Report Cards

Our reporting system grades all students in seven areas every 4 weeks. This system was developed by our technology coordinator and transitions counselor several years ago to meet our specific needs. Even though the Eby text says it is not recommended to include grades for subjective tasks such as effort, attitude and behavior, we are a correctional facility. Each student writes up a PDP, personal development plan, to move from our restrictive environment to one of lesser restrictions be it his/her home school, another public school if going to foster care or into the work force if graduating from our school. The student's attitude, effort, and behavior are very integral to how well he is able to perform in an educational or work setting. The seven areas covered in our grading scheme are:

Achievememt
Effort
Attitude
Amount of Production
Conduct
Relationship with teacher
Relationship with other students

Our rubrics range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the lowest score a student earns and 4 being the highest. An example of this rubric on Relationship with Students would be:

4 - Student respects others; treats fellow students in a manner in which one likes to be treated; refrains from disruptive behavior; models good behavior and gives good advice to other students
3 - Student is respectful of other students and is sometimes helpful; has occasional slip with comments toward others but self-corrects; is polite and courteous most of the time.
2 - Student addresses and interacts with peers in a neutral manner.
1 - Student makes rude comments; instigates disturbances; laughs at others; addresses peers with negative language or tone of voice; engages peers in inappropriate behaviors; talks during instructional time; socializes rather than focusing on assignments.

Achievement scores are based on percentiles where students earn grades on completed schoolwork. Classes like building trades, automotive technology and welding are set up for students to earn credits on completing certain modules and projects. Our percentile scores are:

100-94% - A
93-87% - B
86-80% - C
79-75% - D

Anything below 75% has to be redone and some classes required a minimum of 80%.
To make sure students don't misinterpret their progress reports, we have a treatment team made up of 2 teachers, the student's counselor and the student. We meet as a group and go over all the student's scores for the month. The students not only earn reports from school, they have a similar system of reports by building counselors, too. Students are encouraged to share their understanding of the scores they earned and to formulate a plan to continue to do well or to do better the next month. They might also earn the privilege of our 20/20 club which is an honor roll. Students have to be in school at least 20 days and earn scores of 20 or more on each school subject with no 1's on any report.

Grading Guidelines

Students who come to our school are often only with us a short period of time. The stays range from 3 weeks for assessment students to 2 years or longer for treatment students. They also come with varying degrees of education and background knowledge. Many have been out of school for extended periods of time and many have IEP's, Individualized Education Plans, written from their previous schools. Regardless of the prior reports and transcripts, we try to begin somewhat "fresh" with students. One reason is that they may be more apt to learn in our environment simply because we've eliminated many outside influences like illegal drugs or alcohol, bullying and intimidation by peers, staying out late at night and not having nutritous meals before coming to school.
Students complete a battery of intake tests which include the TABE, Tests of Adult Basic Education, GSRT, Gray Silent Reading Test, PPVT, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, GATES-MacGinitie Reading Comprehension, and LAS, Language Assessment Scale.
Based on these tests and classroom observation, students are assessed and instructed to the best of their ability. Some students without IEPs may need intervention so a committee called the SAT, Student Assistance Team meets to discuss ways students can be helped. It is similar to RTI, Response To Intervention, but it meets on both the student with IEPs and those without.
Our mission sums up what it is we do with all students, including those who are challenged.
"Our mission is to provide student-centered educational opportunities which challenge all students to reach their potential and become responsible citizens."

Using Assessment

Planning how to assess students begins with looking at the standards for the unit being taught. In the Library and Information Technology Standards, the grade levels and benchmarks determine what students should know when they finish a unit of study. The example for this unit is taken from the North Dakota standards:
8.1.1 Define a research problem or task
8.1.3 Access information using a variety of sources
8.5.1 Follow school guidelines for responsible use of technology and information resources
8.5.3 Demonstrate knowledge of intellectual property rights laws.
Once I have determined what I want the students to know, I can craft ways of assessment that show they do know how to apply the learned skills. One idea from the text I would like to use is the checklist form found on page 273, Figure 11.2. The student checklist, Figure 11.3 on the following page is another good idea as it gives more ownership of the learning to the student. I may try to use one or both of these the next time I present this unit.
Observation is a great assessment tool for this unit as it not only shows me that students are applying their skills, it also shows where they need additional instruction or practice. I also make it a priority to observe non-skill behaviors like attitude, effort and behavior of the students in the library. Students are aware of my expectations and generally adhere to them while in the library.
Another observation to make is how students search online and what inquiries they make while looking for information on their topic.

