In our practice, it is vital to invest students in assessments and data. We have to do it in ways that are innovative and exciting, while also attached to the real-time goals they need to hit. Students should be able to tell me if they are mastering the work, and if they are on track to hit their goals based off of strategies we use in class each day. Below are examples of how I invest my scholars in the data and assessments.
Highlighting Exemplary Student Work This is a no-brainer, but I always highlight student work on my "Greatest of All Time" board. When students get their work on the board, they know that they are setting the example for their peers in what strong class work looks like. Students who get their work on the board earn a "Super Scholar" shirt that they can wear on dress down days, which signifies that they are elite in our classroom, and are masters of the unit that we are on! Additionally, on each piece of work, I have circled either Mastery or Advanced. This shows them that they are on track to mastering the standards needed to pass 5th grade math.
*Please note focus is not on actual student work in image, but the idea of having a wall to highlight student work.
Classroom Economy My behavior management system is a classroom economy. Students have bank accounts, and earn money based on how they display our school values, help others, and many other things. They also lose money based on not following school rules, not finishing homework, etc. As I thought about how I could invest students in data, I realized that I could loop it in with my classroom economy. Students who earn an Advanced on a checkpoint, unit test, or other form of assessment earn a certain dollar amount. Students who earn a mastery get a different amount. This incentivizes students to work as hard as they can on assessments, whether they are formative or summative. Students have really bought into this idea, and regularly cheer for teammates when they earn money for getting advanced.
Classroom Theme/Trackers My classroom is all Ohio State themed, based off of my alma mater. Everything in my room has to do with Ohio State, so my tracker for standards does as well. When an Ohio State football player does something really well on the field, they earn a Buckeye sticker for their helmet. The more a player has, the more things they have accomplished. Likewise, when a student masters a standard in my room, they earn a Buckeye leaf sticker next to their name. This is a fantastic visualization for students to see where they are at in the year. They can also see what standards they need to master if they haven't yet. Students are regularly tracking this and glancing over to see how many leaves they have!
Mastery Trackers After each unit test, I create a tracker that displays who scored a Basic or higher on the test. Additionally, I hang up mastery trackers for each homeroom (shown here). They are hung in the classroom and the hallway, so students can visually track how they did on the last unit test. This is also a great jumping off point for students to set goals for the next unit test. If they scored a basic, they want to jump to a mastery or advanced, so they set that goal. When the next unit test rolls around, they can, again, visually see if they reached their goal from the last test to the most current.
*These names were grated written approval for use in this portfolio
Homeroom Trackers In each classroom for 5th grade, we have the same bulletin board set up. Each homeroom picture is accompanied by a percentage for checkpoints, exit slips, and unit tests. These are a great way to show homerooms progress based on comparisons from other homerooms. It becomes a competition and allows for students to work together as a team to beat the other homerooms. When students view assessments as a fun competition, students are totally invested in them and try their hardest, all for the sake of being a proud homeroom!