What's in a grade

After finishing the reading for class this week, only one thing seems certain: there are a million different ways to assess writing. Like so many things in education, there is no magic formula that will work for all teachers in all situations. Through experience I'll have to begin to make my own decisions about assessing writing. That being said, there are a few things I'll take with me into the classroom.

First and foremost, I think teachers must remember to grade with compassion. As Samantha in Spandel pointed out, for many students just putting something on paper is a truimph. If I, as a teacher, lose sight of the fact that writing is a personal and nerve wracking process, I am doing my students a real disservice. Also, a teacher who reads with compassion will look for the good in student work. Rather than spend all my energy on finding the mistakes in student work, I think it's just as important to really look for the good in a paper. Praise and encouragement are an integral part of assessment, and should not be allowed to fall by the wayside when one focuses on student writing.

Secondly, I will grade for the process of writing, not just the final product. Drafts, peer-editing, revision, they should all count toward the grade of the piece. This helps students to understand that every step of the writing process is important, not just the final draft. Also, it can alleviate some student anxiety if the final paper is not the entire grade for the assignment.

I know that almost everyone has this link already, but it's so good I had to put it into my blog, www.readwritething.org. They've got a lot of great stuff for teachers, and it's a site for all ages, elementary through high school. Also, they have links to other important sites, like NCTE. All in all, it's a very useful site that everyone should check out.