Activity 4.8

Guidelines for Grading

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Goals:

1.  To think through purposes for grading (and other mechanisms for reporting student achievement and progress
2.  To think through guidelines for grading and other reporting that will assist us accomplish our purposes

Uses:

This is an advanced level activity. Prerequisites include: (a) knowledge of how student assessment fits into standards-based education (Chapter 1 text and/or Activities 1.1-Changing Assessment Practices, or 1.12-Assessment Principles); (b) understanding of how assessment can be integrated with instruction (Chapter 2 text and/or Activities 2.1-Sorting Student Work and 2.3-Ms. Toliver's Mathematics Class); and (c) a stage-setting activity in which grading and reporting issues are discussed, such as Activity 4.3-Grading Jigsaw or Activity 4.2-Putting Grading and Reporting Questions in Perspective.

Reference Box Greater detail on these guidelines can be found in an article by Ken O'Connor in the May 1995 NASSP Bulletin, and in a forthcoming book from IRI/Skylight called Good Grades: Grading Practices Which Encourage Learning. (800) 348-4474, e-mail: info@iriskylight.com

Rationale:

In most schools, at least for the foreseeable future, students will receive report card grades. If grading must be done, we all must try to provide better grades, that is, grades which:

• Encourage learning and support student success
• Are not punitive
• Are meaningful and provide useful information

This activity presents eight guidelines for grading, taken from current research and thinking about grading. Participants have the opportunity to discuss the advisability of each guideline and how it might or might not contribute to the three criteria listed above.

Materials:

• Overhead projector, screen, overhead pens, blank transparencies
• Overheads A4.8,O1-Guidelines for Grading Purposes, A4.8,O2-Should Grades …, and A4.8,O3-Discussion Questions
• Handout A4.8,H1-Grading Guidelines

Time Required:

90 minutes to two hours

Facilitator's Notes:

1.  (5 minutes) Use Overhead A4.8,O1-Guidelines for Grading Purposes to introduce the purpose for the activity.

2.  (10-15 minutes) Ask participants to discuss the proposition that grades should (see Overhead A4.8,O2-Should Grades…):

• Encourage learning and support student success
• Not be punitive
• Be meaningful and provide useful information

The rest of the activity depends on agreement on these purposes for grading. If participants cannot agree on the purposes for and roles of grading in the educational process, then it will become more difficult to develop guidelines for grading.

3.  (10-15 minutes) Break participants into small groups. Assign each group one or more guideline(s) (Handout A4.8,H1-Grading Guidelines) to discuss (see Overhead A4.8,O3-Discussion Questions):

• What do you like about this guideline?
• What makes you uncomfortable about this guideline?
• What points of uncertainty do you have about this guideline?
• To what extent will this guideline assist in accomplishing our purposes for grading?

4.  (45 minutes) Share ideas and thoughts in the whole group.

5.  (15-30 minutes) Ask participants to develop their own list of guidelines for grading.