HIT: Giving grades for library, Part II

[uv middle school library <snbcs@NORWICH.NET>]

I work with k-3 students. Our district has adopted benchmarks on certain
skills.  I give a grade for 3rd graders.  The 4-6 librarian has flexible
scheduling, and grades for benchmarks at that level are incorporated into
the teacher's grade for the project they work on together.
--
You could remind administration that the librarian has many more roles than
the music, art, etc. teachers.  Your instruction should be tied to the
instruction done in the classroom.  But you really don't have time to keep
up with the extra paperwork involved with grading.  On the other hand, one
plus for grading is that it helps to impress on the student the importance
of work done in the library.  Maybe there could be a compromise -- you
could try giving grades on projects and have them averaged in with subject
grade.
--
Library is a RESOURCE, not a CLASS, and grading it as a class is not
conducive to learning to enjoy reading and information finding.  The
projects which we do in library for junior high are graded, but the grade
counts as  social studies, literature, etc, and not as a library grade.
--
I give grades and find it very frustrating.  I seef grades 1-4 once a week
and K 75-8 every other week.  I find that often I am teaching and
constructing lessons with the aim of getting documentation for a grade.
For 1-3 I give them all Gs.  I refuse to not use their library time
primarily for sharing stories.  Grades 5-8 are another story; because of
the infrequency of their visits, I get very little time for literature
appreciation. Little time is given to collaborative planning, so even their
ilbrary skills lessons lag behind their curriculum needs.
--
AASA supports Flexible Scheduling and cooperative planning and teaching
with the teacher.  Any type of library skills need to be taught at the time
of need when it correlates with whatever the teacher is doing in the
classroom.  The Bix 6 model could probably be used for the teacher to give
a grade on a project that was done using the library.
AASA and state School library assns. need to help educate administrators as
to what a library should be.  Using a library for planning time for
teachers speaks very poorly for a library program, although I realize this
is not YOUR choice.
--
I gave grades for library once in another district.  I left that district
and came to one that values libraries and librarians and has flexible
schedules, no prep coverage and no grades.  I do not recommend giving a
library grade.  This does not mean you don not evaluate. You do it all the
time -- you see them follow the correct procedure.  I often use a check
list with various skills and keep notes to help me know which kids need
extra help, and I do assess all the time, but do not give a formal grade on
a report card.  If you do resouce-based activities you and the teacher can
jointly grade it -- you on the bibliography and library skills and the
teacher fon the style, content, etc.  But what's the point of a library
grade?  You would have to assess many skills to get one grade.  Your skills
spread over years and intertwine with attitutes.  You model and foster
poositive feelings about books, reading, libraries and librarians.  You can
destroy all that with one grade.  Do you give bad grades for not following
rules, for not returning items on time?  Do you fail library if you are not
able to select appropriate resources or don't know the parts of a book?
Love of reading and enthusiasm for the library suffer when grades are
attached.... My guess is that the staff, with few exceptions, neither knows
nor cares what you do as long as they get a prep, and neither does your
administration.
--
 I have K-6 with 500 students.  I give a library grade for 4-6 and though
it is a pain, it is important that I do this. It makes the student more
accountable, it makes the teacher aware of how the student is doing, it
makes parents and administrators see the importance of library.  We have
honor roll for 5th and 6th grades, and the kids work hard in library
because their grades get averaged in..  I think the advantages of giving
grades outweigh the disadvantages.
--
Fight it. Refer to the philosophy of Information Power.  We do not have a
separate curriculum, we supoort the curriculum of the classrooms.  If you
have to give a grade, you have to change your approach from supporting
classroom projects to developing worksheets and tests, which takes away
from practical experience in using the library and materials.  Besides, if
you see a student only once a week, is your grade as valid as a math,
reading, social studies grade?  What if the student was absent several
times.  Also, kids will hate coming to the library.

PS.  If I ever do another HIT, I will have to learn an easier way.

Giulia Greenberg
Unadilla Valley Middle School
S. New Berlin   NY
snbcs@norwich.net

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