Grading for Editors How to build structure and

confidence in student using standards-based

grading

Alyssa SellorsHarrison High School, Kennesaw, GA

email alyssasellors@gmail.com

blog: www.alyssasellors.com (go here for all of today’s handouts)

Twitter: @alyssasellors

Facebook: Alyssa Carnley Sellors

Our Essential Question: AS AN EDITOR (OR STAFF MEMBER) WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD “GRADE” YOUR PERFORMANCE? WHY?

The Pros: Why let editors “grade” their

peers?•Increased accountability •Builds leadership skills•Builds communication skills•Critical thinking •Real world experience (business evaluations, for ex.) •Time management and organization

The Cons: But what about….• Parent concerns (students grading

students???)• Popularity contests and “friend” allegiances on staff • Accuracy and trust • Time• Accountability

On the syllabus….

Listening, Speaking, Viewing (25%): Interviewing and research as those tasks apply to the context of your position on staff.  Planning (20%): Working collaboratively, remaining on task (NOT PLAYING ON COMPUTER), daily participation, being proactive as a team member, working on business development. Publication (25%): Writing, editing, designing layouts and advertisements (meeting ALL deadlines) Professionalism (15%): Public persona and integrity, employability, participation in sales and marketing efforts Final Exam (15%): Reflection on the publication as a whole, including your specific role  *Note: Not every assignment will pertain to each individual staff member. For example, within Publication, business staff will not be assessed according to their ability to implement yearbook design rules; however, business staff will be assessed according to their ability to design and produce advertisements promoting the sale of the book, including ads for Hoya Vision and Facebook.

Common Core Standards: Journalism

Reading:  3. Analyze how and why individuals, events and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 7. Integrate & evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. 9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the author takes.

 Speaking & Listening1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Writing:  1. d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization and analysis of content.    3. d. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to covey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting and/or characters.4.  Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information. 

Language1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation and spelling when writing. 

How do you grade the editors?• Editors also write, design and take

pictures (fewer)• TWO grades at 100 points each. (They also complete the self evaluation.)

• Professionalism: •Timeliness, communication, adherence to rubrics and point allotments

• Publication and accuracy: •Using their own rubrics, I “grade” their work

•When the staff rubrics come in, I make sure all corrections are made on all pages.

OUR STAFF STRUCTURE

Layout Teams • Section editors did not work for us• Teams of writers, designers, and photographers.• Layout groups (3 to a group); do change throughout

the year• Editor for each role and only one editor-in-chief• We do not have a co editor-in-chief but we have a

“helper” or apprentice

How does it work? • Editors meet to assign pages and teams• Ladder done before the first deadline• Deadline sheets and layout group meetings• Layout plan and editor meetings

THE FLOW…

How does it work? • Deadlines on Mondays• Staff deadlines=Monday before the editor’s• Plant deadlines= Monday after editor’s • I have one week to check editors’ work while the

rest of the staff has already moved on to the next deadline!

• Typical staff deadline is 4 weeks, with 5-6 deadlines total

• We have never missed a deadline. Why? …

A typical Month (not including mini deadlines) Sunday Monday Tuesda

yWednesday

Thursday

Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8Staff Deadline

9-New layout teams and assignments

10 11 12 13Ed-in-Chief puts pages in proof

14 15Editors’ Deadline (and meeting to finalize pages)

16Adviser spends this week checking pages for submission

17 18 19Enter all staff grades and evaluate editors

Celebrate!!!

20

21 22Plant Deadline

23 24 26 26 27

28 29 30

Layout Assignments

A typical deadline week (for editors)

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday Friday Sat/Sun

Staff deadline

-Ed-in-Chief prints all pages and hands them off to the design editor

Design editor assigns points using rubrics and then makes necessary changes on Edesign before passing pages to the writing editor (Photog Ed begins viewing today-more on this)

Writing editor assigns points using rubrics and then makes necessary corrections in Edesign passing pages to the photography Editor

Photography Editor assigns points using rubrics and then makes necessary corrections errors in Edesign before passing to the editor-in-chief and her assistant

Ed-in-Chief and her assistant begin final proofing (go through every page and make necessary corrections, making note of corrections NOT made by other editors

Ed-in-Chief puts all pages in proof (prepare for editors’ meeting the following Monday before turning over to me). I spend the next week making any changes and putting in grades for editors and staff members

WHAT YOU WILL NEED….

