Grading is a difficult question. The number of points is dependent on the material being assessed.

Knowledge Checks are probably the easiest to limit the number of points as they usually only assess one or two lessons. As such, five points or less seems reasonable.

When considering tests or quizzes, seventh grade likes to base the number of points on how many lessons are being assessed and how much material is in the unit. For example, a module consisting of 8 lessons could take eight days or sixteen days to cover. Generally, we like to have tests worth between 20 and 30 points, though.

Writing assignments are completely dependent on the standards being assessed. When creating our rubrics, we usually grade each category on a four-point scale, times the number of categories (standards) being assessed. However, in some instances, we do use fewer points or some mixture within the four-point range.

Regarding novel study, I think it best bet to wait until all grade levels have completed their novel study to discuss points and grading.

I think we're already moving in the right direction for a unified department. We've been discussing having a ru-bank of common language for rubric categories. Although this has yet to be implemented, I believe it is a great and somewhat easy step to take. We've also been working on writing across the grades, specifically with different concentrations in each grade level and things that should be standard within the middle school.

In theory, discussion-based assessments sound great. I have some concerns about the feasibility of them, though. For example, how do we complete them with every student that we have? If it is a graded assignment within Canvas, how do all students complete it on the day it is due? We all know some students can't handle having overdue work. Would we be able to use class time to set up appointments for students? What if there are students ahead or behind? Do we discuss where they are or just roll with it whenever a student gets to that part of our course?

On the topic of grade-level teams and subjects, I would love to see cross-curricular projects and have tests, projects, and writing assignments spread out more, but the logistics seem at best a major undertaking. In seventh grade, we already have a calendar started. However, with the changes we want to make and the new curriculum, ELA 7 hasn't even looked at that calendar yet. Additionally, this is difficult if we aren't following the curriculum closely because we're adapting to student needs.

With writing, I have struggled this year since every piece of writing is scored separately, thus making some writing assignments worth over 150 points total. That is a large chunk of weight in their grade, if they are poor writers or do not complete these writing tasks at all, that can bring down a score significantly in the blink of an eye.

As much as I like the thought behind it, I do not think discussion-based assessments would work in this setting for a number of reasons. How would we hold asynchronous students accountable? How would we have time to fit 90 discussions in to our schedules as teachers on assessment day, and what about students who have not even started the course yet (even though it is March- you know those students EXIST).

Before I make too many judgement calls on the Novel Study, I am interested to see how things go at each grade level since we are all doing a little something different.

I do think we are getting better collaborating and trying to work together for the greater good of all of our students. This year was a year to work out MANY kinks as we got started with our own curriculum and with Canvas. Canvas certainly is not as user-friendly as I had hoped, and I think that a lot of the bumps in the road have been specifically related to that in itself. Hopefully next year, we are able to find some fixes going in to the school year instead of so many things changing as we go.

I don't have strong opinions about point value for any of these items other than the fact that anything deemed an exam or test should be relatively long so that one or two wrong answers do not tank one's grade.

I don't think that we should be moving a student up to high school who has avoided all writing assignments, so points should weighted high enough so that they cannot click through MC, leave a writing prompt blank, and pass. If writing is an issue, then the student needs attention and intervention -- not an alternative that gets them out of writing. Sometimes you can "trick" them into writing by offering a different format (ppt, bulleted list, etc.) but writing is an essential life skill.

I don't think that discussion-based assessments work well as graded events, but I would like to see a social media type of discussion going about topics (such as the novel study). It would not need to have points. In lit circles in the past, I have had students become intense and passionate about the character in a novel -- I think that could play out in a moderated online discussion.

I think that collaboration can work really well, but there has to be an individual work component. I enjoy using the lesson plans and activities that other teachers have made -- especially if that teacher creates something I never would have thought of. For group cohesiveness, it's important for each of us to be flexible and understand that each of us has our own style. I love to learn from another teacher's creation. I think conflicts can come up when we get to married to our own way of doing things (and we lose the opportunity to try a new way of working with/assessing our students).

