WIN Policy
Our school has a program called Work In Now or WIN. I wanted to clarify a few things about how this applies to my class.
For those not familiar, the basic premise is this: Because homework is important, students who do not complete work in a timely fashion are assigned an afterschool detention to do that work. It is a mix of punishment (detentions are generally not fun) and opportunity (time to get that important work done).
Students are expected to make a reasonable effort on all problems for the day that they are due. Assignments are posted in Skyward when they are given, worksheets are available and on this blog I have been working to ensure that students have every opportunity to keep track of what is due when and why. I do not grade on accuracy nor do I check every problem. I record a zero for an assignment, which causes a WIN when I see the following:
- No work shown for problems where work is required.
- No assignment at all
- Attempting to show a different assignment and claiming it as the one due
- In Algebra: Not showing the check for an alegebra problem.
I realize that some students might feel more comfortable getting the work done as soon as possible (some even complete it that day) but I refuse to believe that they cannot find something meaningful to do with the time afterschool. If a student is concerned that the time will be wasted I will happily provide some additional class practice for them, though I encourage them to use the opportunity to work on any other assignments they may have to do that afternoon anyway.
Quiz Correction Policy
Quizzes are intended to be both formative (helping students form their understanding) and summative (represent a summary of their knowledge). To assist in the former, students my "redo" any problems they missed on a given quiz. This means for each problem they miss on the quiz they need to answer the following on a seperate piece of paper:
a) What is the corrrect answer?
b) Why is it the right answer? Generally this means showing the work required to get that solution, or it means providing a 1-2 sentence explanation.
c) Why did they get it wrong? In one or two sentences explain what their misunderstanding was, and how they intend to avoid that mistake in the future.
I consider the last question one of the most important because it forces students to look critically at their work, and how they can improve it over time. And because we all make silly mistakes from time to time, students may once per redo answer the final question with "I just plain screwed up". Sometimes it happens and there is no good explanation for why make a given mistake (for some reason Vanilla Ice comes to mind).
These are due to me no later than the chapter Benchmark Assessment for that quiz's chapter.
BA Retake Policy:
Because sometimes a single test is not a good measure of success, the following is my procedure for retaking a Benchmark Assessment. This is different then redoing missed problems on a Quiz.
Step 1: Review for the Retake and Prepare Evidence of Improvement.
Before we retake the test, it would make sense to give ourselves the best chance at improving our score. After every BA I will pass out an objective mastery sheet, that lists the specific skills on the test, and whether or not a student has mastered them. If there is some confusion I am happy to help students by providing some sample problems or pointing them at relevant sections of their book.
This evidence then can take several forms:
- Redo the problems from the end of the chapter and check them against the answers in the back of the book.
- Work with a tutor and take notes of those sessions, showing the problems you practiced.
- Solve the problems in the "Extra Practice" section in the back of the book. Show all work.
Once I can see this evidence I will happily make the arragenments to retake the test afterschool, or during SRT. The rule, however, is that I have 24 hour notice so I can prepare the scantrons, the new test version, and be sure I am available (ie I don't have a meeting or appointment).
Step 3: The New Replaces the Old
Regardless of outcome, the new grade replaces the old. I have this policy in place to discourage the "It can't hurt" mentality. In the end if a student did not do as well as they could, then this should not be a concern; their retest will be better and their grade will go up.
One of the biggest concerns with re-testing is that students sometimes develop the attitude that the first test doesn't count and is just a practice test. The opportunity to redo work, to show a higher level of understanding should be seen as just that, and not as some form of ad hoc Pre Test/ Post Test.
