UbD: Chapter 8

As the chapter begins it gives a great definition as to what the point to grading is, it states "we believe that the primary goal of grading and reporting is to communicate to important audiences, such as students and parents, high-quality feedback to support the learning process and encourage learner success" (129). This one sentence sums up a lot that the chapter goes on to explain which is that it is important to have a great understanding of all your students learning so that you can report what their strengths are and how they can improve in some areas. Grading is not all about numbers, it is about giving back information so that the student and teacher know how they are doing, and how to improve. Grading should have specific expectations, and the evidence that the grade is based on their learning and not simple mistakes. Also grading should not be solely based on numbers, because then the students are constantly striving to get good numbers, and not striving to learn, it can be two very different things. Grades should be there to encourage a student to want to learn. Teachers should use different ways to report back how a student is doing besides numbers, examples the book provides are checklists of essential skills, portfolios, or charting even.