Now that the staff has had a year to work with PBL are there plans to support better self-paced learning so that students can move at an appropriately challenging pace?

This is a great question and it relates to one of our overarching goals for school improvement - differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all our students.  It is important to note that our transition to "PBL" did not somehow make it more difficult to differentiate.  In fact, the transition work will actually help to facilitate differentiation because we will have a much better sense of where students are in their learning and what they need to continue to grow.

One fundamental shift that teachers must make to challenge students at an appropriate level is to use assessments differently than they had in the past.  A good assessment should provide the teacher and the student with important data about where the student is in relation to a learning target or standard.  The teacher must then provide the student with actionable feedback that the student can use to continue to grow.

The work teachers assign should be challenging enough so that students struggle, receive descriptive feedback, and then revise and improve their work.  When we have evidence (gathered through assessments that may come before or during an instructional unit) that a student has met a learning target or mastered a concept, we must help students to exceed those learning targets (when appropriate) and/or introduce additional learning targets so that students continue to be challenged and progress in their learning.

Although I appreciate the philosophy behind PBL, I am concerned that my son will not be motivated to meet or exceed standards the first time because he knows that he will have the opportunity to redo assignments.

This is a great question and a very common one.  The concern is that if students are allowed to redo assignments they will simply "blow off" the work because they know they can "just" take the test again.  This is a concern that is also common with teachers who are beginning to make this change in their practice.

One of the major shifts in mindset that needs to happen in order to really understand the value of retakes is to be clear about the purpose of the assessment itself.  Teachers give assessments in order to gather evidence of student learning.  In order for an assessment (worksheet, quiz, project, test) to be viable it must provide the teacher and the student with useful information about what the student has learned and where he or she may have fallen short.  THIS INFORMATION MUST BE ACTIONABLE.  This is in contrast to a traditional system in which a teacher may give an assessment  after two weeks of instruction, assign a grade, and then move on to another topic.

Rather than thinking about assessments as marking the end of a block of learning, they should be viewed as an integral component of the learning process itself.  Students should have the opportunity to reflect on their performance while receiving quality descriptive feedback from the teacher.  At that point, students should be required to re-attempt the assignment (or a small portion of it) in order to demonstrate mastery of the material.  This cycle of struggle, reflection, and perseverance is really where the meaningful learning will take place.

In addition, students quickly learn that they will not be "off the hook" if they don't turn something in or if they do not put forth their best effort.  We expect that our students will turn in quality work and perform at high levels - even if it takes multiple attempts.  Not only does this foster a strong work ethic, it also helps to ensure a deeper level of understanding and promotes long term retention.

Another key component is having sound Redo and Retake policies.  I have included a blog post that I wrote on the topic back in September.  Anyone interested in the concept of redos and retakes should find it extremely helpful.

Redos and Retakes at YMS

At York Middle School, we believe it's important for students to make mistakes, to reflect on their failures, and to persevere to meet their goals (learning targets!).  Perseverance, in fact, is one of our school's core values.  We are striving to create a student culture that values hard-work and recognizes when students learn the most: When they make mistakes and when they persevere to do better.
Teachers have historically placed a high value on work-ethic and with good reason.  Intuitively, we have always known that learning improves when students persevere when faced with a challenge.

Now, we actually have the science to back up our intuitions.  The neuroscience that supports the research is fascinating.  We now know, irrefutably, that students actually get "smarter" by being allowed to fail and having the opportunity to make corrections.  The research couldn't be any more powerful.  Here is what we know to be true:

When students are given descriptive feedback on their failures, time to reflect in meaningful ways, and the opportunity to make corrections, learning WILL improve.  Period.  Having kids formally reflect on their academic setbacks is the single most powerful thing teachers can do to improve learning in their classrooms.

In order to encourage this new mindset, teachers have been working to create redo/retake policies within their teaching teams and classrooms.  Creating a formalized redo/retake policy is something new for most teachers.   A formalized policy helps students to prepare a plan of action if they do poorly on an assessment.  A good policy also helps teachers manage time and the workload that comes along with new and improved classroom practices.

Please follow the link below to read an outstanding article by Rick Wormeli called Redos and Retakes Done Right.  In this Educational Leadership article, Wormeli provides the philosophical argument for allowing redos in schools then goes on to offer practical strategies for implementation.  I'm proud to report that many of the practices he describes are now becoming increasingly common at YMS!

Redos and Retakes Done Right

Is it possible to consider using traditional grading with PBL? I believe it's important to keep traditional grading and A-F seems to work in other districts.

We are currently working very hard to improve our reporting tool so that it is more user-friendly and easy for parents to understand.  Our top priority for improving what we do will be the grade reporting system.  We recognize that our current system can be confusing and difficult to understand.

At this time we have no plans to revert back to a traditional grading system (assuming averaging on the 100-point scale).  This type of system is not compatible with a proficiency-based instructional model and would not be consistent with what we know to be sound grading and assessment practice.

I've included an article by Ken O'Connor and Rick Wormeli that provides some of the rationale for our approach to grading and assessment.  I hope you find it helpful.

Reporting Student Learning