Tests would be similar to knowledge checks, I would think. Again...unsure about what that looks like as far as Mastery, but am interested. I feel like I do not have much input on this...other than I think tests might be an option or be obsolete at some point. There are other ways students can exhibit mastery--portfolios, essays, etc.

As far as writing assignments...I think there should be some choice of how to express their knowledge of content (ie. different topics, narrative options).

The novel study should be student chosen. I think the students should read their own novels if they wish, but that we should still lead a novel for students who struggle or need more assistance. The novel study assessments should also involve choices--I like our choice board idea this year.

I think our collaboration as a dept is getting better because we are always rolling with the new changes. Everyone brings something different to the table, and I feel we all share out our strengths.

As far as discussions go, I see that option in Canvas but have not approached it with my students. I think discussion 'rules and norms' are something that will need to be taught to 6th graders before they are able to access and use effectively as a collaboration tool with peers.

I think the current system for knowledge checks being just a few points works, since these are quick assignments just to give students some practice and see what they know. However, it may be worth considering weighting them a little more heavily in test-based units to even out the number of points in those modules.

I think that tests, final writing assignments, and PBLs should all carry about the same weight so that students with various strengths are neither penalized nor put at an advantage because of the medium of assessment.

I think discussion based assessments are a great idea in theory, but in practice I'm not sure it is feasible. I also don't think there is a good way to make this work for our async students.

For writing, the way it is set up now that students submit each chunk of the writing and that gets graded, then the final piece gets graded, one writing assignment can be worth up to 400 points. That is a lot. I do like how it is chunked, but I think it could probably be reworked a bit.

Originally, the novel study had 5 quizzes, 3 writing assignments, a final summative writing assignment, and a STEM project. This was A LOT. We ended up dropping a few of these items. I think for the novel study, a summative assessment with a choice board would be best. Then for the rest of the module, we could just focus on reading and activities for the individual novels. I do like how we split up into duos this year to teach novels, and that we gave students choice.

I like the idea of discussion based assessments, but like others, I wonder about the logistics of these. I like Jen's idea of doing some sort of online discussion (similar to discussions they have on Discord, etc.). Or perhaps they could record themselves answering a question?

I think we are all getting better on collaboration. I would like to see more uniformity among the grade levels, especially in terms of grading writing.

With everything being new this year, I think a lot of us were very overwhelmed and this wasn't our best year, in a lot of ways. I hope that next year, we will feel less like we are drowning and more like we can swim!

Overall, this year was a lot of “new” and was overwhelming at points.  Nevertheless, we were able to join and make it the best we could.  Being a team, hearing what each other has to say, and trying new things is a positive! We need to continue to do this!

Discussion based assignments would be awesome, especially if we could utilize them with argumentative modules or the novel study. The hard part is the consistent struggle that all online class discussions face: how do we make sure it's original content that is actually engaging and not just "I agree. Bye." Even my 12th graders at my past school would resort to that.

We could definitely be more unified as a department by looking at the novel study and comparing ideas for next year with relation to things like, "How are you teaming up, offering choices, etc.?" and "How many times a day are you offering live classes for it?"

Upon reflection, I agree with others. Knowledge checks are weighted fairly as they usually only assess one lesson. I think tests and writing assignments should be similar in point value. In our curriculum, writing assignments are worth significantly more points than tests. This can skew a student’s grade if they struggle with writing. I think the novel study should also be similar in point value as it is our second PBL and can help students who struggle exhibit strengths in different areas.

Discussion-based assessments are a great idea; however, I am concerned about asynchronous students. 

I think we could unify as a department by collaborating on rubrics. Although this might not work for all assignments, we could consider using similar rubrics to establish expectations for writing throughout middle school.  

Our writing assignments are chunked, which is a huge plus for students. It allows for us to assess whether students need the additional practice with writing individual parts of an essay. I think we need to talk about how we want to actually grade these writing assignments and what the rubrics will look like. Rubrics should be somewhat consistent across all grade levels, and we should be thinking about how we can connect that to the type of writing they will complete on the PSSAs. I also want to echo Michelle with the point values. Some of them are very high, so we need to have consistency there, as well.

