How to Grade FOR Learning

1
How to Grade FOR Learning
2
p.22
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., .
3
Think about the quotes on page 1 in relationship
to the 3 questions below.

• 1. What do the quotes say about grading?
• 2. What 3 quotes resonant with you ? Why?
• 3. How do you think colleagues, students, and
  parents, would react?

Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 2.
4
JIGSAW
p.23-26
Everyone read 1st four paragraphs Person 1 read
. Section Grading Rationale 1Sorting Person 2
read . Section Grading Rationale 2
Motivation Person 3 read Section Grading
Rationale 3 Feedback Person 4 read
Section Demand vs Support Person 5 read
Section Supportive Assessment Person 6 read
Section And If You Must Grade
5
The Essential Question(s)

• How confident are you that the grades students
  get in your school are
• consistent
• accurate
• meaningful, and
• supportive of learning?

Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc,
6
Grading requires

• CAREFUL PLANNING
• THOUGHTFUL JUDGEMENT
• A CLEAR FOCUS ON PURPOSE
• EXCELLENT COMMUNICATRION SKILLS, AND
• AN OVERRIDING CONCERN FOR STUDENTS.

Guskey, T. R., Grading Policies that work
against standards . . . And how to fix them,
NASSP Bulletin, Dec. 2000.27.
7
Table Activity
Why do educators grade students and their
achievement? List purposes on chart paper and
post.
Prioritize your list.
8
Purposes for Grading

• Communicate the achievement status of students
  to parents and others.
• Provide information that students can use for
  self-evaluation.
• Select, identify, or group students for certain
  educational paths or programs.
• Provide incentives to learn.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of instructional
  programs

Guskey, Thomas R. (Editor), Communicating Student
Learning The 1996 ASCD Yearbook, ASCD,
Alexandria, VA, 1996. p.17
9
the primary purpose of . . . grades. . . (is) to
Communicate student achievement to students,
parents, school administrators, post-secondary
institutions and employers.
Bailey, J. and MCTighe, J., Reporting
Achievement at the Secondary School Level What
and How?, in Thomas R. Guskey, (Ed.)
Communicating Student LearningASCD Yearbook
1996, ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1996,120.
10
Read each assessment FOR learning statement and
self reflect.

• 5. I do this on an ongoing basis, or this happens
  all the time in my room.
• 4. I do this frequently, or this happens
  frequently in my classroom.
• 3. I do this sometimes, or this sometimes
  happens in my classroom.
• 2. I do this infrequently in my classroom.
• 1. I dont do this, or this doesnt happen in my
  classroom.

p.27
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc..
11
The Seven Perspectives on Grading
1. Grading is not essential for learning. 2.
Grading is complicated. 3. Grading is subjective
and emotional. 4. Grading is inescapable. 5.
Grading has a limited research base. 6. Grading
has no single best practice. 7. Grading that is
faulty damages students-and teachers.
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc..
12
Guidelines for Grading
1. Relate grading procedures to the intended
learning goals, i.e., standards, expectations,
outcomes, etc. 2. Use criterion-referenced
standards as reference points to distribute
grades. 3. Limit the value attributes included
in grades to individual achievement. 4. Sample
student performance - dont include all scores in
grades 5. Grade in pencil -keep records so
they can be updated easily. 6. Crunch numbers
carefully - if at all. 7. Use quality
assessment(s) and properly recorded evidence of
achievement. 8. Discuss and involve students in
assessment, including grading throughout the
teaching/learning process.
p.41
13
Chris Brown Science Class

• Case Study

Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p 29.
14
p.28
15
Chris Browns Science Class

• Do the grades awarded fairly reflect the results
  from which they were derived for each student?
• If you answered yes, for which students? Why?
• If you answered no, for which students? Why?
• What grading issues arise from this case study?

Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 30.
16
Guideline for Grading
Relate grading procedures to the intended
learning goals, i.e. standards, expectations,
outcomes, etc.
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 48.
17
Guideline 1
first and foremost the teachers must stop
thinking in terms of assignments, tests and
activities to which points are assigned, and
start thinking in terms of levels of performance
in the declarative and procedural knowledge
specific to the subject area
Marzano Kendall, 1996
18
Guideline 1 Traditional Guidelines for Student
Grading Evaluation Category Expected
Range 1. Quizzes/Tests/Exams 20-30 2.
Written Assignments 15-25 Creative
or explanatory paragraphs, essays, notes,
organizers writing folios or portfolios 3.
Oral Presentations or Demonstrations 15-25
Brief or more formal presentation or
demonstrations, role-playing, debates,
skits,etc. 4. Projects/Assignments 10-20
Research tasks, hands-on projects, video or
audio tape productions analysis of
issues etc. 5. Cooperative Learning 5-15
Evaluations of the process and skills
learned as an individual and as a
group member. 6. Independent
Learning 5-15 Individual
organizational skills, contributions to class
activities and discussions, homework,
notebooks. ____________ 70-130
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p 50.
19
Guideline 1
the use of columns in a grade book to represent
standards, instead of assignments, tests, and
activities , is a major sift in thinking for
teachers
Marzano Kendall, 1996
20
p.29
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc.,.
21
p.30
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc.,
22
p.30
23
p.31
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc..
24
Guideline 1
The principal limitation of any grading
system that requires the teacher to assign one
number or letter to represent. . . Learning is
that one symbol can convey only one meaning. . .
. One symbol cannot do justice to the different
degrees of learning a student acquires across
all learning outcomes.
Tombari and Borich, Authentic Assessment in the
Classroom, Prentice Hall, 1999, p. 214
25
Guideline 1
Systems that are aligned - curriculum, teaching,
and assessment - have a greater chance of success
for students.
Glenda Lappan, NCTM News Bulletin, October 1998
26

• Think about what you have just learned. If you
  had to explain the main idea to some one else,
  what would you say? Write you explanation in a
  sentence or two on a post it.
• Share out round robin at your table.

27
Guideline for Grading
Use criterion-referenced standards as reference
points to distribute grades.
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 62
28
Guideline 2
grading on the curve makes learning a highly
competitive activity in which students compete
against one another for the few scarce rewards
(high grades) distributed by the teacher. Under
these conditions, students readily see that
helping others become successful threatens their
own chances for success. As a results, learning
becomes a game of winner and losers and because
the number of rewards is kept arbitrarily small,
most students are forced to be losers.
Guskey, Thomas R. (Editor), Communicating Student
Learning The 1996 ASCD Yearbook, ASCD,
Alexandria, VA, 1996. P.18-19
29
Guideline 3a
Reports on student progress and achievement
should contain . . . Information that indicates
academic progress and achievement for each course
or subject area separate from . . . Punctuality,
attitude, behavior, effort, attendance, and work
habits
Manitoba Education and Training, Reporting on
Student Progress and Achievement Policy Handbook
for Teachers, Administrators and Parents.
Winnipeg, 1997, p. 13
30
Guideline for Grading
Limit the value attributes included in grades to
individual achievement.
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 86.
31
Guideline 3a
. . . Grades often reflect a combination of
achievement, progress, and other factors. . . .
This tendency to collapse several independent
elements into a single grade may blur their
meaning.
Bailey, J. and McTighe, J., Reporting
Achievement at the Secondary School Level What
and How?, in T. R. Guskey, (Ed.) Communicating
Student Learning ASCD Yearbook 1996, ASCD,
Alexandria, VA, 1996, p. 121
32
Guideline 3a
By . . . Offering separate grades for different
aspects of performance, educators can provide
better and far more useful information (than
single grades that include achievement and
behaviors).
Guskey and Bailey, Developing Grading and
Reporting Systems for Student Learning, Corwin,
2001, p. 82
33
Guideline 3b
Group grades are so blatantly unfair that on
this basis alone they should never be used.
Kagan, S. Group Grades Miss the Mark,
Educational Leadership, May, 1995, p. 69
34
Guideline 3b
Kagans 7 reasons for opposing group grades 1.
Not fair 2. Debase report cards 3. Undermine
motivation 4. Convey the wrong message 5.
Violate individual accountability 6. Are
responsible for resistance to cooperative
learning 7. May be challenged in court
Kagan, S. Group Grades Miss the Mark,
Educational Leadership, May, 1995, p. 68-71
35
Guideline 3b
Whether an independent or cooperative learning
strategy is used, assessment is based on
individual achievement. In some situations, when
the merit of the final product must be considered
in its entirety, a group mark may be assigned,
providing that the rationale and expectations for
this approach to assessment are clearly
communicated to students in advance.
Policy on Assessment and Evaluation, Scarborough
Board of Education, Ontario, Canada, 1997
36

• Table Discussion
• Where is your building or district in
  implementing Guidelines 2 3 ?
• What would need to happen to move forward with
  these guidelines?

