This document discusses moving from traditional grading practices to a formative assessment approach focused on feedback. It outlines six key formative assessment practices including clear learning intentions, co-created success criteria, descriptive feedback, powerful questioning, self and peer assessment, and student ownership. The research shows traditional grading does not motivate learning and students want more feedback to improve. The document provides examples of how to increase feedback in the classroom and embrace a fully formative approach where achievement starts at meeting criteria through feedback rather than averaging grades. It also addresses handling late and missing assignments formatively rather than punitively.

1. From Grades to
Feedback
Peter Jory
Don Ross Secondary Nov.2, 2012

2. A bit about me …
• Director of Instruction in SD No.48 (Sea to Sky)
• Former principal of Lake Cowichan Secondary School
• AFL in Communications 11/12 classes for 4 years
• Focus of School Plan and PLC sessions for 3 years
• BCELC and Quamichan experience with AFL
• VP in 3 different schools and a teacher in Agassiz (mostly
English and PE)

3. A bit about you …
• Please chat with partner and be ready to
report out in about 3 minutes
1. Who are you and what do you teach?
2. What types of AFL pieces are you using?
3. What do you want to get from the workshop?

4. A Review of the “Big Six”
“Shared” from http://chriswejr.com/category/assessment/
• BCELC (Cameron, Jensen) introduced the 6 BIG AFL PRACTICES as (please note that these
are taken directly or adapted from BCELC):
1. Clear Learning Intentions: let students know (in a language they can understand) what
they are expected to learn.
2. Criteria: work WITH learners to develop criteria of what quality looks like.
3. Descriptive Feedback: increase descriptive feedback (ongoing dialogue around
improvement in learning that causes thinking) and decrease evaluative feedback
(numbers, letters, and “good job”). Note: Education researcher John Hattie, in his book
“Visible Learning“, notes that using descriptive feedback is THE single most powerful
thing we can use to increase student learning. Please read Peter Jory’s great post on
feedback here.
4. Powerful Questions: increase quality “thinking” questioning to go deeper and show
evidence of learning. Move away from factual routine questions. TALK LESS, ASK MORE.
For more on quality questions from BCELC click here.
5. Self and Peer Assessment: Scaffolding of learning of self- and peer assessment in a
supportive, collaborative environment enables learners to become thoughtful about all
aspects of their learning. Heidi Andrade writes “If students produce it, they can assess it;
and if they assess it, they can improve it.” For more on self/peer from BCELC click here.
6. Student Ownership: centres on metacognitive awareness and action. Metacognition is
enhanced only when students have explicit understandings related to all other aspects of
AFL – and are able to take ownership for their learning as a result. Black and Wiliam add,
“Have the learner become aware of his/her own thinking – what are my strengths? What
do I need to get better at? What is my next step?”. For more on ownership from BCELC,
click here.

5. Why do we “grade”
assignments in school?
• Please chat with partner and be ready to
report out in about 3 minutes

6. “Traditional” assessment
• Everything is tallied in a mark book or spreadsheet
• Marks are seen as motivators
• Marks are averaged over the reporting period so that
everything counts and it therefore deemed “important”
• Late assignments are penalized a set amount, a set amount
per period of time, or not accepted at all
• All students do all of the same assignments
• Assignments that are not submitted receive a “zero” which is
then averaged in the same way as submitted assignments
• There are sometimes little distinction between behaviour and
understanding in regard to the student’s achievement
• Once an assignment is submitted, it is “done”

7. What the research tells us:
• Marks on individual assignments have little or no motivating
effect on students to learn
• Low marks on assignments often have a demotivating effect in
regard to learning
• Students will often attribute low assignment marks to factors
other than their own learning or interest in learning – such as
the teacher’s interest in them
• Low marks often come from a lack of understanding about the
assignment expectations rather than content knowledge
• Students are frequently dissatisfied with the lack of specific
advice they get, and the clarity of the advice they do get.
• Once a mark is given on an assignment – STUDENTS RARELY
LOOK AT THE FEEDBACK TEACHERS PROVIDE

8. What the anecdotal
information tells us … if you
ask:
• Most students will tell you that though they “prefer” to get
higher marks on assignments, it would not generally change
their behaviour in regard to LEARNING
• Students want to be successful in their learning and respond
positively to “more help”, meaning specific information on
how to improve
• THEY WANT AND NEED MORE FEEDBACK
• http://meganjakse.blogspot.ca/2011/08/5-years-later-
assessment.html

9. What is FEEDBACK?
• “.. Feedback needs to provide information specifically relating
to the task or process of learning that fills a gap between what
is understood and what is aimed to be understood.” –Sadler
• “Our feedback must tell students not just what needs to be
improved, but also how to go about it.” -Wiliam
• “Learning is more likely to be fostered when feedback focuses
on features of the task (success criteria) and emphasizes
learning goals.” -Kluger & DeNisi
• “In giving students descriptive feedback, you have modeled
the kind of thinking you want them to do as self-assessors.” -
Chappius

10. Why do this? Hattie’s results:
http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/what_works.htm
Influence Effect Source of
Size Influence
Feedback 1.13 Teacher
Students' prior
1.04 Student
cognitive ability
Instructional 1.00
Teacher
quality
Direct instruction .82 Teacher
Remediation/feed
.65 Teacher
back
Students' .61
disposition to Student
learn
Class environment .56 Teacher

11. As we evolve in our school
system …
• Here is a serious question: How would anyone really embrace
inquiry and personalized learning using only traditional
assessment methodology?

