Alexis Blum, OFLA Professional Development Chair
Spanish Teacher, Wapakoneta High School

How many times have you heard these phrases this week? 

“Is this for a grade?” 

“Are you collecting this?” 

“Are we turning this in?” 

And my personal favorite…”Do we all have to do this?” 

For me, these are things that I used to hear all the time in my classroom. I was so frustrated with my students for constantly wanting a grade for everything! From my perspective, these questions made me feel like students only wanted to do something if they were getting credit. I kept asking myself, “Why do they only put effort into an assignment if they are getting graded for it?” I didn’t think I emphasized grades much in my classroom. We talked constantly about the value of improving proficiency and progress, but never about getting As, extra credit, etc. Why were my students still asking me these questions about points and grades? 

I reflected on this topic a lot because I often felt disheartened by the work I collected. Many students would end up copying from a friend, asking me to check it before turning it in “for real,” or just waving a white flag and submitting work that they didn’t really put time or effort into. Copying work or submitting work that was poorly done wasn’t happening with all my students. But, it was happening with more than I wanted to admit.

I started really considering the work I was taking for an accuracy grade. What assignments was I collecting? Why did I deem those assignments necessary for the accuracy grade? More importantly, what learning was I trying to show with each graded assignment? 

When we communicate with our students in the target language, much of the conversation is formative assessment. When we check for understanding, ask clarifying questions, or even ask for more information from our students, we analyze their responses to make sure they understand the language. So, I started to look at the work I was assigning and why I deemed the work worthy of student grades. After all, doesn’t a summative grade indicate that we are measuring their growth? Is that what my grade reflected? 

When I reflected on what the grades showed, I noticed some patterns. First, my summative grades usually happened toward the end of the chapter or unit. I liked that practice and felt that it was fair. Second, I noticed that some of my summative grades were on assignments that I was just trying to hold students accountable to complete. The activities weren’t a measure of what my students knew, but rather what they were able to complete in class or with a classmate. Many of my summative grades weren’t even evaluating student’s proficiency or ability to comprehend what they were learning! 

I realized that while I thought I was giving students motivation to complete their work, I was just pressuring them to get all the right answers. It’s like I wanted every student to get all the right answers all the time! I felt that by making an assignment worth a grade I could motivate them into putting in effort. But many students lacked the confidence to complete the assignment or simply weren’t ready to complete the work well. What I saw as complaining was really more of a call for help, a warning of insecurity in completing the assignment.

So, how do we challenge our students to show what they are capable of? First, I made a shift to grading with proficiency rubrics. I also showed students how I graded with the rubric, what I was looking for, and what each level meant. This change I made in grading has really shifted the mindset of many of my students. They aren’t so focused on getting a 100%, but more of working toward the goal on the proficiency scale. By explaining why I measure their work with proficiency levels, I feel that students better understand why we do what we do and why we practice what we do. I still have students who want to get a 100% and work hard to do so. However, using a rubric has encouraged students to demonstrate what they know and have acquired, not just cram for a test or quiz. 

I also started allowing students to redo or make corrections on work that I took for an accuracy grade. Not only did this take pressure off of students to complete their work perfectly the first time, it also put the focus on learning the material.  I also stopped marking off points for late work (within reason). For some of my students, the grades didn’t reflect their progress in language learning but rather their inability to be punctual, organized, or responsible. While those are all important things to be, it wasn’t what the grade in world language was measuring. I wanted my gradebook to reflect students’ progress toward proficiency, and these small changes made that so. 

These practices have helped me focus on the tasks that we complete and how I assess my students. My students do a lot of practice work that doesn’t cross my desk, and they are okay with that. My students generally want to do well, and by practicing without the pressure of turning it in, I have found most students make the effort to try. They don’t copy off each other (much) and rarely use translators. We practice and do assignments based on the assessments they will take, and that builds their confidence. After all, they CAN do the work! They just have to believe in themselves first.