Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Edmonton teacher suspended for giving zero's

FlamesFanStrandedInEDM · 08-31-2012, 03:33 PM

Cecil,

The very base of the "No Zero Policy" is accurate assessment. If you were to go onto Alberta Education and take a look at a few curriculum's you wont find ANY that specify the importance of deadlines. Teachers are hired to teach to the curriculum. One curriuclum objective/outcome could state that "The student understands the effects of Globalization on the 3rd world". The teacher's job is to assess that outcome alone, behavior and tardiness do not come into play as it does not state "The student understands the effects of Globalization with a smile on their face" or "The student understands the effects of Globalization by September 13". If the teacher is teaching to the curriculum, they are only grading the outcome. Schools today are not graded on a bell-curve, they are graded on the knowledge of outcomes. So it shouldnt matter that the other students wrote the test 3 months earlier. If the student knows the outcomes, he knows the outcomes.

Children will have decades to learn the lessons behind punctuality and work ethic. They are in school to learn Math, Science, Social Studies, English, along with a bunch of other courses. The primary goal of schools are for students to Learn the curriculum.

As for the assignments that would fall under this policy....On a previous post to SilverGS i specified the difference between Formative Assessment and Summative Assessment. I know a lot of people have a problem coming to terms with this, but not everything that is done in a classroom is done for marks.

Formative Assessment are the activities that the teacher uses to teach the content, it gives them feedback on students understanding of the material. These activities do not count for marks. So thats why some of you may have come home as a child proud of your 100% on your Crossword on the "Giver", but the reality, it wasnt for marks and thats why your grade in English didn't seem to align with your "Giver Crossword"

Summative Assessments are what assignments that would fall under the umbrella of the "No Zero Policy". These are the assignments that the teacher would use for Marks. These come at the end of units to test the understandings of the curriculum outcomes. It is meant to give the teacher a "snapshot" of everything that student does or doesn't know. These may come in the form of Tests, Essays, Group Projects, Presentations. It takes everything the kid learned and thrown at the teacher to grade.

08-31-2012, 03:33 PM	#254
FlamesFanStrandedInEDM First Line Centre Join Date: May 2009 Location: Back in YYC....7 Years Later Exp:	Cecil, The very base of the "No Zero Policy" is accurate assessment. If you were to go onto Alberta Education and take a look at a few curriculum's you wont find ANY that specify the importance of deadlines. Teachers are hired to teach to the curriculum. One curriuclum objective/outcome could state that "The student understands the effects of Globalization on the 3rd world". The teacher's job is to assess that outcome alone, behavior and tardiness do not come into play as it does not state "The student understands the effects of Globalization with a smile on their face" or "The student understands the effects of Globalization by September 13". If the teacher is teaching to the curriculum, they are only grading the outcome. Schools today are not graded on a bell-curve, they are graded on the knowledge of outcomes. So it shouldnt matter that the other students wrote the test 3 months earlier. If the student knows the outcomes, he knows the outcomes. Children will have decades to learn the lessons behind punctuality and work ethic. They are in school to learn Math, Science, Social Studies, English, along with a bunch of other courses. The primary goal of schools are for students to Learn the curriculum. As for the assignments that would fall under this policy....On a previous post to SilverGS i specified the difference between Formative Assessment and Summative Assessment. I know a lot of people have a problem coming to terms with this, but not everything that is done in a classroom is done for marks. Formative Assessment are the activities that the teacher uses to teach the content, it gives them feedback on students understanding of the material. These activities do not count for marks. So thats why some of you may have come home as a child proud of your 100% on your Crossword on the "Giver", but the reality, it wasnt for marks and thats why your grade in English didn't seem to align with your "Giver Crossword" Summative Assessments are what assignments that would fall under the umbrella of the "No Zero Policy". These are the assignments that the teacher would use for Marks. These come at the end of units to test the understandings of the curriculum outcomes. It is meant to give the teacher a "snapshot" of everything that student does or doesn't know. These may come in the form of Tests, Essays, Group Projects, Presentations. It takes everything the kid learned and thrown at the teacher to grade.