Chapter 8: UbD/DI

This chapter discusses the problem of grading for the rule book, and the idea of assigning a meaningless letter or number to a student at the end of the year to put on a report card and show to their parents. Often times too much emphasis is placed on making a letter or number grade, and not enough on creating learning and understanding. A student can memorize information just to get a good grade, without really absorbing the material. This method of grading does not really motivate student to understand or achieve mastery in the content. The chapter asks teachers to give grades based on clear goals and performance standards. This way the student needs to understand the content and goals, and the grade becomes almost explained instead of just being assigned. This way, a teacher can use grades to motivate students to understand the content, instead of discouraging them so that all that is focused on is a meaningless letter or number.