Jim Madden WRT101 CRN----- 0 Draft: Essay #2
[TITLE] Evaluating Articles about Changing the Grading System
[MISSING INTRODUCTION
This first draft needs a little introduction to tell readers how hard it
Note that this writer analyzed
article-by-article. You can also have one
paragraph per point: logic, statistic use,
named interview sources.
Organizing by criteria, use paragraph header words such as
"Statistics," "Named Studies," "Interviews," and so
on."
USE HEADERS! The
header tells us which article you will evaluate.
EXAMPLE:
[Marzano Article]
In the first article I will evaluate, Robert Marzano put forth some reasons that grading in the classroom should be changed. The first of these deal with the factors that make up the assessment of a grade.
[Note: Student summarizes each article in a sentence or two before telling which types of evidence it has. EACH TIME he tells a claim that the writer makes, he tells the type of evidence to back that claim.]
MISSING: [Student failed to introduce his quoted citation with his own phrase
to state the claim!]
[Example introduction:] Dr. Marzano asserts that "Teachers
consider factors other than academic achievement when they
assign grades"(Marzano 3). A study was cited by Marzano within
the article where teachers were asked what they considered
when assigning grades to students. Many teachers used
effort, behavior, cooperation, and attendance along with
academics. Not all teachers used all of the criteria. The
second factor deals with how much the assessment effects the
grade. "Teachers weight assessments differently" (Marzano 3).
Another study cited by Marzano had team teachers grade
the same students separately. They were surprised to find
differences, but discovered that they placed different emphasis
on different assessments. The third factor dealt with teachers
not interpreting the same grade in the same way. Marzano
claims that "Teachers misinterpret single scores on classroom
assessments" (Marzano 3). The studies he cites show that some
tests have more than one type of question within the same test.
This can be confusing. The fourth factor is that our grading
system is old. Marzano observes that "Today's system of
classroom grading is atleast 100 years old" (Marzano 13).
Based on the findings in the studies he cites, Marzano claims
that there is a need for a common vocabulary about grades.
Throughout the article the author cites primary
sources to defend his statements. Much of his work,
however, is based on small studies. He does indicate that
the grading system that we use now has no research to back
it up. Some of the figures were not discussed in depth.
He never made any suggestions for improvement, but rather
saved that subject for later articles.
[Edwards Article ]
"Let's End the Grading Game" (by Clifford Edwards)deals
with the problem from a slightly different point of view.
Edwards believes that grades have questionable benefits.
Various uses for grades were examined and rejected. Uses
such as predictors of academic success were deemed less
important than predictors of occupational success. "There
is little justification for continuing them just as a
service to universities" (Edwards 260). The authors also
put forth a number of negative effects of grading. They
cite research, which indicates that grades kill creativity,
reduce intrinsic motivation and diminish responsibility.
The authors consistently back up their statements with
primary sources from research studies. They offer no
diagrams to illustrate their points. This fact however
does not seem to detract from the article. They also offer
a solution to the problem of grades. They suggest that if
grades were abolished, "students work would be evaluated in
a more authentic way through portfolios, displays, research
projects" (Edwards 262).
[Roth Article ]
In the article, "Our Grading System Throws Kids a
Curve, Roth takes the position that a teacher best give not
a number of high grades. Such a move might stall a
teacher's move up the career ladder. Teachers need to
decide whether to encourage cooperative learning or to
stick to the bell shaped learning curve and have students
compete for a grade.
In this article the author does not cite any works or
studies to back up his statements. He presents a well-
developed step-by-step argument to support his position.
The article seemed almost to be a venting of his anger
because of what happened to his colleague. Yet his venting
was controlled and logical.
[STUDENT IS MISSING A CONCLUSION.
DECIDE which
article had the best structure in terms of evidence given
to support its points.
DECIDE which article had the least evidence.
- Additionally what surprised you or that you hadn't realized before about this
set of articles?
- Explain how taking the articles apart to see how and how well the writer
supported his or her points helped you.]
WORKS CITED:
Culbertson, Linda; Jalongo, Mary. "But What's Wrong with
Letter Grades?" Childhood Education 75 (1999): 130-135.
Edwards, Clifford; Edwards, Laurie. "Let's End The Grading
Game" The Clearing House 72 (1999): 260-263.
Marzano, Robert. Transforming Classroom Grading Virginia:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,
2000.
Roth, William. "Our Grading System Throws Kids a Curve."
The Education Digest 65 (2000): 27-31.