I learned the word apodictic this afternoon.

I'm reading Joseph Campbell. I bump into this word: apodictic. I do not recognize the word; I observe the context, and it doesn't lead me to the specific meaning of the word.  I know that dict means word or say or judge/direct. It's the apo part that i don't know. APO.... what word(s) do I know that have that as a prefix?  can't think of any, so I have to go to the dictionary. I used M-W.com . Here's the screen print.

I started thinking about students memorizing and what was worth memorizing. Memorizing should contribute to something more significant than the things memorized. For example, memorizing prefixes should help me know more words than I knew without knowing those prefixes.

I observe that the root dict had no relation to the actual meaning of apodictic. I confess, I am so enamoured of etymologies and roots and prefixes and languages that I sometimes have hypotheses that collapse upon examination. But I have exhilarating mental exercise, no matter what.

Unsurprisingly I conclude that it is worth students' time and effort to learn prefixes. Then how do I assess this learning?  I have been reading and thinking about mastery.  So now I explore that.

Is 80% mastery? and what traditional letter grade should I assign that 80% to? my gut tells me B, with 90% being an A.

But if the material is essential, and I want my students to achieve mastery, then nothing short of that should be "gradeable." C and D will not have a part of this essential* learning.

... which leads me to think about re-testing, re-assessing (with conditions) until mastery. Until my student achieves mastery, I assign no official letter grade. I break the massive quantity of prefixes and roots into 5 sections, roughly one section per grading period. If a student declines to achieve mastery of any one section, the student fails that section and the official letter grade is an F.  At this point, I am thinking of advanced classes. Regular classes have Rev it up, which I am very happy with.

back to Joseph Campbell and things that relate to necessary truth or absolute certainty.


* It's essential because I say it's essential.

Retention and tests

Say It With Me Now: Retention!

So, for me, the role of the summative assessment is actually to give me a larger picture of a standard I don’t explicitly grade: Retention.  I give a summative midterm and final in all of my classes, and it’s because I want the kids to know how well they do or don’t retain information. The larger SBG structure is designed to help them prepare, reassess, and otherwise learn to be actual people who think about what they don’t know. These pin-prick summatives are the bit of me that knows I have to get them ready for the testing aspect of college in a meanignful way.
My approach has always been to add the summative scores in as a separately weighted category ancillary to my behemoth category called “Standards.” Most often final grades are composed of 85% Standards, 7.5 % midterm, and 7.5% final.
Why the fractional precentages? I just don’t think it should be possible to get an A without being able to retain more than half of the material in some way. However, knowing the inherently flawed nature of a single-shot assessment, I have left the A- wide open for that kid that wants to work their butt off to get their standard’s scores through the roof.

Am I rewarding responsibility with a grade? Hell Yeah. Am I doing it by grading homework and “participation.” Hell No.

retention entry

Dialog about grades

What does an A mean in your class?

It no longer means excellence. Several years ago, the county removed that designation from letter grades. I don't recall any announcement, much less discussion about that.

I think it is a significant act, and I think it signaled a change in administrative attitude about grades, but I don't think anyone told the teachers or parents or students or any "stakeholders." And more importantly, I don't think the meaning of grades, except as passing or failing, is clear or remotely consistent from teacher to teacher.

Your thoughts?