FIAE Reflections: Chapter 12

This chapter talks about the various grading scales that could be used in the differentiated classroom. The authors seem to think that a 4 point scale is the most appropriate, sometimes mixing it with a 100 point scale when it makes sense to do so and then translating it to a 4 point scale for reporting purposes. They talk about the fact that grading is about showing mastery and not ranking and sorting students, therefore the minute differences will not matter. I agree that ranking and sorting students is unnecessary and often detrimental to developing mastery, but I think that the more detail in reporting the better. The more you average and estimate grades the less they mean. I never compare my grades with other people, but only with myself. I use the details of my grade to determine where I am in my mastery goals. If the grade is as arbitrary as they say, then why give a grade at all. There has to be some way to report what is actually learned and the level of mastery found in that learning. Perhaps rubrics hold the key but they need to be very specific and unambiguous. I was also a little confused because I don’t know how to calculate grades for a 4 point system. I don’t get what the classifications mean outside of the letter grade equivalent so perhaps I just don’t know enough.