First, my rationale for points… • Variety of tools to assess staff

members• Variety of ways and means to earn those points.

-All team points, is that fair?-All individual points, where

is the accountability?• “Hybrid” version allows staffers to earn points from their group, themselves, their interactions with others and their own work ethic.

Criteria/Categories• Accountability (group)- final layout deadline grade• Accountability (individual)- personal rubrics by role • Skill/performance • Team work (evaluations)• Reflection (evaluations)

The Points• There are 300 points total for every deadline:

• 100 final layout team deadline (shared points - you miss deadline because of ONE person’s mistakes, you all miss it)

• 100 points final individual layout (rubrics filled out by the editors)

• 20 points mini deadline (points allotted differently based on position)

• 50 points peer evaluations • 30 points self evaluation and goal setting

The Self-Evaluation

The Peer Evaluation

Checklists and Rubrics • Checklists are for the staffers.• Rubrics are for editors. • I look at both and check pages as they are in Edesign. I assess the grade and put these values into our grading system.

Writers

Writer’s Rubric

The pacing: How to set mini deadlines

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday Friday Saturday

January 27

 January 28PREVIOUS

STAFF DEADLINE

 

January 29GET NEW LAYOUT

GROUPS & PLAN

January 30DEADLINE

PARTY

 

January 31

 February 1

 February 2

 

February 3

 February 4ANGLES DUE

 

February 5GET NEW LAYOUT

GROUPS & PLAN

February 6

 February 7

 February 8INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

DUE

February 9

 

February 10

 February 11

 February 12

GET NEW LAYOUT

GROUPS & PLAN

February 13

 February 14

 February 15

 February 16

 

February 17GET NEW LAYOUT GROUPS & PLAN

February 18

 February 19

ROUGH DRAFT COPIES DUe

February 20GIVE BACK

COPIES

February 21COPIES

SHOULD BE IN eDESIGN

February 22

 February 23

 

February 24 

February 25CURRENT

STAFF DEADLINE

 CAPTIONS DUE

GET NEW OUT GROUPS &

PLAN

       

The Rationale: Why set mini-deadlines?•I

t helps me stay organized.• Without a mini deadline, I would not know if a writer has finished with all his or her interviews or if

writers have even thought of an angle. • Instead of all the interview questions, copies, and angle ideas being given to me at once, I can

access each individual component of the writing process in depth without being overwhelmed

•It helps the writer to stay on task and not procrastinate.• Even if the writer misses a deadline, each mini deadline is a grade, so his or her work will reflect

the final grade.• I think it is useful for the writers to know where they should be in the writing process.

•I find the way I set the mini deadlines efficient for the staff because I feel like I give them adequate enough time to complete each mini deadline. • Usually our staff deadline days fall on Mondays (at least for 2012-2013).• I always allow the writers two to three days to find their angle and do research

• Finding an angle is the hardest part (at least for me), so I allow them two to three days to make sure they have talked to enough resources to find a quality angle.

• Once they turn in their angles, I allow the writers two days to write their interview questions• Writing interview questions is the easiest part, so it should not take too long to write questions.

• I give the writers a full week to allow them to pace themselves for doing the actual interviews. • Usually I set the rough draft deadline on Tuesdays because it allows the writers to write their

copies over the weekend or provides them an extra day to get one quote or to write their copies.• The night of the rough draft deadline, I look over the copies and edit them.• The next day I hand them back for the writers to fix any errors.• I expect their copies to be in eDesign the next day.• I always set the caption deadline on the actual day of the staff deadline.

• Writers write captions last because the photographer might have last minute photos to put into eDesign.

• Captions are the hardest to write because they are mini-stories that also require interviewing.

