Teacher Interview on Grading Practices

The program/site visited

As I am interested in the K-12 Level, I visited the Maple Bear, mokdong. In case of Korea center, their level is mainly divided by age. At Maple Bear, typical teaching students ages are ranging from 3 years of age – 10 years of age. Programs are divided as below:

(1) Kindergarten Program
(2) Intensive Kindergarten Plus Program
(3) Moms and Tots Program
(4) ESA Program
All ESL classes follow CLI curriculum and delivery. In addition, the program is designed to take advantage of the rich Maple Bear classroom environment with a focus on child centered learning.
(5) Intensive English Plus Program:
A Canadian immersion style program for students with strong English language skills.

I interviewed with Han To Uyen and her background is as below:
● Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Studies – Brock University, Ontario, Canada
● Management Studies – Humber College , Ontario, Canada
● TESOL Diploma – Oxford Seminars – Ontario, Canada
● Fall Tutor, Learning Disabilities of Niagara – Canada

Policy for grading English learners.
Maple Bear’s grading policy is clearly structured through percentages as follows:

90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
50-69% D

They evenly devide the each item and grades are to communicate effectively to parents and students. Therefore the basis of their assignment should be clearly articulated as below:

40%: Class participation and classwork
30%: Tests and Quizzes
15%: Projects
15%: Homework
=======================
100%: Cumulative Grade

Examples:
1.0 Class Work (40%)
1.1 writing samples
1.2 daily class assignments
1.3 group activities
whole group/small group/cooperative/flexible/centers work/pairs
1.4 notebooks
1.5 journals
1.6 speeches/debates
1.7 participation
teacher observations/teacher checklist/student checklist/discussions
1.8 performance-based activities/tasks
create arrays for math/create a story map/critical experiences in science/use of technology
2.0 Tests and Quizzes (30%)
2.1 multiple choice
2.2 oral exam
2.3 short answer
2.4 textbook curriculum correlated
2.5 teacher designed
2.6 student generated
2.7 student/teacher designed rubrics
2.8 chapter test
2.9 unit test
2.10 performance-based
3.0 Projects (15%) – ‘Show and tell’ every Friday
3.1 performance-based
3.2 portfolios
3.3 embedded assessments
3.4 posters
3.5 models
3.6 multimedia
3.7 presentations
oral/dramatic/written
3.8 radio plays
3.9 videos
3.10 research
3.11 diorama
3.12 photo essays
3.13 poetry
3.14 technology-based
4.0 Homework (15%)
4.1 specific to curriculum standards and elements
4.2 meaningful practice
4.3 extension of the daily lesson
4.4 mini projects
4.5 remediation/enrichment
4.6 family activities or projects

Every teacher in Maple Bear uses the same grading systems. Everything is assigned a number, even writing. In assessing classroom work/performance, the focus is placed on the student demonstrating that he or she has learned the written curriculum as difined by curriculum objectives.
This grading system motivates elementary students a lot. If they can not reach for the standard level, they need to take retest.
Teacher has student file and every single details such as grading as well as personal stories are to be written in that file. Every year, this file is passed to the next teacher who is responsible for the student.

Focus students
Hoonje (9 years) and Sara (10 years) are the remarkable students in the Han To Uyen’s class. They are brother and sister. Their mom has three more children and they are very young. Tracking their learning process, it is not hard to find that they both are falling behind.
They never finish their assignment at home so Han To Uyen always check their assignment before class then let them finish the missing part.
Sometimes she offers after-school tutoring for these lower grade students.
Han To Uyen included both formative assessment and summative grade scores. For formative assessment, she used worksheet and for summative assessments, she gave term papers. Everytime, she gave formative information to help the student improve.
The Maple Bear has very similar standard to the English-Language Development (ELD) standards. Maple Bear is trying to cover all areas of reading, writing, and listening/speaking.
If students do well on assignments then they will do better on standards assessment. Based on students’ entry and post assessment, almost all the students who have a high score in their final grades achieve satisfactory progress in standards.