#4thchat is a hashtag for teachers or anyone to talk about educational issues relating to 4th grade. Using #4thchat will create a network of 4th grade teachers or teachers working with 9-10 year olds across the world. We welcome anyone who 1. teaches 4th grade 2 .Works with 4th grade students and or 4th grade teachers 3. Likes 4th grade teachers (Groupies are encouraged).
Hi Cassandra - So good to see you here tonight. Hope you had a wonderful, restful break! I needed a break from the break - I'm exhausted....lol #4thchat
Hi!! You'll love the move!!! I think it's so great as you know where the students are headed so you'll be able to guide them differently! #4thchat lol Slytherin!!!
A1: Traditionally, grading and assessing are different things! Assessing is trying to gain an understanding of knowledge and skills. What do you know? How do you know it? Grading is much less flexible. #4thChat
A1: Grades are a form of communicating what said students know or can do. Not always well represented though. A lot of straight A kids who struggle and a lot of C/D students who can explain, or do much better! #4thChat
A1: i think grading is looking for something to give them a score on for how well they did something. assessment is more to see how well they understood what they were being taught. i dont always grade my assessments. i also pick and choose what i actually grade as well #4thchat
I'm sure you have!!! 3 schools - don't know how you do that!!! I have trouble with 2 (I feel like there's a disconnect when you can't follow up daily). #4thchat
A2: I think parents still expect traditional grades bc that's what they grew up with and understand. But, there is so much more to what a student can do than just one grade. #4thchat
#4thchat I like this. Ts are getting better at agreeing on what S learn by assessing. For grading Ts have a wider range--test scores, homework, participation, all weighted differently. Assessments are tied to learning/reteaching/assessments. Grades are tied to many many things
A2 1 of 2: cons with the traditional grading system is your supposed to grade everything.. as a teacher i dont have the time to grade everything. #4thchat
A2: For me, traditional grades don't give enough room for learning to continue. We want kiddos to know that learning is a process that never ends. Let's talk more about what we know and what we want to know more about and how we get there! #4thChat
a2 2 of 2: pro: better system then the 1-4 because you couldnt be as subjective as a teacher you understood where you were. my idea and my teaching partners idea of a 2 vs a 3 is way different #4thchat
A2: Something I hear often is that It typically is "easier" to just assign a grade for an assignment, rather than to assess learning as a process. #4thChat
A2) my district requires 18 grades. It doesn’t seem matter what we Grade... I want to grade as summarize - all practice should be feedback driven with op@to improve #4thchat
A1 Also, I’m assessing at times w out providing feedback. If I see a student struggling or excelling, I regroup and teach differently. I may not let them know. #4thchat
A2 How do students grow from a letter or number score. Ss need feedback that is timely & specific to make changes in order to grow as learners!! #4thchat
It is insane this year! Last year, I had 23 for most of the year and I felt like it was the perfect size. My co-teacher has 26 and even that is a big difference to my 28! #4thChat
Happy New Year #4thchat friends. Y'all get A+ grades! Our helpful pages for this chat: Grading page https://t.co/BCrBJGaomW Assessments page https://t.co/dVZigHGWmz Remember there are so many ways to assess learning without tests.
Happy New Year #4thchat friends. Y'all get A+ grades! Our helpful pages for this chat: Grading page https://t.co/BCrBJGaomW Assessments page https://t.co/dVZigHGWmz Remember there are so many ways to assess learning without tests.
A3 A big con is when we add “4” to 1-2-3. We say a “3” is when they have met the standard and put a “4” in for what? It’s no longer standards based. #4thchat.
We went through a spell when I had upwards of 26 (most 30) for 5 years...our district is committed to providing small class sizes! It matters! #4thchat
In reply to
@nerdymathteachr, @MrsRebandt, @JennRegruth
a3: con: no explanation to P's on what standard base grading is. parents dont understand where S's are academically. i use a letter grade for P's 2 understand. Some P's think their kid is failing when they are not & others think their S's is doing great when they arent. #4thchat
A2: One pro is that parents mostly understand the number/letter system. a Con is that those grades do not really "tell" anything about what the student knows/understands. #4thchat
We went through a spell when I had upwards of 26 (most 30) for 5 years...our district is committed to providing small class sizes! It matters! #4thchat
In reply to
@nerdymathteachr, @MrsRebandt, @JennRegruth
A3: pro as a teacher you know that you can teach to the standard and not follow the curriculum to the t. it gives you the T more creativity and flexibility. #4thchat
It's hard to say that not everything needs a grade, but students need feedback. Providing self checking or answersheets help when you can't correct everything. #4thchat
Some of my heroes became extraordinary people because of wonder and curiosity. John Harrison of longitude fame and also our Ohio hero Neil Armstrong #wonderchat#4thchat
The report card grades are still A-E for us too. We just have added a few “standards” to the report card. It’s a step. I use a lot of rubrics to provide feedback for my ss! #4thChat
In reply to
@JennRegruth, @mrsreedsclass14, @julie_wenger
I always felt this away about the grading of writing in state assessments...even though the writing passes through several readers - still subjective even with a rubric. #4thchat
we just had a discussion on this in an assessment group that i am apart of this year. teachers grade differently even with a rubric.. especially if its their S's #4thchat
#4thchat A3. We used to have a long stds based report card. Great info for the teacher, but Ps mainly want to know how their Ss are doing and stds can be hard to fit on the one pages of the report card. We now use an abbreviated strand report card. Much better for conferences
a5: feedback in grades is very specific as to what they can do better. feedback in assessment is more how can you get better next time and reflection. #4thchat
#4thchat One part of the grades v assessment debate I don't see on Twitter often is that college admissions often weight GPAs from various high schools based on how well Ss do from those schools. Some lower grades are better from a more challenging high school program than a 4.0
A3: Pro: Standards based grading helps keep one focused on the actual learning that's taking place. Easier to tailor assessments to the standards. #4thchat Con: Often confusing for parents.
