I am excited, but also apprehensive. It is difficult to flip education as we know it upside down. This new questing model that focuses on student achievement rather than the 0-100 scale does not fit well into the traditional model of grading. For example, I have to make my tests worth 60% of the grade in the class. Also, 20% of the grade is a nine weeks test at the end of the second nine weeks (no nine weeks test at the end of the first quarter). So, if you do the math for that second nine weeks, of the 80% remaining after that one test, only 40% can be considered a "daily" grade. So, you end up with something that looks like this: 9 weeks test = 20%, other tests = 48%, "daily" (GameLab) = 32%. That is a little disheartening. I hate high stakes testing.
To get around this problem, I have spoken with my department chair who suggested adding projects to GameLab and count them as a test grade (which leads to more math). Basically, I can "steal" some of that 48% and add it to the daily percentage if some of those quests are quite hefty (time consuming). I don't think it's an ideal solution, but I like it well enough. By the way, the ideal solution would be to get rid of tests altogether and let the students' work speak for itself. But, the way testing is structured, my class wouldn't have anything to do to keep them busy during the semester-end exam times. Plus, they would go around telling other students that they never have tests in my class, which is bad for the morale of other classes.
All in all, it's going to be good. A revolution has begun.