37
p.35
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 33.
38
Questions
Which student will you choose to pack you
parachute? Why? If these were scores in a
typical teachers grade book, which students
would pass? Which students would fail? Is there
any discrepancy between you answers to question 1
and 2? If so, why does this discrepancy occur?
39
Guideline for Grading
Sample student performance - dont include all
scores in grades.
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 108..
40
Guideline 4
Diagnostic - Assessment which takes place prior
to instruction designed to determine a student's
attitude, skills or knowledge in order to
identify student needs. Formative - Assessment
designed to provide direction for improvement
and/or adjustment to a program for individual
students or for a whole class, e. g. observation,
quizzes, homework, instructional questions,
initial drafts/attempts. Summative -
Assessment/evaluation designed to provide
information to be used in making judgement about
a student's achievement at the end of a sequence
of instruction, e.g. final drafts/attempts,
tests, exams, assignments, projects, performances.
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 109110.
41
Guideline 4
The ongoing interplay between assessment and
instruction, so common in the arts and athletics,
is also evident in classrooms using practices
such as non-graded quizzes and practice test, the
writing process, formative performance tasks,
review of drafts and peer response groups. The
teachers in such classrooms recognize that
ongoing assessments provide feedback that
enhances instruction and guides student revision
McTighe, J.,What Happens Between Assessments,
/Educational Leadership, Dec. 96- Jan. 97, p. 11
42
Guideline 4
The thrust of formative assessment is toward
improving learning and instruction. Therefore,
the information should not be used for assigning
marks as the assessment often occurs before
students have had full opportunities to learn
content or develop skills.
Manitoba Education and Training, Reporting on
Student Progress and AchievementA Policy
Handbook for Teachers, Administrators and
Parents. Winnipeg, 1997, p.9
43
Guideline 4
Students should be assessed or checked on
everything (or almost everything) they
do. BUT everything that is assessed and/or
checked does not need to be graded AND every mark
should not be included in a grade.
K. OConner, 2002
44
Guideline 4
Firm evidence shows that formative assessment is
an essential component of classroom work and that
its development can raise standards of
achievement, Mr. Black and Mr. Williams point
out. Indeed, they know of no other way of
raising standards for which such a strong prima
facie case can be made.
Black, P. and D. Wiliam, Inside the Black Box,
Phi Delta Kappan, October 1998, p. 139
45
GRADES AS FEEDBACKGrading every piece of work
is misdirected. A numerical grade does not show
students how to improve their work. Further,
students ignore comments when grades are
given.--Butler, 1998
46
Intensive correction, where the teacher marks
every error in every paper a student writes, is
completely useless. Marking all errors is no
more advantageous in terms of student growth than
marking none of them.--Hillocks, 1986
47
Feedback that cues the individual to direct
attention to self (praise, effort, etc.) rather
than to the quality of the task appear to have a
negative effect on learning. Many studies speak
to effective teachers praising less than average.
--(Cameron/Pierce, 1994 Kluger/DiNisi, 1996)
48

• Table Discussion
• How would you see this guideline playing out in
  your classroom?

