ToolKit98

Chapter 4 Grading and Reporting-A Closer Look

What's in This Chapter?

"How do I incorporate rubric scores into grades?" "How do I define standards for grades that are fair to all students?" "What do grades mean?" Questions such as these are common right now. Teachers at all grade levels are currently feeling a certain amount of discomfort about the manner in which (either by choice or by district policy) they have assigned grades. Many teachers have told us that the method by which they are required to grade (high school teachers, for example, frequently having to have, say, 15 marks during a grading period) prevents other changes from occurring in assessment and instruction. There is a sense that grading practices must somehow change, but no one is quite sure what must change or how-or even which questions about grading are the best to ask.

No one currently has the answer. However, in this chapter, we provide current best thinking about the issues that have to be addressed and information about how others have addressed these issues in redesigning grading and reporting systems.

Chapter Goals

Explore issues with respect to grading and reporting
Reinforce the importance of aligning grading and reporting strategies with valued learning targets and instructional strategies
Increase knowledge of strategies for incorporating alternative assessment data in the overall determination of student grades
Reflect on options for broadening communication with parents, students, other teachers, and the community about the quality of student work

Chapter Content

A. Readings

Introduction
Grading: Issues and Options: Describes a variety of approaches for incorporating alternative assessments into a grading scheme, and explores issues surrounding grading.
Reporting: Communicating About Student Learning: Examines assessment as a communication system that engages students, teachers, parents, and others in ongoing conversations about the quality of student work in order to lead to improvement. Different report card formats are described.

B. Activities

Activity 4.1 Weighty Questions

This advanced level activity helps to illustrate the importance of developing sound grading practices that reflect valued student learning targets. Time: 90 minutes to 2 hours; extension, 60 minutes

Activity 4.2 Putting Grading and Reporting Questions in Perspective

This intermediate level activity provides an opportunity for teachers to express their current questions and concerns about grading and relate them to three levels of concerns about grading proposed in a paper by Alfie Kohn in Appendix C. Time: 75 to 90 minutes

Activity 4.3 Grading Jigsaw

This intermediate level activity raises and promotes discussion about issues surrounding grading. It uses papers on grading and reporting in Appendix C. Time: 1 ½ to 2 ¼ hours

Activity 4.4 Won't Some Things Ever Change?

In this intermediate level activity, participants compare and critically examine the messages sent by report cards from 1916, 1943, 1965, and 1994. Time: 30-40 minutes.

Activity 4.5 Report Card Formats

This advanced level activity provides examples of innovative report card formats and promotes discussion of their relative advantages and disadvantages. Time 40-75 minutes

Activity 4.6 How To Convert Rubric Scores to Grades

In this advanced level activity, participants discuss the advantages and disadvantages of four procedures for converting rubric scores to grades. This case study focuses on writing. Time 60-75 minutes

Activity 4.7 Case of the Killer Question

This advanced level activity presents the real-life grading dilemmas faced by an alternative high school. The killer question is: "How do we capture and report the learning of our students without compromising the integration, authenticity, student autonomy and self-directed learning that's at the heart of our program?" Time: 1 ½ to 2 ¼ hours

Activity 4.8 Guidelines for Grading

This advanced level activity presents eight guidelines for grading taken from current research. Participants consider each guideline in light of the goals they have for grading. Time 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Activity 4.9 Grading Scenarios

This advanced level activity presents real-life grading dilemmas for discussion. Time: 90 minutes

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