Will quarterly grades be cancelled?

Contents:

• How to ensure transparency of assessment
• Why is the practice of abandoning quarterly assessments beneficial?
• How the Moscow Electronic School changed its attitude to assessment
• What experts say about the new products

In this article, you'll learn about key aspects of the topic, as well as helpful tips and recommendations. We'll cover the main points in detail to help you better understand the subject matter. Read on to learn more.

• What is the difference between an assessment and a grade;
• How the characteristics of the new generation of children and their parents have influenced assessment;
• Why do parents of schoolchildren criticize the grading system;
• What is the benefit of the practice of abandoning quarterly and trimester grades;
• What digital tools has MES prepared to make assessment more objective and understandable for children and parents.

Parents are interested in the level of education their child receives, the quality of this education, and whether he will then be able to build the professional path that he and his family are counting on.

How can we ensure the transparency of assessment?

Irina Patrikeyeva emphasized that achieving transparency in assessment is an important task for every school. The Gloria School has developed and regularly updates a special regulation regulating the monitoring and assessment process. Every new teacher is required to carefully review this document. Furthermore, during interviews, the principal asks questions about how the teacher evaluates their students' progress. This helps determine whether the teacher's approach aligns with the school's established principles. Transparency in assessment not only promotes a more objective and fair approach but also increases trust among students and their parents. Patrikeyeva notes that to achieve transparency in assessment and address other related issues, it is necessary to implement criteria-based assessment. This will transform the assessment process from a goal to a tool for shaping each child's educational path. The state final assessment already sets certain standards for us, which we are familiar with and understand how to implement. Now all that remains is to master these methods and integrate them into our daily professional practice.

The benefits of abandoning quarterly grades

The imperfections of traditional assessment through grades become especially noticeable during midterm assessments. For students, the end of a quarter or trimester involves numerous tests, often completed within a tight timeframe. This creates significant stress for both the students themselves and their families. Furthermore, this situation places a significant burden on teachers and homeroom teachers, negatively impacting the overall educational process. It is important to seek alternative assessment methods that can help reduce stress and improve the quality of learning.

The week is becoming increasingly tense and emotionally charged. Alexey Volodin, a teacher at the Engineering and Technical School named after twice Hero of the Soviet Union P.R. Popovich, emphasizes the importance of considering children's psychological state. It's crucial to understand how they cope with current challenges and stress. The psychological health of adolescents requires special attention, especially under increased stress.

The teacher expresses concern about the assimilation of topics during the reporting period, whether it's a quarter or a trimester.

A number of educational institutions are already actively addressing the issue of traditional assessment, as noted by Olesya Lukashuk, session moderator and director of the Institute of Educational Content, Methods, and Technologies at Moscow State Pedagogical University. These institutions are implementing a radical approach—the complete elimination of assessments associated with the completion of academic quarters, trimesters, and semesters. This approach promotes a deeper understanding of the material and reduces stress for students, allowing them to focus on the learning process rather than grades.

Moscow School No. 2030 has decided to change its approach to student assessment. According to a school representative, six years ago, the educational process was dominated by tests during assessments, the results of which did not always reflect students' actual mastery of the topics. As a result, the decision was made to abandon traditional calendar-based assessments and move to thematic modules in the curriculum. This approach allows for a more effective assessment of students' knowledge and skills, creating conditions for a deep understanding of the material.

The curriculum for each subject is structured into thematic modules, the number of which varies from three to five per academic year, depending on the time allocated for the subject. Grades are assigned at the completion of each module, which does not coincide with the end of the term. This allowed students to go on vacation without traditional quarterly assessments and the associated stress. The speaker noted that this system helped to reduce psychological stress in children.

To achieve the set goals, the school needed to implement a number of initiatives. First and foremost, it was necessary to update the curriculum to meet modern educational requirements. Another important step was attracting qualified teachers who are able to impart knowledge and skills to students.

Furthermore, the school needed to improve its infrastructure, including classrooms, a library, and laboratories, to create a comfortable and productive learning environment. The introduction of new technologies into the educational process also became a priority, which allowed for expanded access to information and improved the quality of learning.

Interaction with parents and the community became an important aspect, which contributed to the creation of partnerships and increased engagement in the educational process. All these measures are aimed at ensuring a high level of education and preparing students for future challenges.

• develop a set of modular assignments common to both the parallel and the subject;
• develop uniform criteria for assessing these assignments, for which significant assignments were selected as the basis for assessment;
• conduct explanatory work with parents, as they were finding the adjustment difficult. Without the "navigator" of quarterly grades, many families were at a loss and didn't know how to monitor their children's progress.

