J. Goode

 (Note: name modified to protect the unorganized)

Who is J. Goode? He is a student I taught many years ago and representative of a handful of students each year. I thought of him the other day and periodically when I focus on assessing learning vs. doing in schools. J. Goode was a mess organizationally at school. This is not atypical for a middle school student. Given the poor organization and apathy for homework, J. Goode's grade suffered. Rarely did he have his homework in. His term grades ranged from the C-F range for each term based on assignments he should have been bringing to class with him. Funny thing is, J. Goode typically scored B's and A's on tests. Clearly he was learning and most likely had a sound understanding of the content. J. Goode really had me thinking about my grading policies and how a student demonstrating knowledge of the content could get such low grades. I started changing my homework policy to have less impact on the overall grade. My hw policies originated with adopting those policies of teaching team members around me. I started to take late work because I wanted to see what the student understood rather than shut the learning door. I did provide a slight late penalty but not to the extent it would deter from my understanding of student learning. J. Goode made me truly think about what exactly a grade means.

J. Goode moved out of the district the year after I taught him. It is funny I remember him so well. Part of that reason is every year we get students like J. Goode. I am involved in conversations frequently about students like him.. Often, students like this are still getting those poor grades and bring up the question of learning vs. doing. How much of a role or weight should homework play in an overall grade? Should we accept late work? Should schools have a set homework policy for all teachers that might include items like accepting late work? What about those students opposite J. Goode who depend on the homework to get a passing grade? To me, it focuses on assessing the learning and a topic that comes up in schools across the country.I see the learning conversation becoming more important in this century. Great conversations, no easy answers, and certainly a challenge to traditional schooling.

Thanks Jason for challenging my beliefs. I hope you are doing well.Something tells me you are fine.