Evaluating students.... :O

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ESL forum > Techniques and methods in Language Teaching > Evaluating students.... :O

Evaluating students.... :O

MarionG

Indeed thanks for the comments, very interesting and helpful! (I copied ishorton �s conference-ese into an email to my collegues!)

In our school we don �t have grades so we evaluate the kids on their overall performance. their progress in English - in relation to themselves, not in relation to the class, hteir motivation and definitely behaviour.

Thank god I don �t have ot do formal parent meetings, that is the job of the homeroom teacher, only once in a while a parent will call me in person.

One of the homeroom teachers told something funny though.. Some of the teachers were talking in the teacher �s room about attitudes of parents they had to put up with during the parent meetings. She told how the mother of a particularly problematic kid just fell asleep during the parent conference (This is a private meeting between parent, child and teacher - not a whole class!) The teacher kind of nudged her leg to wake her up and the mother apologized by saying "oh, you have such a pleasant voice, it made me doze off!!!

9 Jun 2010

stexstme

Hi Meuge! Long time no see...

I give my students a �Language Passport � - let �s call it that way :o), at the beginning of the school year. There are 5 pages, one for each of the 5 skills of the European Frame. My 1st years get the A1 skills, the 2nd & 3rd years the A2, and so on. From time to time, I give them their own file, & they have to mark ( ie : Tick or cross) one or several of the Language skills we �ve been working on, ie : Written or reading comprehension ( 2 written skills), & 3 oral ones : Comprehension, speaking with others, making a speech or an �expos� �. It �s very basic : If they succeeded in one of the tasks, they put a green tick, if not, a red cross...When I have parents meetings, I always show the child �s personal file, & it is very useful because some parents still think that getting good marks at written exams is enough, but when they �see � no green ticks in the oral skills, they easily understand what learning a foreign language means.

I only use marks for academic papers ( written ) & interviews ( marks / 20 ), & colours for communication skills. ( BTW, we are not allowed to mark discipline here, but we can -of course -write reports )

Even my older students (15) prefer it this way, because they are very often amazed at their results ; Last November, a mother told me she did not really understand her daughter �s results ( the girl used to be quite good at English it seems :o)...) I showed her the oral skills - all marked with red crosses : The girl never ever speaks English in class!!!

What I like best in this, is the : THREE oral skills, & TWO written ones!!

Hugs,

Sylvie

9 Jun 2010

magneto

Ishorton, great comments!!! LOL

...I think they pretty much express the way we all feel Wink

Marion G, you don �t know how lucky you are...
Meuge, I usually make my evaluation rules very clear when we first start class. Speaking strictly in terms of grades, one part of their grade is the average of what they have scored in all written assignments, tests, etc. (because that can be proven and used as a weapon). Another part is their participation and effort. I have a catalogue with all the students � names and I check who does their homework, who participates, who brings their books (...yes, even that is not granted...), who respects their classmates and teacher, etc. I do the checking business before them, so they know I really mean it, and I tell them that effort and participation will give them 1-2 extra marks (we mark students on a scale of 1 to 20), whereas lack of those will give them 1-2 marks less. Sometimes, when I �ve got a class that �s really hard to deal with, I also tell them that each composition they write will give them a bonus of 1 mark...Yes, we �ve come to that with some classes...So, all in all, their final evaluation in terms of grades is their average score plus/ minus 1-2 points, according to their effort and participation. Oh, and one last detail, I only evaluate their overall behaviour if it affects their performance, because, according to our educational laws, we cannot use grades as punishment for bad behaviour. As far as the parents are concerned, I think Ishorton has said it all...The real difficulty for me is dealing with parents who are also colleagues inside the school, because then the issue of competing against each other for the highest mark comes at play, and it may result in conflicts between me and certain colleagues... Confused

9 Jun 2010

sclail

I �m starting to wish I taught kids instead of adults!

Great comments and I would love to start using some of these ideas in the future (I think as well as helping the teacher they are good incentives for the kids)

Have a great day, warriors!

9 Jun 2010

anitarobi

Meuge, welcome back!

Absolutely fantastic thread - thank you all for these replies!

Parents scare me (ishorton) - fantastic line! And so true!

Great, just great, everyone!!!

9 Jun 2010

customer

Hi everybody,

great comments, I �ll kep them in mind next year!

Just to add a small thing, in Italy we say that parents have become their children �s "TRADE UNIONISTS"... and we are are becoming the "enemy"...

Hugs,

Chiara

9 Jun 2010

MarionG

Magneto, Yes i am very lucky that I don �t have to face the parents . That is one of the main reasons I would never want to be a homeroom teacher even though I would really like to be more involved with the kids. Don �t forget, however, that I do need to write evaluations for each student. Once it is in writing it is very hard to deny!

Therefore ishorton �s comments were very useful to me as well!

9 Jun 2010

Lina Ladybird

What an interesting thread!!

I simply love Mariana �s approach and I was almost laughing my head off when I read Lindsey �s post... *giggle* Everything she wrote is sooo true!

BTW, when I read Lindsey �s code it reminded me of a site I had found some time ago!! Especially for you, dear Maria Eug�nia:

Your son has a remarkable ability in gathering needed information from his classmates. (He was caught cheating on a test).
Karen is an endless fund of energy and viability. (The hyperactive monster can�t stay seated for five minutes).
Fantastic imagination! Unmatched in his capacity for blending fact with fiction. (He�s definitely one of the biggest liars I have ever met).
Margie exhibits a casual, relaxed attitude to school, indicating that high expectations don�t intimidate her. (The lazy thing hasn�t done one assignment all term).
Her athletic ability is marvellous. Superior hand-eye coordination. (The little creep stung me with a rubber band from 15 feet away).
Nick thrives on interaction with his peers. (Your son needs to stop socializing and start working).
Your daughter�s greatest asset is her demonstrative public discussions. (Classroom lawyer! Why is it that every time I explain an assignment she creates a class argument).
John enjoys the thrill of engaging challenges with his peers. (He�s a bully).
An adventurous nature lover who rarely misses opportunities to explore new territory. (Your daughter was caught skipping school at the fishing pond).
I am amazed at her tenacity in retaining her youthful personality. (She�s so immature that we�ve run out of diapers).
Unlike some students who hide their emotion, Charles is very expressive and open. (He must have written the Whiner�s Guide).
I firmly believe that her intellectual and emotional progress would be enhanced through a year�s repetition of her learning environment. (Regretfully, we believe that she is not ready for high school and must repeat the 8th grade).
Her exuberant verbosity is awesome! (A mouth that never stops yacking).