Secondary Standards-Based Grading and Reporting Handbook

          In the “Secondary Standards-Based Grading and Reporting Handbook,” one of the sections focused on the importance of not giving a student a “zero” grade. In the student’s mindset, they are seeing that they have accomplished nothing in the unit. For a student this can be soul-wrenching. It is possible for the student to feel motivated to do better in the next unit, however the possibility of them losing motivation is highly likely.

          In order to avoid giving a student a zero as a grade for one of their assignments or tests, I feel as if the teacher should create a test where a student can show their level of understanding. For instance, a teacher cannot really see how much their students know via a multiple choice test. Teachers should instead work towards creating their own test. The test should include questions that require their students to write out their responses. Having a test that follows this scheme will allow teachers to gauge where each of their students levels of understanding are at.

          When the zero is eliminated the student’s likely-hood of succeeding are far greater. Therefore, I wonder how the concept of re-taking an exam is viewed. In several of my high school classes the option of re-taking a test was rare, but it was still an option if it was clear that a large portion of the class was not understanding the material. However, other teachers in several of my classes stood firm on their belief that there would only be one copy of a test given and there would not be any re-takes. As a teacher-candidate I feel as if a wise teacher would allow for their students (who clearly did not understand the material) to re-take an exam after review of the material. This way would guarantee that their students would not fall behind if they did not understand a concept taught in class.