Larrat_Journal+2

This next assessment is a spelling assessment based on the spelling tests of the third graders at Washington Oak Elementary School. The spelling tests are given to two groups of students, the “Black Labs” and the “Red Sox.” One of these groups is at a 4th grade level in spelling; the other is a 3rd grade level in spelling. The teacher gives 2 spelling tests at the same time. She tells the students which spelling list the word is from and the students in that group write the word after she repeats it. The spelling tests are on a 1-5 scale, 5 being the best. This is the same scale used on the report card. The spelling tests are a way for the teacher to grade report cards in the spelling area. Since a 5 is “exceeding the standards,” only students in the 4th grade level spelling group can receive a 5. Receiving a 5 means that the student has gone above and beyond the expectations of the 3rd grade level, and is doing work almost or into the 4th grade level. The students in the 4th grade level group can only get a 5 if they spell all the words correctly with room for 2 mistakes. After they have misspelled 2 words, they can only receive a 4. If they spell 4-6 words incorrectly, they are at a 3 and so on. The highest number the students in the 3rd grade level spelling group can receive is a 4. This is still a good mark; just the students aren’t performing higher than their grade level. If the student gets all their spelling words right with room for 2 errors, they receive a 4. If the student gets 3-5 words incorrect they receive a 3, and so on. I feel this is a very confusing way to assess students work because the rubric only goes up to 5. If the students receive more than 10 words wrong they either receive a 2 or a 1 even if there is 25 words on the list. I don’t think I would grade on a 1-5 scale because there is too much guessing and personal evaluation involved instead of a set grade. It would be more affective if it was on a scale of 100. This way I would look at it as letters, A, B, C, D, F rather than 1-5. This way of grading is seen a lot throughout the grade and subjects. Since the report card is in a 1-5 scale I guess it could be easier for the teachers to compare their grades with the report card, but I think the rubric is not specific enough.