it is obvious to me that I will revisit it again--hopefully not too soon, especially since I have just finished writing my Revisit & Redo grading policy. I know people who just give zeros. I know people who take the bad grade and average it with the better grade after a resubmission. If we are to move toward standards-based report cards and data analysis, we have to take a look at our beliefs about grading and how it relates to student/parent expectations and the real world.
The Zero System of Grading: This is effectively old school--back in the days before Standards of Learning, standards-based data collection, and teacher evaluation systems that want educators to keep track of student growth. If a teacher keeps giving zeros, how is growth measured? The ability to measure student growth is shut down by the student's unwillingness to rise to the teacher's demands or expectations; the teacher giving a student a zero for missing work does not actually assess the student's ability or knowledge. It just send the message that the teacher is "done" with the work and/or the student.
The High F System of Grading: This might seem like a viable compromise to many. After all, there is a no-fail policy that many honor. The idea that a student will have an easier time pulling a grade point level up from a 50 as opposed to a zero seems to make sense. I used to do this until I realized I still was not showing if and where a student showed improvement. It is easier to put a 50 in the grade book and move on. However, with the rigors of test content and the evaluation of teachers firmly focused on student growth, this system is a fallacy. The 50 means nothing...except that your grading scale does not start at zero.
The High-Low Average System of Grading: If a student has a bad grade on an assignment, quiz, or test, many of us allow a redo. We allow students to redo the work or retake a quiz or test, and then we take the higher grade, add it to the bad grade, and average the two together. That seems fair. You are rewarding the kids who got the good grades the first try, and you are giving a break to the kid who messed up. But how are you showing actual student growth? This system is flawed even though it seems to make sense. The transition to standards-based reporting of grades and skills throws this system out the window.
Revisit & Redo System of Grading: Why has it taken me so long to figure out that this system works best for my students? I have been grading this way for a few years now. The only downside (if you want to call it that) comes at the end of the year when I am asked to identify the student with the highest grade point average. Instead of giving one medal, there are usually more than a few students who are honored. Most of them are students who had the high GPA anyway, but there have been a couple of students who worked really hard redoing what they did not understand. By the end of the school year all that consistent work helped them master concepts the first time around and often pass the waning overachievers. Just like the tortoise and the hare!
What is Revisit & Regrade? Well, it is a grading system where you have students with a failing grade on an assignment or quiz redo the work. The failing grade goes in the grade book, but when the redone work is graded, the new grade REPLACES the failing grade. A student can redo until he/she reaches mastery (86%). When a student who is hovering a few points above mastery asks to redo an assignment he/she feels will help improve understanding of literacy concepts, I allow the redo. No matter what, the highest grade for an assignment goes in the grade book. This policy is not to be confused with "giving" an A and over-inflating grades. The student has to WORK to improve the grade and demonstrate mastery of a standard. That is not the same as giving a hundred for the heck of it. It is not the same as a child getting more than he/she deserves. We have to remember that we are facilitating student progress and success--not failure to perform. The grade book is not a punishment. It is a record of achievement and mastery. We have to stop misusing grades.
How does it work for me? I give an assignment and grade it. Out of 80+ students, I may have a student who fails to complete the assignment, thus receiving a failing grade. I may have another student who doesn't understand the concepts of a lesson and ultimately receives a failing grade. I could have another student who was absent, did not catch up on a lesson, and then turns in the assignment to receive a failing grade. Another has had to appear in court because there are problems at home, and he/she couldn't fathom the assignment because they couldn't focus, thereby receiving a failing grade. There is almost always someone who thinks they understand a concept when they turn in their work, and when he/she gets a failing grade, the assurance of Revisit & Redo is mighty. There are countless reasons why a child gets a failing grade...from circumstances beyond control to bad choices in the throes of teen rebellion. The Revisit & Redo system does not reward unworthy students. The failing grade stands if the student refuses to redo the work and the Homework Policy enforced by the office does not correct the negative outcome. In this way, we instill a stronger work ethic in students who are used to getting by. We hold them more accountable for their work and their choices. We show understanding when truly bad stuff happens. We truly document growth in the continuum of content bullets and literacy across the curriculum. It reflects the real life model for failure. The saying "When at first you don't succeed, try try again actually means something. When people solve problems in the workplace, they identify the problem, talk about how to resolve it, try the game plan, and work at it until there is success. Revisit & Redo is my classroom model of what happens in the real world. People are rewarded for hard work, for team work, and solving problems that make the outcome far better than it would be otherwise.
In a nine-week grading period, I use grades for the first eight weeks. The work collected and graded the last week of a grading period needs to go in the following grading period because you need time to grade the resubmitted work. You cannot hold a grade book for a day or two for the one deserving child who messed up the last thing in the nine weeks. That is unfair. If that postponement bothers you, just consider the fact that in the last grading period of the school year, you will not be short on grades on account of all those standardized tests! I no longer get stressed out about grades and don't work right up to the last minute to get my grades posted and finalized. I am a happier teacher.
If you want to try the Revisit & Redo method of grading, you might look at the Revisit & Redo Policy document I have students and parents sign. If you stick with it, you will find success--for your students, student growth data, and your worth as a human being.
Want more info? Take a look at Rick Wormeli's work on fairness in grading and homework policy. It's reallyl convicting--if you are stuck deep in the mud and refuse to ask for the help it takes to change.