In May, teachers and administrators from four area high schools,
Nash Central, Northern Nash, Rocky Mount, and Southern Nash, came together via
Google Hangouts to improve grading accuracy and ensure objectivity
district-wide of the Measures of Student Learning, MSL, test. Each
subject area, Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies, had a separate hangout,
giving the teachers an opportunity to discuss issues directly related to their
subject and agree on the point value of answers. According to Dr. Jennifer Curtis, Education
Specialist for Mathematics, the hangouts are an “instructional initiative to
promote collaboration across the district and ensure consistency in the grading
of the MSL test.”
Unlike on standardized tests, some question on the MSL are "constructed response questions," and are scored on a sliding scale, thereby leaving room for subjective grading; using the hangout allowed teachers to come to a consensus on how many, if any, points an answer should receive. When asked why use the hangout, Dr. Curtis said, “We are in a 21st Century learning environment and we all need to model it.”
