Frequently Asked Questions...

I'm considering creating a FAQ for my interactive notebooks next year.  I'm a bit tired of answering a desperate student's "What can I do to raise my grade".  The answer is always the same.  Redo something....

At any rate, my current list of Frequently Asked Questions that I'll develop a nifty thingie for...

Q:  What can I do to improve my grade?
A:  Redo anything that isn't graded in red.

Q:  Can I have extra credit?
A:  No.

Q:  Why don't you offer extra credit?
A:  Because I offer resubmissions.

Q:  Will you accept _____ late?
A:  I will accept late projects, however, you've forfeited your right to resubmissions.  I will not accept late homework.  They're not worth enough in my class for me to bother with it.

Q:  I lost my handout, may I have another?
A:  A pdf is hosted on my website.  You get it.

Q:  What if I'm absent?
A:  It's your responsibility to make up all work in a timely manner.  You have the same number of days you were absent to make up work.  If your work hasn't been turned in after the number of days you've been absent, your work is officially late, and late work rules will apply.  For example, if you were sick for 2 days, you have two days to make it up.  On the third day, it's considered late, and you will lose your resubmission privileges or your work may not be accepted.

What am I missing?

Standards-Based Grading.

My previous school insisted on standards-based grading, and resubmissions were the school norm.  They believed in standards-based grading so much that their online grading system only allowed teachers to input grades by standard.  It was brilliant, and made sense to the teachers and students.

I've been reflecting on how to handle students' resubmission of work at my new school.  It's a traditional, large-district middle school.  I've been meaning to do something similar to what my previous school had, within the parameters that I'm given.  So far, not too many students take me up on the offer (not at the systemized, large-scale that APEX did, at least), but for those that do, I would like for them to think about their learning process and what they've done to remediate.  I don't want them to waste their time, or most importantly, mine.  Telling the students that they can only submit an assignment three times total helps.  I grade in three different colors, first in green, then in purple, then in red.  Once they hit red, the assignment is done.  No excuses.

The problem is, there are still students who will resubmit an assignment cold.  I really liked Sarah Hagan's "Request to Retest", so I reformatted hers so it matched the rest of my classroom forms.