GAP Scores: Q3A + Q3B (WIP)
Later today, March 27, students will receive their grades for the first half of Q3. This post will now do two things for all stakeholders:
- It will contextualize those scores, which will let us use them to improve learning.
- It will invite us all to talk, especially in the comment section of this post, about that student learning.
First, let’s talk about March 12. On Wednesday of this week, all stakeholders got the following:
✰ English 12: Distance Learning Update (March 25, 2020) + PDF version ✰
The letter was sent separately, because it is by far the most thorough explanation of our project-based work. The weekly update that followed is a review of each project and a collection of important links.
To understand what we’re currently doing, that letter and post are required reading. To understand where we were on March 12, when school dismissed early due to the coronavirus, you need another document:
March 12 was meant to be an inflection point for us. As that letter says, March 12 was exactly three months from the end of classes, exactly halfway through Q3, and exactly halfway through Q3B. On March 13, the high school planned to send out progress report notices.
You all know what happened next. Once our situation changed, those GAP scores had to be held in abeyance until distance learning could be put into place.
The most important thing to remember is this: The GAP scores posted today, March 27, reflect only the work done between February 3 and March 11. We also had a week off in February, which complicates the calendar:
- 2/3–2/14 + 2/14–2/28 → GAP Q3A | Posted 3/27
- 3/2–3/11 → GAP Q3B WIP | Posted 3/27
- 3/25–4/24 → GAP Q3C | TBD
As the letter and post from March 25 explain, that last profile score will include any distance learning we do. Students need to set daily goals, work for 30+ minutes, and share evidence of their progress for feedback. The expectations for student work have been clarified by the district and building administration, too.
Meanwhile, we have the body of evidence students produced in February and early March. The main focus for that time frame: in-class focus and use of feedback. Again, the letter meant for March 12 is your best guide:
In a world without the coronavirus, you would’ve gotten GAP scores alongside this letter. March 12 had been highlighted for several weeks prior as an inflection point, a day when you would get a lot of feedback and direction before diving back into these end-of-the-year projects. The feedback included profile scores to unpack and analyze, individual comments on your progress, and that letter, which thoroughly explains what we are doing and why.
Of course, we went home early on March 12. We haven’t been back since. It’s unclear when we will be back. We have to adjust.
Unpacking the GAP Scores
Note: This is optional. It would make a good goal, however, for any of the next few days of distance learning.
Once you have your GAP scores on Infinite Campus, you can unpack and analyze them. Focus on that first verb: unpack. Each score corresponds to a profile, and the language of that profile can be unpacked to describe student skills, traits, and knowledge.
You can only make sense of these Q3 scores in the context of our project-based learning, which in turn requires a focus on in-class learning and feedback. You can start here:
Each tier and individual score can be used to build a blueprint for improvement or continued success. That’s your job now: to take what you can from the start of Q3 and apply to the you that is now working from home.
You’ll also want the usual reference links, especially if you invite another stakeholder into this work:
Grade Abatement Profiles
Universal Skills and Traits
Step-By-Step Guide to Assessment
And I think the post clarifying what grade abatement is, how it works, and why it is so important is always worth revisiting:
Take your score at face value. Connect it to a profile. Unpack that profile, bit by bit, to form a picture. Then use the resources I’ve just listed to build a better approach to your learning for the future.
If you do this in writing, I can help you refine your analysis. We will have to hold off on our usual face-to-face conferences until next week, when there should be more clarity on the length of our distance learning.
Ask questions below. Focus here on questions that might help others. Email individual questions, or share individual writing directly.