Chapter 11

This chapter is about grading. The first topic that is covered in the chapter is the idea of keeping a zero for not turned in work or just giving students a 60 for not doing anything. In the rubric grading there would be a 1.0 in the place of a zero. This would be done to avoid altering the final average so much that it was no longer a reflection of learning. When it comes to gifted students they should be graded according to the level of their giftedness. Grades are weighted across the board and subject to the different weights in each subject. A test is weighted differently then a quiz and a quiz more than homework, so how is grading supposed to be objective? Grading special needs students should be the same as gifted. They are graded according to the level that they are learning at.
While a zero does throw off the average, every student in high school knows by then what happens to their grade when they get a zero. That makes doing the work their responsibility. If they choose not to do the work, the grade is still an accurate reflection of what they have done for the semester. At a real job, not doing the work will get you fired, so what are we teaching the students if we give them 60's for doing nothing? One idea for late work is to take off a smaller amount of points, so the student is still penalized for not doing the work on time, but are still able to attain a relatively good grade. It makes sense to grade gifted students to higher standards because it will motivate them to work harder. The main problem comes when you compare two students. In the don't give zeros senario, a student who does next to nothing may scrape by with a 70. Meanwhile a student who struggles and does all the work could also get a 70. If they were friends or siblings, this would result in some angry parents, but also, it would be tough on the students.