How the Moscow Electronic School Changed Its Attitude to Assessment

Olesya Lukashuk shared information about how Moscow is transitioning to a more effective and universal assessment system for public schools. In 2022, several new services will be introduced as part of the Moscow Electronic School (MES) project to help improve student assessment. These services are aimed at creating a more transparent and objective system, which, in turn, will improve the quality of education and ensure equal opportunities for all students. The implementation of this project will be an important step toward modernizing the educational environment and adapting it to modern requirements.

• "Thematic Assessment." This tool will allow the electronic journal and diary to reflect, along with the average grade and its dynamics, the results of studying each topic within the subject curriculum. This will allow students to see progress in mastering specific topics.
• "Planned Learning Outcomes." This service offers the teacher a list of planned outcomes of varying complexity for each topic. Students will be able to assess the educational potential of a topic and select planned outcomes for the lesson. These results will also be visible to students in the diary. This will help teachers and students navigate the educational potential of a topic for developing various skills, from simple to more complex. This service will be available to fifth-graders in Moscow schools starting this year.
• All grades will be marked with assessment procedure forms. With this service, students and their parents can find out how assessment is conducted and what activities are involved. For example, it will be clear that the grade is for an essay, project, oral response, or experimental work.

What experts say about the innovations

While the proposed innovations may be useful, experts point out their shortcomings. These tools still focus primarily on grades rather than on a comprehensive assessment of knowledge. Irina Patrikeyeva emphasizes that teachers need to remember that professional tools go beyond simply assigning grades. It is important to develop and implement alternative assessment methods that will help more accurately reflect the level of knowledge and skills of students.

The expert community should actively promote opportunities, tools, and procedures that contribute to increased mutual understanding with the parent community. It is important to demonstrate how these methods impact the emotional and psychological comfort of children. Increasing awareness of the benefits of such assessment tools will allow them to be given greater importance and improve their effectiveness in the educational process.

The expert noted that when introducing new technologies into the educational process, it is important to consider the practical side and the workload on teachers. She emphasized that electronic services should not serve merely as a means to demonstrate results. School should remain a space where students can experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them.

The professional culture of teachers, especially young professionals, plays a key role in the educational process. It is important that they understand how to organize their own learning, as well as how to plan and analyze their actions. This includes the ability to identify errors, correct them, and work to eliminate them. Developing these skills contributes to improving the quality of education and effective student learning.

The expert highlighted the MES service "Planned Learning Outcomes" as a breakthrough tool for teacher development. This service will be an important step in the professional growth of teachers, allowing them to align their plans for student development with established educational standards. This will also allow teachers to evaluate the results of their work. However, according to Patrikeeva, one shouldn't limit themselves to just one tool. She emphasized the importance of the curriculum, which requires constant updating in the rapidly changing educational environment, such as quarantine and other external factors. Updating thematic planning is becoming essential for teachers' success and achieving high learning outcomes.

Teachers today are making significant efforts to reformat their assessment and subject planning, as every educator will attest. However, it's worth considering the potential of the curriculum as a document that integrates educational content and describes outcomes at various levels. This is an important topic that deserves further discussion.

Olesya Lukashuk noted that in Russia, there was previously a practice in which teachers developed lesson plans with an emphasis on goal-setting. However, this practice was abolished as excessive "bureaucracy," which, according to the expert, led to the impoverishment of pedagogical experience. Teachers began to focus more on the content of lessons and their charisma than on results. Nevertheless, the concept of goal-setting is still embedded in state educational standards, emphasizing the importance of clearly defining goals in the educational process.

According to Olga Galuzina, the new MES tools make the learning process more transparent for parents. However, it should be noted that even the most modern tools can be useless in the hands of an insufficiently qualified teacher. It is essential that teachers possess the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively utilize these resources. Only then can true progress in the educational process be achieved.

Innovations in the educational system can have a positive impact on children, although they are associated with certain risks. Now, a C for mastering material will be perceived not simply as a grade, but as an indicator of ignorance of certain topics. This will change the perception of grades, emphasizing areas requiring additional attention. Olga Shalina argues that such changes will not harm students, but will instead help them better understand their weaknesses and focus on eliminating them.

Children inevitably encounter feedback about their successes and failures. In life, each of us has heard that we failed a task. It is important to understand the difference between a grade and a mark. A grade may reflect poor academic performance, while a teacher's assessment may take into account a child's efforts, diligence, and potential. Supportive assessment is important for building self-confidence and motivating further development.

Reading is an important aspect of personal and professional development. It not only improves comprehension and critical thinking skills, but also broadens horizons. Regularly reading books, articles, and research papers helps you stay up to date with the latest trends and news in your field. In addition, reading helps build vocabulary and improve writing. It is important to choose a variety of information sources to get a more complete picture and develop analytical skills. Maintain a reading habit to continually develop and improve in your profession.

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