This is the first post of three on my approach to standards-based grading (SBG) in the "teaching with comprehensible input (TCI) foreign language classroom." Part 2 covers calculating an overall letter grade and Part 3 will cover how SBG helps scheduling and variety in the TCI classroom.
During the past year and a half I have revised the standards for my classes at least two dozen times. Often the revisions were only theoretical and didn't impact my students. I would, however, sneak in whatever revisions I could between quarters and semesters in order to test the waters. After all that I am finally ready to put my name behind a set of standards for all four years of high school foreign language. I am particularly hopeful that the standards and tasks within each standard will mesh with the lessons of Dr. Stephen Krashen and the methods of TCI and Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS). I hope that readers find here a good union between profound assessment (SBG) and profound foreign language pedagogy (TCI).
The GoogleDoc, which contains all the standards for every year, can be seen here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xg5gvhLZkbEoYESsbYbhg7NwueO1yQCF5OwVPKaRh2Y/edit?usp=sharing
Note: This is the definitive version and will probably be edited more after this post is published.
Observation 1:
Keep it simple!
I have observed that, generally speaking, the more standards a teacher has the less room the content has to prosper. Therefore, the fewer standards the better. Keep it simple. With too many standards class quickly feels like a checklist. The point of standards-based grading is to take stress away from assessment so that pedagogy can be the focus. Standards-based grading should make grading easy to do and easy to understand; it should take grading off the table, in a way, by making it unarguably fair and transparent.
The foreign language teacher has a huge advantage here because language is by its very nature a progressively rigorous, demanding, challenging subject. A standard for "reading," for example, can literally be the same all year, and even across all four years, because the tasks for each level will become more advanced as the reading matter becomes more advanced. And of course the reading matter becomes more advanced in a very slow and natural way as the students learn more of the language and so are able to comprehend more advanced readings. The language provides plenty of depth of rigor; the standards themselves don't need to.
Observation 2:
It's best to make the tasks for each level of each standard really different.
For the longest time, level 2 of "reading" for my classes was "able to answer
Latin comprehension question" and level 3 was "able to answer
English comprehension questions." This was a mistake and after a while just felt ridiculous. Questions are questions, and while both Latin and English questions are necessary, both types still display the same kind of knowledge on the student's part. Therefore they should both be on the same level, now level 3, which opened up level 2 for the awesome dynamics provided by textivate.com.
Observation 3:
It's unfair to expect students in lower years to speak or analyze grammar.
This isn't so much an observation from my time with standards-based grading as a hard lesson learned. The idea itself, that lower year classes should ideally be comprised entirely of comprehensible input (CI), is nothing new. It is based on current research, especially the work of Dr. Stephen Krashen. Many teachers have adopted a CI approach with excellent results, and my own experiences have only made me more enthusiastic. Therefore you will notice that speaking and grammar do not appear as standards until the third year of language study--they might even be put off longer than that--and when they do the tasks for each level are basic when compared to the unrealistic and unfair expectations of some textbooks. I use the word "unfair" carefully: The research says that it is pointless (at best) and potentially harmful (at worst) to have students speak the target language without first receiving massive amounts of CI. Students learn nothing by producing the language, they merely show what they have acquired. It follows that they need to acquire a good amount before showing what they've got. Then there is grammar, the formal study of which is less and less popular by the day as teachers realize more and more how class time is better spent communicating in comprehensible and compelling ways in the target language. I could go on for a while about this--it is easily the most controversial opinion I've expressed on this blog--but we'll leave it for now.
Now for a quick look at the standards themselves
Remember you can use the link above to see the latest version on GoogleDocs.
There are five standards in the first two years: 1) Hearing, 2) Reading, 3) Writing, 4) Interpersonal, and 5) Vocabulary. Two more standards are added in years three and four: 6) Speaking and 7) Grammar.
Standard 1: Hearing, Standard 2: Reading, Standard 4: Interpersonal, and Standard 5: Vocabulary
These are the same for all four years of language study. Remember, it's the language that naturally gets more challenging as time goes on; the standards can stay the same.
