Monday, November 18, 2013

The Importance of Feedback

How often have you heard someone claim that student achievement is lower than it used to be because of increased poverty, or because of substance abuse among teens, or because of more students coming from single parent households, or because of a number of other reasons?

These circumstances do have an impact on student achievement, there is no doubt about it.  However, we have all also heard stories of students, classes, and schools who have apparently conquered obstacles like these and gone on to accomplish great things.  It is possible to transcend negative circumstances to attain the goals we've set for ourselves, and that others have set for us.

For the last year or so, I've been studying the topic of grading as it relates to student achievement.  I've been seeking answers to questions like, What are the most effective methods of measuring and communicating student achievement, and what are the least effective (or even toxic) methods?  What is the proper use of a letter grade or a percent on an assignment, and what does it really mean to the student, or to the college looking at their transcript?  Should homework be graded?  Why do we mark down on an English project, for example, when it's turned in late--after all, turning it in late is not an indicator of how well the student understands Shakespeare, but rather how irresponsible the student was.  

There are two experts in the field of educational assessment from whom I've learned much already:  Rick Wormeli and Doug Reeves.  This school year some teachers and I will be studying the work of these two men, among others, to evaluate our grading practices and look for ways to improve them to most effectively support student achievement.
For example, in one of his books Doug Reeves states, "...accurate, specific, and timely feedback is linked to student learning. ...feedback is not only more important than most other instructional interventions, it is also more important than socioeconomic status, drug use, nutrition, exercise, anxiety, family structure, and a host of other factors that many people have claimed are overwhelming."  The use of feedback--which is much more than just putting a letter grade or a number at the top of the paper--is one method of evaluating student work that can overcome the negative effects of all those barriers I named at the start of this article.

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