We are currently in our novel study. At this point, we have adjusted quite a bit to make sure that we are doing what's best for our students and ourselves. I love that the students chose a novel based on interest because it encourages more engagement. I would like to dedicate more time to the novel study, but this is a discussion that we can have once it is completed.

I think that the idea behind DBAs is great, however, additional discussions should be conducted between the teachers before attempts are made to implement.

I think collaboration has improved on our team. We seem to work well with each other and provide lessons that are very engaging. There are a few lessons that made my live lesson more exciting (thanks Stacy for your Ask the Ancients lesson). I think it is worth noting that we learn more from each other, and it is important to consider all perspectives when collaborating. Even when those perspectives differ from our own.

Tests are not weighed as heavily as writing assignments, as the writing assignments are chunked throughout the module. I like how the writing assignments are chunked, but they should be weighted less.

I think the novel study should also be chunked to help students complete the final summative assessment more easily. I think this would be a great opportunity to also involve other content areas for a PBL to coincide with the novel. I do not think quizzes or knowledge checks should be a part of the novel study to allow students more time and energy to enjoy their book.

Speaking of other content areas, I like the opportunities we have to pull Science and Social Studies into our whole group lessons on Fridays, as well as the assembly time each Friday. I do like having this weekly so the students can see us all together creating our team community. I also appreciate that Science and Social Studies both work on writing skills (CER and GIST) in their respective classes. It helps reinforce to the students the importance of organizing their writing. I think that if we go back to teaching twice a day with all different times then that would allow me to join Social Studies, Science and even Math if it works out that way, to help go over PBLs as a team, pull kids into BORs to help with reading comprehension skills in other subject areas, etc.

I think as a grade level, we do a wonderful job collaborating with each other, as well as our LSTs and interventionists. Everyone takes ownership and responsibility towards lessons, assignments, and creating materials. I do agree with Jen, also, that each teacher does have their own style and if a lesson that another teacher has created is not suitable for a teacher's teaching style or students, then we need to allow flexibility and individuality. We all have different student populations, skill levels, reading levels, etc. Some teams do not have any IEP students whereas some teams have EL students as an example. What may work for my group of students may not work for another teacher's group. As a department, I think we are still learning our respective curricula (which I know will change next year) as well as learning how Canvas and Focus work. I think we are all doing our best.

I know that the curriculum will change for the 24-25 school year, but I am hoping it stays as consistent as possible the following year so we can hit the ground running without needing to start all over if that makes sense. I do believe that certain assignments will need to be refined as we go, but I would like to give some things time before we decide it does not work, specifically with curriculum and the novel study (which I think is going well so far!).

I do like the concept of DBAs. I went to that training two weeks ago and I found it very useful and could easily be implemented into our curriculum. Time, however, is a concern and I do not think this would work on a monthly basis or even by module. I think 3 times a year is more realistic or having DBAs reserved for students who do not enjoy writing (not for every assignment, maybe just a handful.)

For writing, I like how writing assignments are chunked. In 8th grade, the individual chunks, in my opinion, are worth too many points resulting in a writing assignment (350+ points). The chunks should be worth 20-40 points and the final submission worth 100. I also think we should give students a choice for writing topics.

The STs are enjoying the novel study. As for grading, in my opinion, the current module has too many assessments: quizzes, writing assignments, an exam, and a STEM project. The novel study would be a great place to incorporate UDL for assessment with an approved rubric.

As for discussion-based assessments, could we use this as an option for ST choice board on how to demonstrate mastery?

I believe my team has come a long way since September. We are collaborating well with picking lessons to create and sharing our lessons with the team. Through this process, I have learned new techniques and approaches to topics. I enjoy having the option to use a colleague's lesson, modify it for my class, or create something on my own.

