Reply to Let’s update gradebook

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It’s less about not putting the grades into SIS than not grading the work at all. When teachers don’t grade and return assignments, how are kids supposed to learn and do better the next time?[/quote]

This is my main concern. I know how overworked teachers are (I teach ES). Actually, I can't even imagine MS teachers that have to grade assignments from 4-5 sections of 25+ students each. BUT, I do think my kid needs more than a grade in a computer system, particularly for non-math subjects. In all of 7th grade and so far in 8th my kid has not receive a single word of feedback on any writing assignment, be it for History, Science, or English. Only the number/letter grade and sometimes circled items on a rubric. No redline markups, not even form comments like "needs more evidence, watch your grammar, source?", etc. Even for assignments that hit the mark, some positive words would go a long way to boost confidence and enthusiasm for the topics.

I don't know what the answer is, because truly a dedicated MS teacher is already doing more (unpaid!) overtime than we can probably imagine. But I do know that this inadequate level of feedback is a disservice to my kid who could be using that feedback to improve. [/quote]

Yes, it is a disservice. It absolutely is. Is the solution 15 hours of middle school and high school grading each weekend? That’s how comments on papers happen. That’s what I’ll be doing again this weekend. That’s what I did for 3 hours last night.

I have to sacrifice my own family for those comments. I grade before dinner. I grade after dinner. I grade at my kids’ sporting events. I grade in the car if someone else is driving. I miss family events. I missed a family outing to PA last weekend so I could stay home and work.

Is this acceptable to you? I hear that kids need comments. What I don’t hear is an acknowledgment that those comments take major sacrifice. [/quote]

That’s exactly how it works outside of teaching. I don’t think it should but it does. In consulting the job is done when the job is done, not when you’ve put in your paid salary hours for the week. Having said that schools need to reevaluate its processes and staffing with some work-study data. Then hire some graders who can handle the bulk of the grading. Kids are on the critical path to sustaining a functional nation. [/quote]

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