1. Hearing Latin (audire), Latin 1, 2, 3, and 4
4.0
|
In addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to answer English and Latin comprehension questions about passages they hear.
|
3.0
|
In addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to record Latin dictation.
|
2.0
|
Students will consistently perform well on “quick quizzes”
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
2. Reading Latin (legere), Latin 1, 2, 3, and 4
4.0
|
In
addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to translate into
English unseen Latin passages containing familiar vocabulary and
content.
|
3.0
|
In
addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to answer English and
Latin comprehension questions about passages they have read.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to unscramble Latin passages they have read in the style of textivate.com.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
4. Interpersonal Communication (a.k.a. “Letting Language In”), Latin 1, 2, 3, and 4
4.0
|
In addition to 3.0 content, students volunteer spontaneous output in Latin.
|
3.0
|
Students
consistently show signs of negotiating meaning when others are
speaking. Signs include: good eye contact, attentive posture,
participating in choral responses, offering answers during stories,
receptive body language, consistently good performance on “quick quizzes”, etc.
|
2.0
|
The
student shows only inconsistent signs of negotiating meaning when
others are speaking. Signs include: frequent cell phone use, side
conversations in English, blurting out in English, poor eye contact,
struggling with sleep, giving only occasional responses and answers,
weak body language, inconsistent performance on “quick quizzes”, etc.
|
1.0
|
The
student is not attentive to the language during class. Signs include:
sleeping, being constantly distracted, not responding to requests to
improve, never making eye contact, poor performance on “quick quizzes”, etc.
|
5. Vocabulary, Latin 1, 2, 3, and 4
4.0
|
Students will be able to attain level 4 of the Reading Standard (Standard 2) with minimal vocabulary assistance.
|
3.0
|
Students will be able to attain level 3 of the Reading Standard (Standard 2) with minimal vocabulary assistance.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to attain level 2 of the Reading Standard (Standard 2) with minimal vocabulary assistance.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
Standard 3: Writing is the trickiest because it changes every year:
3. Writing Latin (scribere), Latin 1
4.0
|
In addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to complete summarium fabulae (a summary of a story) grids about Latin stories they have read.
|
3.0
|
In addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to complete simplified Latin storyboards of Latin passages they have read.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to complete a 40 word Latin free-write in five minutes about Latin passages they have read.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
3. Writing Latin (scribere), Latin 2
4.0
|
In addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to complete summarium fabulae (a summary of a story) grids about Latin stories they have read.
|
3.0
|
In addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to complete simplified Latin storyboards of Latin passages they have read.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to complete a 100 word Latin free-write in ten minutes about Latin passages they have read.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
3. Writing Latin (scribere), Latin 3
4.0
|
In addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to write descriptions of images using familiar vocabulary.
|
3.0
|
In addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to complete summarium fabulae (a summary of a story) grids about Latin stories they have read.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to complete simplified Latin storyboards of Latin passages they have read.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
3. Writing Latin (scribere), Latin 4
4.0
|
In addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to write stories about images using familiar vocabulary.
|
3.0
|
In addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to complete summarium fabulae (a summary of a story) grids about Latin stories they have read.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to complete simplified Latin storyboards of Latin passages they have read.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
Standard 6: Speaking and Standard 7: Grammar
These are introduced in years 3 and 4. If you are more of a hippie than me, you can hold them off until even later.
6. Speaking Latin (dicere), Latin 3
4.0
|
In
addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to tell aloud in Latin a
summary of Latin passages they have read and/or heard.
|
3.0
|
In
addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to answer aloud Latin
comprehension questions about passages they have read and/or heard.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to pronounce Latin passages with appropriate inflection and expression.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
6. Speaking Latin (dicere), Latin 4
4.0
|
In
addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to tell aloud in Latin
unrehearsed descriptions of images using familiar vocabulary.
|
3.0
|
In
addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to tell aloud in Latin a
summary of Latin passages they have read and/or heard.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to answer aloud Latin comprehension questions about passages they have read and/or heard.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
7. Grammar (grammatica) Latin 3 and 4
4.0
|
In addition to 3.0 content, students will be able to identify and correct grammar mistakes.
|
3.0
|
In
addition to 2.0 content, students will be able to select the correct
form of words to complete Latin sentences based on grammar.
|
2.0
|
Students will be able to select the correct English translation of Latin words based on grammar.
|
1.0
|
Little or no ability has been demonstrated.
|
A Word on ACTFL
- Interpretive: Standard 1, Hearing and Standard 2, Reading
- Interpersonal: Standard 4, Interpersonal
- Presentational: Standard 3, Writing, and Standard 6: Speaking
Leave a comment below or discuss on Google+
