In 1972 I was a teacher on the staff of a new K-8, open concept, multi-level, team-teaching, non-grading school. As we met with parents we would share in great detail their child’s most recent skill mastery and current areas of study on a grade level continuum of skill development. There were no report cards. We […]

This week, Steve Barkley ponders the importance of Grading in Student Motivation. “The student needs feedback on the appropriateness of the learning behaviors that they are using.”

The September 2013 issue of Educational Leadership, titled Resilience and Learning, has several thought provoking articles. Two of them connected with the work I am doing with a few districts examining grading, motivation, and engagement. A Conversation with Angela Lee Duckworth (pages 14-20) explores the significance of grit (earlier blog).  She states that “grit and […]

Should students know their CPA as well as their GPA? I’ve just finished reading How Children Succeed by Paul Tough, where he poses: “If you were a college-admissions director or a corporate human resources manager scheduling entry–level employees, wouldn’t you like to know which ones had scored highest in grit or optimism or zest?” “If you […]

I spent this week with two groups of educators determined to increase student achievement in their communities. I was part of Wood County, WV school district’s Innovation and Dropout Prevention Grant.  Wood County formed a Dropout Prevention Leadership Team to study graduation rates, trends, and data to assess the dropout status, and to develop a […]