Assessing for true knowledge of content really isn’t all that hard. What do we want our students to know? What was the objective? What did the teacher use to see if the student learned the information?
Where I have trouble is the grade that is going down in the grade book. I remember the days of when I took points off for no name and days late, etc. I see a bigger picture and it is two fold.
1. Subtracting points for a child forgetting to put their name on a paper does not really tell you whether they understand what you taught. It really tells you that you have a child that was not responsible or forgetful.
2. Taking points off for late work has the same outcome. The child was not a responsible student or forgetful or even lazy.

Teaching responsibility is hard to do.

So, when looking at a report card or progress report and the grade is a 65, is it truly based on their knowledge or is it based on irresponsible ways of children?

I know this is a battle we have been up against forever. It is hard to justify a smart kid failing for not putting their name on the paper! That’s my two cents about it.