How I'm Changing Grading in My Middle School English Classroom

I know not everyone is excited about planning for the upcoming school year. I completely understand. When I first sat down to start planning, (after only hearing the sort of plan in early August) I was completely overwhelmed. That being said, I tried to gather my resources and challenge my mindset in that moment of feeling like I was underwater. For resources, I collected planning materials, teacher books that I was reading over the summer, and my favorite cup of coffee. My mindset on the other hand? I had to consistently tell myself that there is positivity in this change. Some people are struggling with those being positive. I am trying to find a balance between protecting my peace and being a good listener to colleagues. I am not saying that this will be my most outstanding year as a teacher, but I think this year has the capacity to be the biggest year of my own individual growth. What I mean by this is that the systems that run my classroom down to the core are being changed. I have to change with it. Growth always comes from change.

One of those systems of change is grading. In the spring when we did emergency learning, (I like this phrase better because that’s what it was) I was convinced that nobody should be grading anything. I stand by that observation. There is even a big piece of me that still thinks that this should be the case as I continue to look at the number of students I teach that are included in vulnerable populations. My students who are homeless, hungry, watching other siblings, lack internet access, speak another language, and more. I am particularly aware of my students of color as they move into a school year where conversations about George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are left as ellipsis and not periods. However, I wanted to find a way to make my grading system in my classroom fair and equitable for and to all parties. So, if you are making progress in my class, the end result is shown in the grade book and in the conversations about that progress. This isn’t about points. It’s about people. This post outlines my understanding of Zerwin’s text, and it applies her theories to my classroom model. Hang tight! You will see my grading categories, how I plan on entering things into my grade book, and my new learning goals.