meeting students where they are versus the reality of grading rubrics: is an a or b always an a or...
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Meeting Students Where They Are Versus the Realityof Grading Rubrics: Is an A or B Always an A or B?
Walden University Faculty Meeting: Orlando, FLJanuary 2014
Alan Seidman Core Faculty Administration and Postsecondary Education DivisionRichard W. Riley College of Education & Leadership
Angela Witt PrehnCore Faculty, Public HealthSchool of Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences
Laurel WalshGeneral Education CoordinatorCollege of Undergraduate Studies
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Presentation Objectives/Outcomes
•Evaluate the challenges of encouraging student growth while maintaining rubric grading standards.
•Describe how“meeting students where they are” plays out in personal grading philosophies and practice.
•Develop suggestions for leadership discussion around the use of grading rubrics and faculty grading practices.
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Scenarios/Discussion Questions
Scenario 1
You know that you grade student writing and critical thinking easier in the beginning of a course than nearer to the final assignment. After all, you want to meet students where they are. But four students are complaining, “You gave me all A’s until now and now you’re saying I can’t write!” Maybe you should you have been tougher on them early on in the course. Maybe you are punishing them now with a low grade rather than “meeting them where they are.”
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Given we have one grading rubric, how do our grading standards change during a single course?
Should we grade students in the early going easier to meet students where they are, and then raise our expectations later in the course?
How do we convey our own changing expectations of A, B, or C work within a course?
Scenario 1 Questions
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Scenario #1: Faculty Observations
• If writing is the issue, some faculty grade down then up as the student shows improvement.
• Rubric doesn’t help in many ways. Do we all stick to the rubric? “No, we don’t teach the rubric, we grade the student.”
• Maybe we shouldn’t vary, but we do. Experienced teachers move outside the rubric, but stay as close as possible.
• There is a difference between feedback vs. grading: Some feedback doesn’t get reflected in the grade.
• We have issues associated with grade inflation esp. in graduate school where we do not give less than a “B”. We need more grade variance, grade in a range.
• How well do the rubrics serve in grading how well the student performed in the course? (e.g., must reply to two students doesn’t give feedback on the quality of the response)
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Scenarios/Discussion Questions
Scenario 2
At a National Faculty Meeting breakfast, a colleague who teaches foundations and early courses says he knows he passes struggling students, but he tries “to meet students where they are and wants to encourage them to pursue their goals.” Another colleague who teaches capstone or final degree project courses responds such students are later surprised to find out they are “quite underprepared” in the reading, writing, and critical thinking skills and struggle to complete their capstone.
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At what point in their pursuit of a degree should the quality of the student’s product, as defined by the rubric, take precedence over our sincere desire to meet students where they are?
Do we feel pressure to pass struggling students?
Does the university’s reputation for quality outweigh the university’s commitment to retain struggling students?
Scenario 2 Questions:
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Scenario #2: Faculty Observations
• Students sometimes react to a low grade, “But I am a 4.0 student.”
• Our rubrics show that a C means that the student got some of it. Students can pass by meeting minimal requirements.
• Our students are our reputation.
• The product must be quality; undergraduate students have issues with reading similar to know issues associated with graduate student writing.
• We need systemic support to meet and evaluate student skills.
• Foundation course might not be where the student is at with math, writing, and reading.
• Differs by program level at the undergraduate level, we have 4 years to get them where they need to be.
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Scenarios/Discussion Questions
Scenario 3:
In your class this term, you have a diverse group of students: One is quite advanced in the subject matter because of her professional experience, another is on active duty in Afghanistan and can’t always meet the assignment deadlines, and a third student, from Bosnia, faces significant challenges communicating in English. Their backgrounds and challenges vary greatly, and you want them all to succeed.
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To meet them where they are, do you grade based on their circumstances, or do you stick to the rubric throughout the course, which would result in low grades for the active duty soldier and the student from Bosnia?
Scenario 3 Questions:
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Scenario #3: Faculty Observations
• Depends on the rubric; they are inconsistent (separate from policies such as late work). It all depends on how the rubric is written.
• Some circumstances are not reflected in the rubric. For example, policy doesn’t live in the rubrics.
• Rubrics are for assignments and applications and are sometimes informed at a national level for accreditation.
• Does it have to be either/or? We all have accountability for learning outcomes.
• Faculty have a high degree of autonomy. The variance that the autonomy allows can be difficult for students.
• Faculty can discern how to work within the confines of the rubric as it is aligned with the learning outcomes.
• MHC developed the rubrics that were aligned in a theories course; the rubrics are in place to show the learning outcomes.
• Rubrics are about the quality of the product.
• Rubrics can help us identify at risk students (e.g., the Bosnian student might need to take the CSS ESL course)
• Rubrics can show assignment issues; they can help us identify student interventions or curricular issues. So it’s important to grade accurately according to the rubric.
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Scenarios/Discussion Questions
Scenario 4:
In your current course, a couple of students seem to be trying as hard as possible. You’ve talked with them on the phone and their posts have improved a bit. You know that both are single moms working challenging jobs, hoping to advance their careers. And they’re such delightful people! You really want to meet them where they are and see them succeed. You’re torn between cutting them a break and embracing their potential versus grading them low based on the rubric.
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What role, if any, does student effort and potential play in final grading?
What if they’re nice people and they’re trying hard, but per the rubric, they’re just not making the grade?
Is this a case where + and – grades would be beneficial for student growth and development?
Scenario 4 Questions:
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Scenario#4: Faculty Observations• We all deal with student who experience life issues.
• We can work with students with busy lives; we need to help them with time management.
• We cannot treat students differently.
• Would plus or minuses help? We currently award an A for a 91 and a 99. 4.0 is less meaningful without the distinguishing factor allowed by plus or minuses.
• Being nice is irrelevant; we wouldn’t support plus or minus for accreditation reasons.
• Rubrics must be evaluative and informative, especially in beginning courses; rubrics need to be both to be useful.
• CHS has modified rubrics that have hindered faculty; engage with assessment coordinators.
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Discussion
Reflections and recommendations for concrete action.
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Parting Shots
• Rubrics should show students where they need to be; they should provide differentiated instruction to allow us to meet students where they are.
• The overall consequence of grade inflation at the doctoral level is that student get to the dissertation and they are not ready; it presents an ethical dilemma.
• In broad access, we have to meet students where they are, but can we meet them everywhere?
• Besides the rubric, there is a syllabus, they do not always match.
• In the IRB, the rubric does touch on scholarly writing.
• At residencies, faculty have asked students, “How many of you have received a B?” When seeing the small show of hands, faculty say, “Do not worry about receiving a B. No one asks for your GPA for a terminal degree.”
• One faculty reported a student saying to him, “If you hadn’t given me a C, I would not have worked on that skill.”
• In the real world, no one cares if you have a 4.0, they care about your skills.
• Grades are an approximation of learning.
• When it comes to rubrics that are not working, contact your assessment coordinator, let them know.
• Blackboard can allow embedded rubrics; lots of people will be looking at these rubrics.
• Reminder to faculty that we have a rubric guidebook.
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Thank you for attending our session.
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- Angela Witt [email protected] Alan [email protected] Laurel [email protected]