Estimated reading time: 1 minutes 37 seconds. Contains 324 words.
Target Audiences: Classroom Teachers and Literacy Coaches
What’s Happening
It’s my fourth year in seventh grade. I have reached a point where I am questioning, curious, and driven. What I’ve been doing and what I’ll be doing is evolving, but I still catch myself. I’m in that transition phase of knowing better and doing better. My understanding of these learners has shifted.
Different worlds exist in elementary and middle school. I’ve taught nearly everything in between for well over two decades now, and I still don’t know it all…
won’t know it all.
How We Got Here
Recently, sitting at a table for a meeting with parents, administrators, specialists, and a student, we talked about setting goals for the future. What’s next? The parent said, “He gets good grades in some of his classes. I just don’t know what to do. Does he still need all this help?” My response was one I’ve often given in middle school, “Well, you see, grades in middle school are more a reflection of what you do, not what you know.” Heads nodded. But I sat there, perplexed by my own statement. Frustrated.
After another set of nearly one hundred essays graded and reduced to a number, I am frustrated. Perplexed.
Of Note
Back in 2018, I had this same struggle. I remember reading Maja Wilson’s Reimagining Writing Assessment. I began to dabble in new ideas and new ways of assessing writers’ learning, not just picking apart the pieces. And now, it is 2024, and I’m finding myself in a similar place. So, I reflect, and read, and re-direct my energy into the learning.
What’s Next
That re-direction has led to exploring, yet again, effective alternatives to traditional rubrics for writing assessments. I consider portfolios, holistic scoring, single-point rubrics, and self-assessment.
But, the learners are all so different.
I lean in. Engage in more conferring, encourage annotated drafts, and offer checklists.
Still stuck.
So, I figure I’ll write about this struggle. I will ask my community. What are you changing? What’s working? How are you?
I’ll be rereading and reimagining.
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