Activity 4.9
Grading Scenarios

Purpose:

To use real grading situations to raise and discuss grading issues and solutions

Uses:

This activity is at an advanced level-it can be thought of as the application of the knowledge and perspectives generated through previous activities. Prerequisites might 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); (c) how assessment fits into standards-based education (Chapter 1 text and Activities 1.1-Changing Assessment Practices and 1.12-Assessment Principles; (d) how to match student learning targets to assessment methods (Chapter 1 text and Activities 1.2-Clear Targets and 1.7-Target-Method Match; and (e) stage setting activities on grading (Activity 4.2-Putting Grading and Reporting Issues in Perspective or 4.3-Grading Jigsaw and Activity 4.5-Report Card Formats).

Rationale:

This activity is about the validity of grades, specifically the kind of information that should go in a grade, how it should be weighted, and how related matters might be handled. Participants are presented with seven real-life grading situations; they have to decide what to do and provide a rationale for their chosen course of action. Three scenarios are about effort relative to ability, two are about missing work, and two are about improvement.

Part of the discussion will relate to a difference of opinion about what constitutes "achievement." For many teachers, turning work in on time is a sort of "achievement" that they deliberately try to teach. For others, it's not. Part of the discussion, especially about the "improvement" scenarios, will deal with the difference between criterion-referenced and self-referenced grading. These scenarios will also bring up issues about grading that relate to Alfie Kohn's Level III concerns-why do we grade? Is grading the best way to accomplish motivation, feedback, and reward? (See Article #1 in Appendix C-Articles)

The scenarios have been used in research with teachers. The percentage of teachers in the research study choosing each solution is provided in Overhead A4.9,O3-Research Results.

Materials:

Time Required:

90 minutes

Facilitator's Notes:

1. (5 minutes) Use Overhead A4.9,O1-Grading Scenarios Purposes to review the purposes for this activity.

2. (35 minutes) Either individually or in small groups, participants should decide which choice they think is the best for each grading scenario (Handout A4.9,H1-Grading Scenarios) and decide WHY they think that is the best choice. They can use Handout A4.9,H2-Scenario Discussion Sheet to guide their thinking. (Instructions are also on Overhead A4.9,O2-Grading Scenario Instructions.)

3. (35 minutes) Facilitate a discussion of each scenario. One procedure would be to assign one group to discuss each scenario and then ask other groups to elaborate if they have anything to add. (The responses of one group to Scenarios 2, 3, 4, and 5 are included below for reference.Overhead A4.9,O3-Research Results shows the responses of a group of practicing teachers.)

Challenges to dubious grading practices are best if they come from peers. If they have to come from you (the facilitator) because no one else brings it up, phrase them as questions (e.g., "What kind of information are you using if you grade that way?" or "What would your unit learning targets have said were the things they should be evaluated on?")

4. (15 minutes) Journaling activity. Ask participants to individually write down the five most important things they would like to remember from this discussion, and why they want to remember them.

Sample Responses From A Previous Group:

Scenario Discussion Sheet-Scenario 2

Issues:

1. Averaging a "0" in with other scores unfairly lowers an average.

  1. What is role of homework? If the role is practice, then why include it in a grade?
  2. What is the grade supposed to reflect-amount of work done, effort, or knowledge level?
  3. The grade is only as good as the assessments on which they are based. Which is a better measure of achievement in this case-homework or tests/quizzes?

What might be missing in the teacher's grading scheme for this situation to have arisen in the first place?

  1. How good are the tests and quizzes? What is a "working out exercise?" Do the tests and quizzes really reflect what students know and can do? If so, then the tests and quizzes provide the best basis for a grade.
  2. What are the criteria for grading? Are these sound?

What advice would you give this teacher?

There really wasn't enough information to decide what to do. The final decision depends on the student-Is this a special needs student? What is the reason for the lack of homework? Was it done and just not turned in?

What percentage of practicing teachers do you think made each choice?

  1. 65%
  2. 10%
  3. 10%
  4. 15%

Scenario Discussion Sheet-Scenario 3

Issues:

  1. What is the goal of grading in this class-to reward effort or provide feedback on achievement?
  2. Grading criteria should be fairly applied across students.
  3. What does a grade mean if, for every student, ability is balanced against actual performance? Could smart students ever get "A's"?

What might be missing in the teacher's grading scheme for this situation to have arisen in the first place?

  1. What is the quality of instruction? Are the student's learning needs addressed? Is the course engaging?
  2. Is the teacher clear about the learning targets he has for students and how all the assessment that is collected relates to these targets?

What advice would you give this teacher?

Give the student the grade based on quality of work, not effort or achievement in relationship to ability. If anything else is to be done, it should be set up in advance and everyone should know the criteria.

What percentage of practicing teachers do you think made each choice?

  1. 90%
  2. 1%
  3. 0%
  4. 9%

Scenario Discussion Sheet-Scenario 4

Issues:

1. Why would a student ever be put in this position?

  1. The real decision is whether the student has the competencies, not the number of points. If the student has the competencies, they should pass.
  2. What is the grade supposed to reflect-amount of work done, effort, or knowledge level?
  3. The grade is only as good as the assessments on which they are based. Do the tests really reflect competency?
  4. There could be more than one standard of comparison-criterion-referenced, norm-referenced and self-referenced. Everyone in the class needs to know the rules from the outset.

What might be missing in the teacher's grading scheme for this situation to have arisen in the first place?

  1. How good are the tests and quizzes; do they really reflect what students know and can do?
  2. Perhaps assign more than one grade-criterion-referenced, norm-referenced, and self-referenced.

What advice would you give this teacher?

The teacher needs to go back and determine the strengths and weaknesses of the student and the extent to which the tests really reflect achievement.

What percentage of practicing teachers do you think made each choice?

  1. 70%
  2. 10%
  3. 20%

Scenario Discussion Sheet-Scenario 5

Issues:

  1. Is instruction an issue here? Could the student have been more motivated if instruction was different? How do you define effort? Is lack of effort due to the student or teacher?
  2. What is the grade supposed to reflect-amount of work done, effort, or knowledge level?
  3. The grade is only as good as the assessments on which they are based. Do the assessments really measure what students know and can do?

What might be missing in the teacher's grading scheme for this situation to have arisen in the first place?

Effort should count, but it should be handled separately from achievement.

What advice would you give this teacher? Choice B

What percentage of practicing teachers do you think made each choice?

  1. 0%
  2. 100%
  3. 0%
  4. 0%