Yes. #4thchat. There are no jobs for Ss that master 4th grade, so best to help everyone learn all they can right up to the last day of school. Lot of learning ahead of Ss and since we have foundational material, need to reteach.
My goodness - I hadn't realized that "F"s were still options anywhere. I still remember to this day how I got a "D" in geography in grade 1. But I want to know is WHY I got that D? What didn't I understand???? #4thchat
In reply to
@JennRegruth, @MrsRebandt, @mrsreedsclass14, @julie_wenger
Scores are 1-4 (achievement lvs of state test), for math a score for number operations, algebra, geometry and data. Those are the strands in the standards in MN math. #4thchat
Our district has been Standards based K-5 for several years now. Some grade levels have common assessments while others do not. There was talk of bringing it to the Middle school - but not sure if that is still the case. #4thchat
I think it's not such a bad thing either as I wasn't always able to provide timely feedback. With a self check they at least get it right away. #4thchat
#4thchat The goal is that the assessments correlate with the expected performance on the state test (1 not meeting, 2 partial, 3 meeting, 4 exceeding). So report card means your assessments on standards matches the state summative assessment.
#4thchat We update the scores for each strand for future report cards as new material is introduced AND as Ss are retaught. So scores can improve as Ss learn.
a6: i think it has made it easier to asses but then or me i also forget sometimes about my online work. I just realized i had S's do a writing assignment and never gave them feedback on it. #stilllearning#4thchat
#4thchat Good post. I feel like my colleagues and I are working to have common formative assessments, rubrics produce some gray, but no where near as much gray as when I used letter grades 15 years ago. I know with letter grades we were not the same at all.
During a PLC our team would sit every now and then & grade each other's writing samples (Ss name's were blacked out). Interesting how grading differed. #4thchat I actually liked seeing what other people thought.
Incompetent? That sounds nasty! I’ve never seen a SOLO doc that uses that term. Level 1 = 1 on report card or not yet meeting grade level expectations. Levels 2 & 3 = 2 on report card - knowledge is isolated. No or few connections being made, etc. #4thchat
#4thchat A6: Technology such as @Seesaw and Google Classroom have made feedback quicker so that Ss are using it more. Helps focus assessments esp. formative if Ss can get feedback quicker with tech.
The report card we use is 4 pages. Can be confusing as it IS standards based, but parents have been reading these types of reports since their child was in Kindergarten. #4thchat
#4thchat Simple is better. We have report cards coming out this week. Honestly still not as effective as calling each parent like I did this week. A short convo is best. In addition to knowing how the S is doing, Ps want to know that you know their S.
a8: in math S's can redo and get a better grade. They can ask to retake their tests via google forms. I am working on a solution to have retakes for Ela/science/ ss but for some reason i find that harder to do. #4thchat
#4thchat I have been having Ss write in Google Docs (autosave is key), but posting their latest two drafts in @Seesaw. This way Ps and Ss see my feedback that can be written comment or audio. Keeps me from missing chances to give writing feedback.
You are an amazing teacher Mark! There really isn't anything as effective as a conversation. Looking back I wished I called parents more often - especially to share GOOD news! #4thchat
#4thchat Hard to mark exceeds especially mid year/mid learning, on a state test they can assign exceeds based on field tested data. Challenging to know DOK and difficulty levels for exceeding. If the assessment is limited to std meeting then can't mark exceeds.
#4thchat Some primary Ts can mark exceeds because there is a concrete level above their grade level, e.g. sight words for K and if the S knows 1st grade sight words then exceeds.
Are you using the "Skills" within Seesaw? We have a trial period of that feature - it's pretty neat as you can attach a Standard(s) (and give it a rating) to each activity. #4thchat
In reply to
@MarkNechanicky, @JennRegruth, @Seesaw
