The pull-out program our ds was in had them, and I think they are a-ok. The kids had expectations just the same as they have in regular classrooms: project work, behavioral expectations, participation expectations etc.
is it fair to grade the students on extra material when they are still required to complete all the regular work?
Kids in our school district were not supposed to be penalized in their regular classroom for the time and work they missed due to gifted pullout.
I get that students should get graded on their work in general and they should learn to deal with disappointment on occasion. But I wonder if it's necessary in a class specifically designed to encourage and enrich the educational experience.
I think if you argue it's not necessary in the gifted pullout, you might also argue it's not necessary (or motivating) in the regular classroom - for the very same reason (it doesn't encourage or enrich the educational experience).
The first elementary school my children attended didn't give out grades. The second one my older dd attends also doesn't give out grades (both schools did give feedback and placed an emphasis on student's reflection on their work); the second elementary my younger dd attends gives the traditional letter grades. The schools that didn't give grades didn't give them because they felt letter grades focused students on extrinsic motivation and they wanted to encourage children to be intrinsically motivated. I really like that concept - but oddly enough, all three of my children really like getting letter grades and that extrinsic motivation helped spur them on to achieve at a higher level in school.
polarbear
