AMS Weekly Update 17
January 2, 2018
Mission Statement
Accompsett Middle School actively promotes achievement, manners, and spirit by providing a safe and supportive learning environment which nurtures each student’s academic, social, emotional, and physical development while challenging them to reach their full potential. Achievement – we will reach our academic goals; Manners – we will model polite behavior; Spirit – we will demonstrate commitment to our school at Accompsett Middle School, the faculty, staff, administrators, and parents collaborate to provide a learning community which meets the needs of young adolescents.
Website: http://www.smithtown.k12.ny.us/schools/ams
Location: 660 Meadow Rd, Smithtown, NY, United States
Phone: 631-382-2300
Facebook: facebook.com/accompsettMS
Twitter: @scsd_ams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEMDPacUjUo
HooplaHa.com Acceptance Workshop Encourages Teens To Gain A New Perspective On Life
https://youtu.be/VCc_2i8hzno
GRADING PRACTICES THAT INHIBIT LEARNING
- Inconsistent grading scales The same performance results in different grades in different schools or classes.
- Worshipping averages All of the math to calculate and average is used, even when “the average” is not consistent with what the teacher knows about the student’s learning.
- Using zeros Giving zeros for incomplete work has a devastating effect on averages and often zeros are not even related to learning or achievement but to nonacademic factors like behavior, respect, punctuality, etc.
- Following the pattern of assign, test, grade. When teaching occurs after a grade has been and teach assigned, it is too late for the students. Students need lots of teaching and practice that is not graded, although it should be assessed and used to enhance learning before testing takes place.
- Failing to match testing to teaching Too many teachers rely on trick questions, new formats, and unfamiliar material. If students are expected to perform skills and produce information for a grade, these should be part of the introduction.
- Ambushing students Pop quizzes are more likely to teach students how to cheat on a test than to result in learning. Such tests are often control vehicles designed to get even, not to aid understanding.
- Suggesting that success is unlikely Students are not likely to strive for targets that they already know are attainable to them.
- Practicing “gotcha” teaching A neatly foolproof way to inhibit student learning is to keep the outcomes and expectations of their classes secret. Tests become ways of finding out how well students have read their teachers mind.
- Grading first efforts Learning is not a “one-shot” deal. When the products of learning are complex and sophisticated, students need lots of teaching, practice, and feedback before the product is evaluated.
- Penalizing students for taking risks Taking risks is not often rewarded in school. Students need encouragement and support, not low marks, while they try new or more demanding work.
- Failing to recognize measurement error Very often grades are reported as objective statistics without attention to weighting factors or the reliability of the scores. In most cases, a composite score may be only a rough estimate of student learning and sometimes it can be very inaccurate.
- Establishing inconsistent grading criteria Criteria for grading in schools and classes is often changed from day to day, grading period to grading period, and class to class. This lack of consensus makes it difficult to understand the rules.
Event Information
Parent Scheduling Meeting
When?
Wednesday, Jan 3, 2018, 07:00 PM
Where?