Looking for Evidence of Learning Versus Completion of Work
There are a lot of students who learn what they are supposed to learn and subsequently fail a course. On the other hand, there are a lot of students who don't learn what they are supposed to learn and pass a course.
Why?
I don't think the answer comes as a surprise to anyone. We personally say the answer all the time. What do you say when a student asks, "How do I get my grade up?" Really, think about your answer, but more importantly, think about what it means to how our classrooms function.
What do we say when asked that question? We say, "Turn in your missing assignments."
Bingo. There it is. The reason why students can fail a course despite learning everything or pass a course despite having major learning gaps. The learning isn't the most important factor in whether or not a student is deemed ready to move on–completion of work is.
Let's hear that one more time: Learning isn't the determining factor in whether or not the majority of students are deemed ready to move onto the next course of study.
I don't want to move past this too quickly. Really chew on that for a second. This is how the majority of our system has functioned for as long as it goes back. If you do what I tell you to, you'll be fine. What type of student, what type of person does that create? Does it create someone who thinks creatively, who problem-solves independently, or who takes risks? Not at all. It creates compliant, rule-following drones who don't know how to think for themselves.
We already have enough of those in our society. Just hop on social media for like three seconds. They'll be right there waiting.
So, what's the alternative to basing grades on whether or not students have completed their work?
The alternative is basing them on whether or not the student has provided evidence of their learning. Now, that might sound like I'm playing with words there, but it's actually a huge shift, one that MUST be made, especially right now as our normal school system has been so disrupted.
What does this mean? What does it look like to evaluate students based on the evidence they give us?
1. A student who shows proficiency while doing half the assignments should have a higher grade that the student who completes all their work and shows a lack of understanding.
I mean it. Getting things done is not at all the same as learning or knowing something. The fact that the student completed all their work definitely should be celebrated somehow, but it doesn't mean they automatically deserve to move on.
The question I always ask is, "Do I have enough evidence to determine the student's level of understanding with this learning objective?" The key is "enough" evidence–not all, not even most in some cases. If you have a reasonable amount of evidence, then you have enough to determine the student's score. And no, this is not an adjusted score because they didn't turn in all the work. Their grade is a representation of their learning. If they learned it, they learned it. Period.
So again, the question is, "Do I have enough evidence to determine the student's level of understanding with this learning objective?"
If the answer is yes, then record the score. If the answer is no, well, let's move onto the next item.
2. There are so many ways students can provide evidence of learning.
3. A collection of a few smaller pieces of evidence are more reliable than one large piece of evidence.
What's the big takeaway?
- Have I provided students multiple opportunities through multiple methods to show me what they know?
- Am I sure that my students have learned to a reasonable degree the learning outcomes they needed to get from the course?
- What matters more, that they did what I told them to or that they learned what they needed to?