Weighted Grading - What Are We Weighting?

Every August I start the year by training teachers on our antiquated grading software and maybe even more archaic grading system. It is the traditional weighted grading. Every category such as homework, tests, in class assignments and projects is assigned a percentage of the total grade. I start my spiel by asking, "What do you  believe is the most valuable work the students do?" This question is suppose to help them develop their own system of weighted grades. And now I am analyzing my own question.

Teachers will tend to weight tests, mostly summative, as the most valuable category. I've witnessed as high as 60% but mostly it hovers in the 40% range. If I change my question only slightly, the whole system is in dispute. "What do you believe is the most valuable learning tool for the student?" Yes, I'm focusing on learning. A summative test, as a learning tool? That just doesn't ring true to most educators. There are some students that do learn from the process of studying, taking a test and having it returned corrected, yet I would argue as we move toward standardized testing, fewer tests are returned in a timely enough manner to make this a learning event. In  fact, normally summative tests are only eyed by the teacher.

If the grading scale was weighted based on which learning tool or process actually was most effective, how would a teacher determine effectiveness? I just finished reading about a new venture by Kelly Tenkler called the Learning Genome. The vision is to personalize education by focusing on the student's  "learning preferences, multiple intelligence strengths, interests, passions, maturation." The project will tag every type of content and piece of curriculum whether it be an interactive, an article or video for educators to find and easily sort for their students. This sounds like a great match for the weighted grading system, but I think technology can do even more.

As children learn and show success at learning, either through interactive content, or yes, tests, the mode in which they learned best can be recorded. For example, if a student spends time on Khan Academy and does very well, learns topics quickly and demonstrates understanding, then based on the recorded data, a computer could provide similar learning experiences for that student. Conversely, whenever an activity was not successful for the student, a learning management system should be able to dump that type of activity and replace it with something more suitable for the child.

I realize what I'm advocating sounds all computerized at this point. It most certainly wouldn't be except for the ease in automation of it. In fact, what if we simply asked the child? How do you like to learn? The teacher would be the most valuable asset to a system in which learning preferences quantified by both teacher and student. And as for the weighted grading, it may even change through the year. In one unit of study, a project may have produced the best results while in another reading and answering questions may have been best. 

It all goes back to the original question that every teacher should be asking. What is the most valuable learning tool for each individual student? Once we get to this point, whether through a data collection system or mere insight from a very in tune teacher, we will have progressed to a more meaningful evaluation of a student's progress. 

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