T he L og Tabor Academy’s Student Newspaper
thelog@taboracademy.org
Volume 88, Number 3
December 2014
Assessments: A Major Change
Tabor students adjust to a new approach for mid-year evaluations
by Caleigh Harden
A discussion about the purpose of mid-year exams began a year ago, when the faculty considered how to have more class time. The independent school calendar is short as it is, but with two weeks in the middle of the year for review and exams and the teaching time is even shorter. This conversation prompted Mr. Quirk to pose the question, “What is the purpose of exams?”. It was deemed that the goal was to prepare students for college length exams, which could still be accomplished by having final exams. Teachers also felt that exams can encourage cramming and that students may not retain the information given this studying system.
Photo by Tanya Tantasathien ‘15
Mr. Quirk then presented a new challenge to the teachers to develop a more creative way to test while keeping in mind the question: “What are you really trying to assess in this project?” The goal of these projects is to become more problem-based and real world -oriented, giving Tabor students a leg-up in college with the skill set to take an exam, but also to approach tasks with developed problem solving abilities.
Students will take various assessments throughout the winter rather than a week of midterm exams
There have been many changes in the past two years such as the new study hall, breakfast check-ins, and the creation of class deans, but most of the changes have not affected the academic lives of students... until now. This year, for the first time, there will not be mid-year exams, where students sit for three hours in one of the Lyndons and listen to the clock tick by. Instead, there will be projects. Students have had many questions about this new system given that the projects will be worth less, have great variation between courses and departments, and because of the creation of testing weeks.
These new projects will not have the same weight on grades that they did before. The weight a project holds is up to the discretion of the teacher, but it must not be more than 20%. Before exams were worth 25%, a fact that greatly frustrated students because a whole semester’s worth of hard work could be dramatically impacted by three hours.
Teachers are now having fun designing their projects in order to engage students so that they may demonstrate their learning in an enjoyable way. Many teachers are basing their projects on a multi-stage platform, creating a project with many components like a test, presentation, or powerpoint. The advantage of having a multi stage project is that gives nearly all students a means to do well because they are able to find an aspect in which they excel.
Mrs. Marceau and other administrators are looking forward to seeing how this year goes, so that adjustments for future years can be made and students’ reactions and experiences can be taken into account.
Students Take the Lead in Symposium
Student-generated ideas developed at the 2nd annual Graboys Leadership by Jack Gordon For all of those gathered for the second Annual Graboys Leadership Symposium, the day went far deeper than leadership skills. This year, the theme of the event was “Leadership Starts Here,” imprinted not only on the t-shirts distributed to the student body but also in the minds of all the participants. According to Mr. DaSilva ’89, the symposium’s facilitator, the idea for this “more grassroots” approach had a variety of inspirations.
Although the naming of the leaders at the end of the school year is inspiring to him, DaSilva points out that this day may have had the biggest impact on the students who were not on that list. He says that “not enough kids are involved in the process,” and many people have found that “if you aren’t on TASC you don’t have the opportunity.” The hope is that this will spark people to “be creative and express.” To show the “practical leadership” come to life, a variety of younger alumni from diverse backgrounds and lines of work came to speak to the student body. Working
Photo by Alix Bersani15
“Being in the deans office for many years...some projects [having to do with student action] had stayed in the idea phase,” said Dasilva. He also stated that the “inspiration came when Mr. Houck reads off all the school leaders… it made me think about what that means.”
Students shared the ideas that they developed in breakout groups at the closing of the symposium
Continued on page 3
Inside the issue
Lessons and Carols Tabor News p. 3
Sections
Lillian Blouin Meet the Artist p. 7
Tabor News.................................1,3 Editorials.......................................2 Center Spread.............................4,5 Opinions........................................6 Sports.............................................7 The Back Page................................8 Please recycle this paper.