Feedback and Grades

Your achievement is the goal of everything we do in this class.  Our assessments and feedbacks are also designed to increase your achievement. On any particular assessment, you will receive multiple scores; one for each learning goal that appears on this assessment.  We will use ActiveGrade to keep track of your scores, and your learning progress. 
This class only has four grades: 1st quarter, 1st semester, 3rd quarter, 2nd semester.
All other scores are your most current feedback related to specific learning goals.
At the end of each grading period, the average of your most current scores will translate to letter grades.

Refer to ActiveGrade to view your most current progress in achievement.

We use rubrics scores (not points) to give you feedback on your assessments. The scores communicate your skill level with each learning goal, not the assessment as a whole. I would like to describe our rubric scores in more detail.  The main idea behind rubric scores is to show you your level of science skill and understanding.

• At level 4, you understand the important information and skills accurately and in detail. You can apply the important skills without error and with fluency, and can also explain them in such a way to teach another these same skills and information.
• At level 3, you understand the important information and skills accurately but not in detail. You can apply important skills without significant errors, and can also explain them in a knowledgeable, but superficial way.
• At level 2, you have an incomplete understanding and/or have some misconceptions about the important information and skills; however, you know enough to have a basic understanding of the topic. You make some significant errors when applying the skill but still accomplish a rough approximation of the process.
• At level 1, you have so many misconceptions or your knowledge is so incomplete that you do not demonstrate an understanding of the topic. You make so many error in applying the skill that you cannot actually apply the skill.
• A score of 0  indicates that you provided little or no information with which to make a judgement.
  

As you receive feedback from all our assessments, please keep the Stockdale Paradox as your guiding perspective:
you must retain faith that you will prevail in the end and you must also confront the most brutal facts of your current reality.

When you receive your assessment scores, you can choose to learn from them.  Here are some ways you can learn from your assessments:

• Choose not to get discouraged. Remember the Stockdale Paradox.
  
• If the scores you receive are surprising to you, reflect on what you assumed you could do, and what the feedback really communicates.
  
• Compare your assessments with exemplary examples, with the goal to identify the differences between your work and the exemplars. You can interview your classmates with level 4 work. They are here to help you acheive learning. Ask them, "how did you approach this?" rather than "what did you do?" or "can I copy your work?"
  
• Compare your assessments with the solution key. Again, approach it with a learner's eye. What is written out in the solution that you didn't write? What is explained that you didn't explain? If you need more help identifying the differencese between your work and the solution, don't hesitate to talk with me. I am here to coach you through the learning process.
  

If you choose to use your assessment scores as learning opportunities like I outlined above, you will go a long way forward to achieving the two goals of our class: (1) to prepare you with science knowledge and skills for the next step in your educational career, and (2) to prepare you to be a resilient, growing learner for the rest of your life.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Make today great!