12. When do we give FEEDBACK?
• “Any feedback that students can't act upon or do something
about is useless feedback.” –Schimmer
• “Students can assess themselves only when they have a clear
pic of the targets their learning is meant to attain.” -Black &
Wiliam
• "Feedback needs to come while the students still think of the
learning goal as a learning goal ... " -Brookhart

13. What could it look like to
increase FEEDBACK in your
classroom tomorrow?
• More interactions each class. Either go to them or have them come
to you, but strive to have at least one more “check in” with every
student every day, check for understanding, and give some specific
information to guide their learning
• More steps built into your assignments where students can share,
reflect, discuss, and revise their evidence of learning
• More chances for you to review assignments with students before
giving a summative mark
• Opportunities for students to resubmit assignments or rewrite tests
if they can show evidence that their learning has evolved (because
the “test” you arbitrarily put on that day should not mean removing
any further motivation to learn or show learning)

14. What can it look like to be “all
in” with formative assessment?
• Assignments do not receive a mark or grade, but are not
accepted as complete until they are “Fully Meeting” or
“Exceeding” your expectations
• Students are given specific FEEDBACK on each assignment
until it is “Fully Meeting” or “Exceeding” expectations
• More assignments are deemed to be practice, and how many
are completed may differ between students
• Key assignments are mandatory, may receive letter grades
based on the criteria (ideally in a co-created rubric), and
missing any of them at reporting time means the student is at
an “I” or “In Progress” level

15. Continued …
• Achievement really starts at the C+ level – meaning if a
student has all of their key assignments in and at the “Fully
Meeting” level, they would have at least a C+ when it comes
time for reporting
• Their achievement level is determined through conversation
using the evidence of learning they have provided compared
with the criteria you have set for the course (using the
appropriate resources)
• Assignment tracking can use an old mark book or Excel
spreadsheet – but there is no averaging or calculating done!

16. Sounds weird …
• Discuss with a partner!

17. The Power of Switching
• for “struggling and reluctant” learners:
• Transition from just passing to mastery
(No more, “I just want the 5/10.”)
• Migration of more learning to exam situations
• for “typical” students:
• Focus on learning instead of doing (Ownership)
• Improved achievement
• for “high achievers”:
• The “stretch” learning they need to excel at the next level,
instead of giving them credit for previously learned skills

18. After trying it:
• “I can’t go back.”
• http://www.bcpvpa.bc.ca/downloads/adminfo_pdf/AdminfoJo
ry0411.pdf
• Further experiences with English 10 and Communications
11/12, both of which are exam courses
• Differential between class average and MOE Exam average
gets very tight – we can start to teach and assess more in line
with the Ministry curricula and standards

19. What about late assignments
and unsubmitted assignments?
• Excellent commentary by Tom Schimmer:
• http://tomschimmer.com/2011/02/21/enough-with-the-late-
penalties/

20. Changing the vernacular
• Moving from being focused on tasks to being focused on
LEARNING vastly improves learning – which translates into
achievement gains
• Use of the Three Critical Questions:
• 1. What am I learning?
• 2. How is my learning going?
• 3. Where do I need to go next?

21. Making the “leap” when
mandatory reporting time
comes:
• Evidence collection (portfolio?)
• Interim assessments that include conversations with each
student so they know where they are at in their learning
• Clarity of criteria and standards
• Opportunities for student to complete missing assignments
and move from current level to desired level
• Flexibility to decide what counts and what doesn’t
• Does the spreadsheet really tell a more accurate story of
student learning than your profession judgement backed by
the above?

22. What are the roadblocks?
• Please chat with partner and be ready to
report out in about 3 minutes

23. Isn’t this more work?
That depends …
• If you still have to touch every assignment and assess every
assignment and record every mark, then YES, it will be more
work.
• If you encourage a climate of student ownership for learning
and build in structures that give opportunities for self and
peer reflection, and you give a lot of feedback directly to the
student before actually “giving a mark”, then NO, it will be not
be more work.
• You should be “busier” in the class with the kids. You may be
less busy outside of class, or at least you can spend more
time planning instead of marking or giving comments that
will often not be used or understood.

24. What kinds of foundational
pieces do you need to make
this happen?
• The students need to understand what you are doing and why
you are doing it
• If this is not part of your general school culture already, you
will want to inform your parents (letter home, blog page,
resources etc.)
• Inform your principal
• Find, create, and co-create criteria, rubrics, and exemplars
• Exam course? Exam marking guides to shape expectations

25. Reporting Pilot
• The BCESIS Gradebook program and the jurisdictional
reporting template do not effectively meet our needs
• “Binning” solution with zeroed columns counting only the
assignments needed to provide evidence of learning
• School District No. 48 has applied to develop alternate report
cards that do not use letter grades for grades 4-9, replacing
them with more specific information, such as competency
rubric

26. More Resources:
• http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesAER/VideoLibrary/Feedbac
k/ViewingGuideFeedbackAfLVideoSeries.pdf
• http://seatoskylearning.edublogs.org/2012/01/05/calling-all-
formative-assessment-super-stars/
• http://attheprincipalsoffice.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/feedb
ack-or-feedforward/
• http://peterjory.blogspot.ca/2011/12/draft-towards-grading-
policy-that.html

27. Contact me:
• On Twitter @peterjory
• Today’s hashtag: #SD48ACB
• Via the School District No. 48 (Sea to Sky) website
• Via my blog http://peterjory.blogspot.ca/