Hey Y’all,
This year I’ve been working with a partner on developing a piece of grade-reporting software that we’re calling ActiveGrade. Here’s why:
- There’s a lot more that software can do to help make grades understandable and meaningful. I think grades should be the start of a conversation between students and teachers, and so one of ActiveGrade’s focuses is helping teachers communicate exactly what they mean when they report a score.
- ActiveGrade is also a reaction against grading software that treats grades like the final product of education. I feel strongly that damage is being done to students who are motivated by grades (ugh), so I’ve been striving to create something that functions mostly as a feedback tool which students can respond to. Grades should not be an end.
- Support for standards-based grading in other software is weak. ActiveGrade is strictly SBG, and it will provide tools for teachers and students to really participate in active SBG. You may have noticed: I liked the term “active SBG” so much I named my software after it. Well, I should say that we liked it – Dan really came up with the term. Anyway!
ActiveGrade will be ready for beta testing next month! A big goal in the testing is to figure out what kinds of tools are most important to teachers using active SBG. If you want the chance to make ActiveGrade what you really want it to be, I hope you’ll sign up!
If you’re interested in helping, sign up at ActiveGrade.com!
