Today, my kiddos will begin writing their learning letters (“My Learning, My Story”). It is time for them to look back on their experiences over the past several weeks and make sense of where they have arrived as learners. And from that sense-making, they will select (and support with their evidence) a final grade in a letter to me. And that is where we meet in the end, when it comes to making sense of the wreck where learning and grading collide. We (mostly they) find and name that place.

As my longtime readers know, the goal is to reach an agreement on a final mark, based on the available evidence, which necessarily is not limited to the record in Skyward. It takes into account many variables that come into play for each kid in their experience, things that maybe aren’t readily seen or understood without the perspective of the learner. They know best their experience, and so, I ask them to reveal that to me in their reflection from their time with me.

This is my fourth year of using “select-and-support” grading with my kiddos. And while it has taken different forms as it has evolved, at its center has remained the belief that learners must be engaged in the process of determining a final grade. It’s their learning. It’s their story. They have to tell it. They have to play a role in making sense of mess the where learning and grading collide.

Happy last Monday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.