Stratégie : Des tests sans « notes »

Since the beginning of this school year, I have been exploring ways that I can help students think critically and ways in which they can see « errors » as an opportunity for learning.  This growth mindset philosophy is something I work on everyday but I feel like summative evaluations undo all of the growth we accomplished.  They write a test, I grade the test and they get a mark.

My first attempt at changing this was made in the first semester and you can read about it here.

After doing this a few times, I still feel like there is something missing.  I wish I didn’t have to « test » at all but our school and our school system, and our performance-based culture is just not ready for the radical change yet.

I have recently finished the book Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler (her website youcubed.org) is a great resource for pedagogy.  While reading this book, I was able to reflect on my assessment practices and ways in which I can make small changes.  I already use most of the Assessment For Learning practices presented by Jo Boaler and her colleagues but I needed a way to make the summative task much richer.

This article on Aligning Assessment to Brain Science is a must read as well as Mistakes Grow Your Brain.

J’utilise l’évaluation au service de l’apprentissage fréquemment en salle de classe, ainsi que la rétroaction descriptive.  La co-construction des critères d’évaluation permet de fournir aux élèves une rétroaction précise et permet aux élèves de s’auto-évaluer et de se fixer des objectifs personnels.  Ces pratiques journalières nourrissent la stratégie d’analyse d’une évaluation sommative dont j’ai présenté à mes élèves ce semestre.

Voici le document que j’ai remis aux élèves suite à l’évaluation sommative :

Les élèves sont demandé de faire le suivant :

• Analyser l’acquisition du concept selon les critères d’évaluation
• Analyser le potentiel de croissance selon les critères d’évaluation non acquis ou en voie d’acquisition
• Analyser le déMATHement préféré (mon erreur préférée)
• Préparer des aides-mémoires ou des exemples qui pourront aider à corriger les démathement
• Afficher dans FreshGrade un problème avec solution qui permet de démontrer une acquisition de concept complètement râté lors de l’évaluation

I got the idea of HIGHLIGHTING my favourite mistake from Jo Boaler.  It is a way in which to continue the growth mindset that I emphasize in class.  If mistakes are examined, almost celebrated in class, then they should be on the evaluation as well.  The students found it quite amusing that I highlighted my favourite mistake and I think this will make the analysis more « user-friendly » – avoiding emotions of negativity.

I will blog later about the results of the analysis with student answers!