Smarter Assessment in the Secondary Classroom Video

with Myron Dueck

Watch excerpts

When taking a hard look at assessment policies in schools, the most obvious question is: do the grades we assign to students truly reflect the extent of their learning? And the unfortunate answer is… probably not. In studying many of the assessment policies that teachers adopt, it becomes clear that they can actually prove detrimental to student motivation and achievement. But it doesn’t need to be this way.

In this video, we'll see that policies can be tailored to focus on what really matters, student understanding of the content. Author and educator, Myron Dueck, and his talented colleagues at high schools in Penticton and Summerland, BC, will open a window into their classrooms as they work on figuring this out; we'll look at how they're revamping their assessment procedures and developing a variety of new practical strategies. As we spend time with them, we'll address key ideas like:

• Teachers should grade smarter, not harder. Smarter thinking and planning will actually diminish a teacher's workload.
• Teachers often function better as coaches.
• Learning is more important than grades. Rather than grading everything students do regardless of its purpose, organizing lessons according to learning goals and identifying clear levels of performance keeps the focus on learning. Then, improvement will follow.
• Positive relationships are essential for success in teaching and learning, and changing assessment strategies can have a profound effect on the relationship between teacher and student.

The video comes with a study guide and features an additional hour of bonus material, including:

• A discussion with a secondary school principal on rethinking assessment and grading policies at the school level.
• Interviews with an English teacher and a metal/mechanics teacher about their grading and assessment policies.
• A chat with three of Myron Dueck's former students about their experiences with his grading and assessment policies.

This ASCD video includes closed captioning.

Watch Excerpts from the Video

Related Book

The book Grading Smarter, Not Harder: Assessment Strategies That Motivate Kids and Help Them Learn by Myron Dueck is brimming with reproducible forms, templates, and real-life examples of grading solutions developed to allow students every opportunity to demonstrate their learning.

Browse the book  |  Buy the book

About the Consultant

Myron Dueck is a vice principal and teacher in School District 67 in British Columbia, Canada. He has previously taught in Manitoba and on the South Island of New Zealand. Over the past 17 years of teaching, Dueck has had experience in a variety of subjects in grades 3 to 12.

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