CHAPTER 10: Grading Systems

Reporting Progress to Parents

**MOST COMMON**Report cards and grades. -indicate days tardy and absent -some include space for written comments

Letters to Parents

-Not used as much as they were in the past -usually teachers communicate over the phone -Letters do have advantage of a permanent record of communication -permit greater detail and can describe activities at home to assist in learning. -excellent supplement to report cards.

Pass/Fail Grading System

-Often used in colleges -students can take courses outside of field without worrying about GPA - Sometimes used in elementary with students with learning disabilities.

Characteristics of Parent-Teacher Conference

-Should be friendly and non-confrontational -Be well prepared -Balance negative and positive comments -BE QUIET -Goal: teacher and parent work together for student.

ALL MEASURES (Calculation of Grades) CONTAIN ERROR

Observed Score = True Score + Error Score

Teachers view on grading

Often seen as one of most difficult and troublesome aspects of teaching.

Which type of performance standard is more common? (Performance-based or percentage-based)

Percentage-based criteria

Disadvantages of Pass/Fail

1. Provides much less information and feedback to students. 2. students tend to work harder if given a specific letter grade. 3. Less motivational quality.

Performance-based criteria

Involves the detailed specification of particular behaviors in order to receive a certain grade.

How can letter grades be more beneficial?

Accompany the letter grade with some sort of descriptive information.

Numerical or Percentage Grading

Simply report the actual numbers.

Attendance, Effort, Participation, etc as a grade

Attendance, effort, attitude, conduct, and class participation should not factor into grade unless they are specifically related to instructional objectives.

Portfolios

Can be used to facilitate student growth, to document progress, and to showcase student work.

Purpose of Grading Systems

Compares a student performance to some criteria. Communicate information about student's academic performance and progress.

Which comparison is more fair? (Norm- or Criterion-Referenced)

Criterion-Referenced Comparisons

With which comparison can all students earn an A?

Criterion-Referenced Comparisons

What do elementary letter grades look like?

Excellent, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory.

You can grade to give ___________________ feedback. (Formative or Summative)

Formative

Grading Responsibility

Grades must be fair. Very powerful; determine academic recognition and honors, placement into courses, educational and career opportunities. Most serious responsibility that teachers have.

Total Point Approach

Most common form of calculation of grades where you add up all the points and divide by total possible points.

Borderline Grades

If making a decision about borderline grades, better to use other achievement information rather than factors such as effort and participation.

Do you use an assignment for a grade or no?

If the assignment is seen as practice, then no. If the assignment is seen as what the student has learned, then yes.

True or False: Students should know in advance what will be counted toward the final grade.

True

Weighting Approach

Weight assignments according to the relative importance of each assessment.

How can letter grades be made more precise?

adding a plus/minus system

Criterion-Referenced Comparisons

Student performance is compared to a preestablished set of performance standards. Most commonly used grading system in the public schools.

Are portfolios used in place of formative or summative grades?

Summative

Written tests and large-scale projects usually used for _________________________ grades. (Formative or Summative)

Summative

Grades as discipline....

Teachers should not use grades as disciplining students. Best to use disciplinary measures, not academic ones.

Grading Systems (Definition)

The process of using a formal system for purposes of summarizing and reporting student achievement.

Summative Grading

basis for communicating the status of students' achievement to students, parents, administrators, and others.

What causes error?

factors other than true understanding (fatigue, confusion, guessing)

Percentage-based criteria

involves using cutoff scores based on the percentage of items answered correctly or points earned on a measurement or assignment.

Grading every piece of work:

-not practical -not necessary -doesn't allow students to learn from doing

Parent-Teacher Conference

-Advantage is the face-to-face dialogue -tends to increase parental involvement -use as a supplement to report cards -elementary level possible to meet with all -secondary may be impossible -meet when it is warranted.

Record Keeping

-Typically grades are maintained by the classroom teacher in a grade book. - electronic grade books available to teachers.

Norm-Referenced Comparisons

-When teachers assign grades to students based on their performance compared to that of other students. (Also called "relative grading, curving the class, and grading on the curve")

Advantages of Checklists

-can include effort, classroom behavior, social skills, and so forth along with academic skills. -no overall grade is given, so each remains a separate skill or behavior and can be graded as such.

Narrative Reports

-description of strengths and weaknesses -thorough but brief -paragraph is written for each academic area and behavioral area -summary with specific examples -goals and plans -tactful way to indicate deficiencies -effective supplement to letter grades

Letter Grades

1. ABCDF 2. Oldest grading system still in use. 3. Educators and parents understand it. 4. Efficient (summarize entire term in one grade) 5. Cannot adequately describe strengths and weaknesses.

Checklists

1. Represent a type of dichotomous grading. 2. Very specific feedback can be provided. 3. Detailed analysis of student strengths and weaknesses. 4. Used frequently at elementary level.

Disadvantages of Norm-Referenced Comparisons

1. Tend to create very competitive classrooms which lowers motivation. 2. All students do not have a fair and equal opportunity to achieve. 3. Tendency to reduce student cooperation and willingness to work together.

Two types of performance standards:

1. performance-based criteria 2. percentage-based criteria

Norm-Referenced Comparisons Assumption

Assumes that student performance will always span across all possible grades and that the distribution across those grades can be specified in advance.

Norm-Referenced Comparisons Interpretation

High grade means that they did better than others; low grade means that they did worse than others.

Rational of Grading Systems

Nearly all school district require summative judgments. Judgments are not guesses; should be based on the accumulation of valid and reliable evidence.

Advantages of Pass/Fail

Reduces anxiety

Connection between the number of components and representation

The larger the number of valid components, the more representative the grade will be.

True Score

The student's actual achievement level

Multi-grade system

When both number and grade are reported.

Intrinsic value of learning or grades?

When grades are abolished, a decline in motivation is seen. Grades are a substantial source of academic motivation.