I think I benefited from reading this book because it helped me understand how subjective grading really is in many cases, and I have been encouraged to think about how I can make grades more meaningful for students and their parents or caregivers. It makes a lot of sense to me that we need to be careful not to discourage students by averaging in zeroes. I have seen this make a big difference in the motivation of one of my students in particular this year that has ADHD. In the past, late assignments were always his nemesis, and this year he has maintained passing grades thus far. I think it has helped him to feel more hopeful about school and therefore more motivated, as he sees that late or lost papers no longer destroy his hope of passing a class. He is much more positive about school this year, and I believe this policy was integral in bringing about that change.
I have also benefitted from the discussions and examples of how others are using "I can" statements to drive their assessment and grading, and also the practice of using assessments that are based on a well defined goal and clear purpose. In Special Ed we have long seen the need not to compare students one to another, but rather to a standard. This book and our discussions helped me start practicing some of these important ideas.
One idea that I implemented this year was having students critique their own writing, and then the writing of another student using a rubric that contained well-defined standards. I found that some of my poorest writers were more motivated when they were given the opportunity to critique their own work first, and then allowed to make corrections. I think the overall quality of the writing improved.
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