Designers

Design Editor: Lindsey “My job as design editor is to oversee all of the designers and designs that go into the yearbook. I also would create the reoccurring elements throughout the book along with the design editor from the first semester. At the end of every deadline, I print out all of the pages that we had assigned that deadline and highlight errors that the naked eye can see just by looking at the page. I grade the pages along with a checklist and rubric. The rubric covers the guidelines that should be met for every spread each deadline. Communication is key in design and staying in contact with the designers throughout every deadline. As far as mini deadlines go, I don’t set mini deadlines for my designers with an exception of modules. When it is time for the ‘mug' deadline, which consists mainly of modules, I will set a mini deadline to make sure the modules are interesting and would be appropriate for the theme of our book.”

Designer’s Checklist

Designer’s Rubric

Photography

Photography Editor: Bailey“The photography grades are pretty simple. Last semester all photographers had mini deadlines where they would have to have their dominant and two other photos completed. If there was a module, the module would have to be completed by this mini deadline.

Between of the schedules of events, the schedule of photographers, and the weather, the photographers missed their mini deadlines! So I made the decision to cancel the mini deadlines and do sporadic checks on the photographer’s spread. If there aren’t any pictures on the spread I ask them about the missing pictures and what are their plans are to get the photos.

Changing this rule has really helped the photographers, giving them the time to get quality photos and create a schedule individualized for them! I grade the final pictures with a checklist that covers the basic rules of photography such as photo composition, DPI, brightness, focus, etc.”

Photographer’s Checklist

Photographer’s Rubric

Editor-in-Chief and assistant

Editor-in-Chief •M

onday- Staff Deadline. This day, before any staff member leaves, their group must come to me and I will check to make sure all their spreads are done. A team may not leave until all of their spreads are done. Our design editor then prints out all the spreads right off of eDesign and begins to grade that night. By printing off the pages and not just graded on the computer, the staffers cannot go back and edit their pages.

•Tuesday- DE finishes grading the sheets and hands them over to our writing editor. Our photography editor begins grading today too but because photographers' grades are based on the quality of a picture; she grades on the computer so she can judge the quality of the photos.

•Wednesday- WE finishes grading the writers today. After grading their respective aspects, the design (Lindsey), photography (Bailey), and writing (Karen) editors go onto eDesign and change what needs to be changed by the end of today. Tonight, my editor-in-chief assistant uses my checklist and goes onto eDesign and looks at each spread to make sure everything is perfect. She fills out a checklist for each spread and then gives it to me. If there is a mistake or something that should be changed, instead of changing it herself, she writes down the issue on the checklist and also leaves a sticky note on eDesign.

•Thursday- Assistant finishes her checklists and gives them to me. Today, I start looking over the spreads. I use the checklists she gives me and fixes any mistakes she found as well as change anything I think needs changing, but at this stage, there is not much I find that needs changing because the spreads have been through so many people.

•Friday & Weekend- I am still looking over pages and usually finish editing the pages over the weekend. As soon as I am done I submit them into proof which notifies Mrs. S that they are ready for her approval.

•Monday- Editor’s deadline. Meet as an editorial board to make sure everything is done. Pages are all in proof and Mrs. S starts her review of the pages to submit for the plant deadline in one week.

Not the co-editor, but …“My role on staff is the editor-in-chief’s assistant. Every deadline, the ED in Chief and I go into eDesign and check all the pages. I tend to go in before the editor-in-chief to make sure all pages are pretty much perfect, and then she goes in and puts the pages in proof or changes layouts if needed.

When I go in I have a checklist the editor-in-chief has created for me, which is the style guide that is condensed and easy to read even for a photographer. If there is anything wrong, such as a design error I cannot fix or the folio is incorrect, I write down the issue and tell her when I am done looking at all the pages. Being the editor-in-chief’s assistant, I feel as though that I have gained a new perspective. I know more as a staff member on yearbook and I can help others in design if needed. Also, it helps because if something were to happen to my own designer on my layout team, I have the knowledge of how to design and what looks right. In terms of grading, I do not grade at all.”

Our Book….

Thank you!!

Q & A?

www.alyssasellors.com

alyssa.sellors@gmail.com