Purple Fruit Pickers

While reading the story of the Purple Fruit Pickers, I thought of all the students who don’t learn the same way that most students learn and some who struggle to learn what we think they should to earn a diploma. Unfortunately, some students may not be the best test takers or the best artists or model builders or athletes. Our school systems are set up to compensate those students who do well on our assessments regardless of whether or not they learned anything of value. In addition to objectively score what students should know, we should be encouraging them to go beyond the textbooks, to think creatively and to find alternative ways of showing mastery. What works well for 80% of the students might not be an effective means of assessing the other 20%.

Our school is a no fail school. By that, I mean students aren’t allowed to take a failing grade, ever. If they don’t earn at least a minimum score of 80%, they are given the assignment back to correct and re-do. The same applies to tests. We also don’t worry about absences or truancy since that isn’t an option for our students. We have school year round even though our regular September to May schedule follows the public school calendars. Perhaps the failure is in the Carnegie unit of school time. If a school year is 180 days and students have to be in school, in their desk, at least 120 hours to earn a full credit in English, how can we teach for understanding? Are we simply grading them on being present and using the bell curve to pass most of our students and fail the bottom 2-4% because someone said some students will fail? My suggestion would be to adopt more non-traditional or “alternative” schools for the students who need them and encourage them to enroll before they start experiencing great amounts of failure. Until we realize that not everyone is cut from the same cloth or retains what they are taught in the same way, we will always have failure and dropouts in the public schools. My belief is that every student can learn, how much and how long it takes some of them should be negotiable.

Types of Assessment

There will be several opportunities to assess the students’ knowledge of using the library to locate information based on what they already know and participation in the class. To begin the information literacy unit, students will take an online criterion-referenced test. This test has been developed at the Kent State University Libraries with funding through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the US Department of Education. It can be accessed online at http://www.trails-9.org/index.php?page=home . During the unit’s lessons, students will be observed and complete some performance based assessments such as a library scavenger hunt and writing up a bibliography. The final product will be a research paper that the students will share in their class or a written report that shows they were able to use the subscription databases and print references effectively. These written papers will be scored based on a rubric that the students will have knowledge of before they begin the unit.

Measuring Progress

Reading through the power point, Measuring Progress, and comparing the assessments to my unit, How Do We Locate Information, I noticed that there are several times when assessment can occur. The online TRAILS assessment is a diagnostic online assessment that will show what the students already know and what they need additional instruction on before moving to other tasks. Most of the time, the assessment is either informal or performance based. When students actively search for information in an online database, they are performing a task that will aid them in the overall outcome of their product, which will be a report or research paper. Either I or the classroom teacher will be observing their attempts and redirecting when necessary. The final product, a report written by the student, based on their ability to utilize both online and print research tools would be the culmination of this unit. As such, the classroom teacher would be assigning the student a grade based on her rubric.

Technology and the Learning Environment

It is difficult to separate authentic, active learning and technology in education. Since technology is a part of everyday life, it should also be present in our students’ learning experiences. We use Web 2.0 daily in our own lives and our students should be taught how to use these tools as well. I have and continue to use google docs, social tagging sites like Librarything and delicious, wikis, facebook, teachertube, online databases, library catalogues, online ordering, and many more. An article I read for another graduate class described what happens when students go to school. They are asked to “power down” when they enter the school door. In other words, turn off their cell phones, their ipods, their personal laptops and other interactive tools. So instead of learning how to use the technology appropriately, we are asking them to turn it all off because it's a distraction. I would suggest we need to be teaching appropriate uses of these tools. Students need to be taught that there are times and places for learning and working and other times and places for playing and socializing. It really comes down to a matter of ethical use of the technology that’s available. We shouldn't be assuming our students will know the acceptable way to use it. I am reminded of another comparison I heard a few years ago. Technology was compared to keeping guns in the house. If we don’t teach our children how to handle them properly, there could be serious consequences for misuse. Schools must mirror what is happening in the world outside the school door.