[etni] school grades
- From: David Graniewitz <davidzalman@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:32:33 +0200
I thought that I would add my 2 shekels worth to the debate on the School
Grade given on the Bagrut exam. Having done my A Levels in England 30 years
ago, I have always appreciated the fact that pupils in Israel get a chance
to prove themselves without having to rely on their performance in a one-off
exam that can be affected detrimentally by myriad external factors. A pupil
who has studied conscientiously over a period of 2 years fulfilling all the
requirements of a course can end up with lower grade than one who slacked
off for reasons of health or mental state on the day of the exam if there is
no system of continuous assessment.
This is not to say that I do not face the same problems as all of you when I
come to inform the pupils of their grades. However, I believe that the grade
is a necessary and a vital tool. It is the ultimate weapon in our
ever-diminishing armoury of means to reward and (dare I say it) punish
pupils for their attitude and behaviour, as well as for their ability. Were
this taken away, then we would be nothing in the eyes of most 11th and
12thgrade pupils who reckon that they know enough English without us.
It is the
best way of keeping bums on seats in my opinion. I realise that these words
might not be in keeping with everyone?s educational philosophy and that I
should be striving to make my lessons as riveting as possible to ensure that
no pupil would want to miss them, but I am merely being practical. High
school pupils today spread themselves very thin with the number of subjects
that they have to cope with for Bagrut. They understandably look for
shortcuts at every opportunity and will not do anything unless they see the
direct linkage to the grade that they will finally get.
In order for the school grade to be meaningful, here are my suggestions;
1. Stick by your convictions. You are a professional and therefore YOUR
word is final. Be firm but fair.
2. Make sure that you can justify the grade that you give. The invention
of Excel in my opinion has been a godsend. I simply spread the spreadsheet
out in front of the pupil/parent/principal in question and show how the
grade was worked out. Most people are blinded by science at this point. It
helps to carry around printouts of your spreadsheets so that they can be
produced at any moment during exam time.
3. Don?t be afraid of principals. If you feel that they are changing
grades, don?t hesitate to name and shame them.
4. Keep grades low at first. Only add bonuses when the pupils come to bug
you. Let them understand though what their real grade is first. If after you
have worked out everything, he/she has only got a 65, there is no way that
can be converted into a 90. If you have already added a 10 point bonus for
whatever reason, the pupil won?t be satisfied till you give him/her more.
5. Make sure the other members of your staff are using the same criteria
as you are to work out the grades. There is nothing worse than teachers
being labeled as stringent or lenient markers.
Of course all this advice will go down the toilet if/when the new literature
programme gets under way and the school grade will be worth 62.5% of the
final grade. Then the fireworks will truly begin.
Have a good week
David Graniewitz
Jerusalem
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