The Agenda 1) Mr Schneider explains his philosophy of testing & grading 2) You reflect on what you need to work on and make a plan for it 3) Mr Schneider conferences with students while you get help with the skills that you need to work on Things I DON'T Like Handing back a test, and then you throw it in the trash can without looking at it Giving a test early in the year, but then that grade is stuck for the rest of the year Tests that try to 'trick' you by having unexpected and unrelated problems Things I DO Like When people get 100% on my tests When something finally clicks and you understand something that you didn't before It doesn't matter when you learn it or how you learn it, just as long as you learn it Some Details about my Each page of the quiz goes into the gradebook as a separate grade Each page of the quiz is meant to isolate a specific skill so you know exactly how well you know that one skill Each page is scored based on the type of mistake you made, not how many problems you missed Remember: Each of these skills is fundamental to any other high school math class! 1
Schneider is passing out a piece of paper that we will use to keep track of your skills Fill it out like this Schneider is passing back your quiz from last week. Take a minute to look over it and find your mistakes Then, fill in the chart up to the appropriate bubble Adding & Subtracting Integers Multiply & Divide Integers Distance Between Points Adding & Subtracting Integers Multiply & Divide Integers Distance Between Points But Where Is My Grade?!? What The Numbers Mean You may have also noticed that there isn't a percentage on your page Every page has a different number on it Some people even have a post it note on their test Let me explain what these numbers mean... 2
Scores vs Grades vs The Assessment Cycle Score 1 Grade F One on One Tutoring Take an Assessment 2 3 F D Lots of Practice Problems Specific Practice Problems OK I'm ready to try again! I didn't do as well as I could have... 4 5 B A Check Your Answers Boom Goes the Dynamite -Tutoring Online Help Get Help! Practice Problems Study Groups The Big Picture Your work on a quiz is like an argument you are trying to win You are trying to say "Hey Mr Schneider! I know this stuff! I really really do! You don't need to test me on it anymore!" Your score is my response to the argument. A 5 means "You've convinced me you win" Anything less is: "Keep trying" On Friday, we're going to have another Skills Quiz It will cover the same 3 topics It will have the same number of questions It will cover the same amount of material This Score Sheet is how you decide what you need to work on before the quiz on Friday 3
Question: "Hey Mr Schneider, why are we basically taking the exact same quiz on Friday?" Answer: Because whatever grade you get on Friday will replace the grade you got on the first quiz! So if you got a 2 last week but a 5 this week, your new score is a 5!!! Because: It doesn't matter when you learn it or how you learn it, just as long as you learn it Question: "Wait, so if I got a 5 last week but I get a 3 this week, my grade will go down?!" Answer: Nope. Sorry I should have mentioned: you always keep the higher grade So if you got a 5 last week, you don't have to take that page this week because you've already mastered it. You get to put a big X on it Because: I want you to focus on the areas where you can improve the most, not the areas you've already mastered Question: "Hey Wait I got a 5 and I got this post it note on my test. What's up with that?" Answer: Getting a 5 on my quizzes is a big deal. It means you got 100% no mistakes! You deserve the be recognized for that. So, write your name on that post it note, then strut on back to my Wall of Champions and slam it up there for the world to see Congratulations! Question: "What happened to my grade? It's way different from what it was last week" Answer: These skill quizzes are worth 50% of your grade! When you check your grade, it'll probably always be really close to how you've been doing on these quizzes The best way to get an A in this class is to get an A on these quizzes Because: These skills are fundamental to every class you'll take in high school, so I need to know you can do them perfectly. Every time. 4
Question: "Schneider I really don't understand how you graded this. I don't think its fair" Answer: Come talk to me. I'll explain exactly why you earned the grade that you earned. I won't be mean about it you have every right to know where your grade comes from I probably won't change your grade. What I will do, though, is let you test on that skill again. As many times as you want. Because: You need to convince me that you'll remember all of this even after you leave my class. Missing just one question might mean missing 20 more in your later Math classes. I am going to hand out practice problems specific to what you need to work on You have the remainder of the class period to work on them These will be counted as any assignments you are missing in this class The Expectation You will work quietly and with focus for the remainder of the class period You will ask each other for help no one gets left behind! 5