Again as in 2007, in the most recent meta-analysis of effective writing instruction, one of the most effective ways to improve writing skills is to do explicit instruction for summarizing and paraphrasing and consistently have students apply it. Having students "view themselves" as writers is key according to the NWP and WRITE Center as well. We as teachers need a faster way to grade these, while still evaluating for mastery of skill and content (not just completion).

I have no idea how to unify so many people except to have everyone together select the most relevant standards for each grade level and make sure that they align. Looking at the school's mission statement is usually a good place to start working for alignment, but we aren't really authorized to do that kind of work.

For DBA, if we include these as separate assignments, we need to drop knowledge checks because we're already doing them.

Unification as a department is definitely a process, but I think in general we communicate well. Making sure that we are implementing vocabulary that is consistent among grade levels would be really helpful. For example, my students don't seem to know what textual evidence is. I'm curious to know what it is called in the elementary.

DBAs are great in theory, but unless we are spending a few days assessing, there would not be enough time to talk to all of our students. I think it could work if we used it occasionally and gave students the option of a DBA or a written assessment.

In sixth grade, there is quite a bit of collaboration. I am not used to this as I came from a BM in which there were two of us teaching at one grade level and I did the majority of the planning. Collaboration does make planning much easier as I've learned a lot by seeing and implementing some of the activities that others have shared. I think we do a great job with collaboration.

As far as writing projects go, I do think they need to be weighted heavily so that the students complete them and understand the importance of them. However, grading it in pieces and then having the students put it together is difficult for the students and the teachers.

I do use collaboration on Padlets with my students and most work well. I set them to be reviewed first and go over expectations.

I think there are a lot of tools out there that need to be explored and am eager to learn how to create a better learning environment for my students. I think it is hard to do when we are learning to do things on the fly so often.

This year it is harder to work together because we honestly do not have time to do so.

I think there should be 2 novel studies a year. The first one should be scaffolded and done as a group. The second one allows students to select their own novels to show mastery of analyzing literature through completing standards-based projects. For the students who would be hesitant to do a novel study on their own, we could do a second group that is still working together on reading the novel and discussing it while the work is completed a little more independently.

I like that everyone shares out resources and materials they have created. I think that helps a lot when it comes to unifying the department. I think looking at how the standards progress from grade to grade and how that aligns to the curriculum is the best way to unify the department, because in the end, we each have our own teaching style and need to address the individual needs of the kids. If every module has the same formative assessment at the end, that helps keep the goal in mind while offering some flexibility in how we get to that goal.

I like the discussion that Canvas offers, but it would take a lot of moduling for 6th graders on how to post. However, this could allow them to get use to analyzing what was said and writing a thoughtful response with evidence. As far as DBAs, I think we work these in naturally to check student understanding on concepts, especially for the students who don't do so well on tests.

As far as collaboration in grade level teams, it would be nice to share what standards we're covering and seeing if there was a way for other subject area teachers can help reinforce or practice some of the same skills. For example, if we're working on using media and visuals, then maybe Science and Social Studies can focus on how media and visuals help to better understand a text. It would be nice to do cross-curricular projects to help unify a team. Could one of the PBL projects be cross-curricular to show how all of the subjects are important in solving one problem or task?

Regarding writing, I feel we should revisit writing assignments in the curriculum so they are not worth the largest portion of students' grades. Writing is definitely very important and necessary, but we know our students struggle with it the most, so it takes a hit on the overall ELA grades of the students who struggle the most. I believe tests and large writing assignments should be more balanced out both in number and in point value.

In terms of the novel study, it is simply too soon to say as ELA 7 has not yet begun the module. Once it is finished, it will be easier to determine how students should be assessed. I believe discussion-based assessments could come into play here and be used throughout the novel study module, but logistically, I am not sure how that would work.

Lastly, collaboration within the department is definitely improving, but there are still a lot of inconsistencies and disparities regarding expectations for each grade level, so this is clearly a work in progress. Ideally, things should be more consistent across the board, which would make collaboration easier on the whole.