Work individually or with a partner Plan for 30 minutes
Overview: Students can use a spreadsheet format to track their own grades, taking ownership of their responsibility in the learning process. This format allows for what-if analysis, enabling student reflection on potential outcomes of different grading scenarios.
Directions: Open a new Google Sheet. If needed, click here for a how-to sheet to support your initial creation of this Sheet. Title the Google Sheet with the name of one of your students. Determine the major grading categories. Commonly used categories include: Tests, Quizzes, Projects, Classwork, and Homework. Enter the heading “Assignment, Date” into the first cell of the first column. Label the first row in the columns to the right of this with the grading categories. Here is an example of this formatting:
Next to each column heading, add the grading percentage assigned to that category. Students will log assignments as they occur into the first column, placing their grade into the appropriate column to the right. Allot a minimum of 20 rows for student work, and type Average into the row below. (Students will be able to add rows as needed if their assignments exceed the number of rows presented.) For each column, this row will present students with their current average grade. Into the cell in the Average row for each column, use the AVERAGE function to input a formula. Click here to learn how. In the next row below, type the heading Current Grade. This row will present calculations for each grading category, weighted by the assigned grading percentage and leading to the current grade. Into the cell in the Current Grade row for each column, use the MULTIPLY function to input a formula. Click here to learn how. Finally, in the Current Grade row, locate the cell to the right of the last column. Use the SUM function to calculate the current grade in that cell. Click here to learn how.
Students will be able to see the impact of their grading history upon the current grade. They can also engage in “what-if” analysis, inputting potential grades for an upcoming assignment and viewing the impact upon their current grade. This level of analysis will increase student investment in their work as they gain an understanding of the outcomes. Danielson Connections: 2b, 3a, 3c, 4b
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