49
Guideline for Grading
Grade in pencil keep records so they can be
updated easily.
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 124.
50
Guideline 5
The key question is, What information provides
the most accurate depiction of students learning
at this time? In nearly all cases, the answer
is The most current information. If students
demonstrate that past assessment information no
longer accurately reflects their learning, that
information must be dropped and replaced by the
new information. Continuing to rely on past
assessment data miscommunicates students
learning.
Guskey, T. R. (Editor), Communicating Student
Learning The 1996 ASCD Yearbook, ASCD,
Alexandria, VA, 1996, p.21
51
Guideline 5
Teachers must look for consistency in the
evidence theyve gathered. If that evidence is
consistent across several indicators and a
student's score or marks are daily uniform, then
deciding what grade to assign is a relatively
simple task. If the evidence is not consistent,
however, then teachers must look deeper and
search for reasons why. The must also face the
difficult challenge of deciding what evidence or
combination of evidence represents the truest and
most appropriate summary of the students
achievement. . .
52
Guideline 5
In such cases we recommend three general
guidelines 1. Give priority to the more recent
evidence 2. Give priority or greater weight to
the most comprehensive forms of evidence (e.g.
rich performance tasks) 3. Give priority to
evidence related to the most important learning
goals or expectations,
Adapted from Guskey Bailey, Developing Grading
Reporting Systems for Student Learning, Corwin,
2001, pp. 141-142
53
Guideline for Grading
Crunch numbers carefully - if at all.
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 140.
54
Guideline 6
Averaging falls far short of providing an
accurate description of what students have
learned . . . Of the purpose of grading and
reporting is to provide an accurate description
of what students have learned, then averaging
must be considered inadequate and inappropriate
Guskey, T. R. (Editor), Communicating Student
Learning The 1996 ASCD Yearbook, ASCD,
Alexandria, VA, 1996, p.21
55
Guideline 6
Educators must abandon the average, or
arithmetic mean, as the predominant measurement
of student achievement.
Reeves, D., Standards are Not Enough Essential
Transformations for School Success, NASSP
Bulletin, Dec. 2000, p. 10
56
Guideline 6
Three Questionable Practices Three practices that
deserve attention (because of) their potentially
harmful effects are 1. Averaging scores to
determine a grade 2. The use of zeros and 3.
Taking credit away from students or lowering
their grade because of behavioral infractions
Adapted from Guskey Bailey, Developing Grading
Reporting Systems for Student Learning, Corwin,
2001, pp. 139
57
85 85 85 Mean/Average _______ 0 85 85
Median _________ 85 0 85 85 Total 680
Guideline 6
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc.,
58
Guideline 6
Grading by the median provides more
opportunities for success by diminishing the
impact of a few stumbles and by rewarding hard
work.
Wright, R. G., Success for All The Median is
the Key, Phi Delta Kappan, May 1994, pp.723-725
59
Guideline 6
Grades based on averaging have meaning only when
averaging is done on repeated measures of similar
content. Teachers average (marks for) test on
fraction, word problems, geometry and addition
with marks for attendance, homework and notebooks
- and call it Mathematics In Mathematics we teach
that you cannot average apples, oranges and
bananas but we do it in our grade books!
R. Canady, Workshop presentation, ASCD Annual
Conference, Washington D. C., April 1993
60
Guideline 6
There are three general sources of assessment
evidence gathered in classrooms observation of
learning, products students create, and
conversation - discussing learning with
students. When evidence is collected from three
different sources over time, trends and patterns
become apparent . . . This process is called
triangulation.
Davies, A., Making Classroom Assessment Work,
Classroom Connections International, Merville,
BC, 2000, p.35
61
Converting Rubric Scores to Grades
Page 36-37
62
Guideline 6
. . . A zero has a profound effect when combined
with the practice of averaging. Students who
receive a single zero have little chance of
success because such an extreme score skews the
average. . . . An alternative is to use the
median score rather than the average or
arithmetic mean, but use of the most current
information remains the most defensible option.
Guskey, T. R. (Editor), Communicating Student
Learning The 1996 ASCD Yearbook, ASCD,
Alexandria, VA, 1996, p.21
63
Guideline 6
Assigning a score of zero to work that is late,
missed or neglected does not accurately depict
student's learning. Is the teacher certain the
student has learned absolutely nothing, or is the
zero assigned to punish students for not
displaying appropriate responsibility?
Guskey, T. R. (Editor), Communicating Student
Learning The 1996 ASCD Yearbook, ASCD,
Alexandria, VA, 1996, p.21
64
Guideline 6
The Effects of Zeros 5 pt scale 101 point
scale 4 (A) 90-100 11 95 95 3 (B) 80-89 10 85 8
5 2 (C) 70-79 10 75 75 1 (D) 60-69 10 65 65 0
(F) Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc.,
65
Guideline 6
101 point scale 5 pt scale 95 4
0 0 0 0 0 0 85 3
0 0 0 0 30 3 0 0
0 0 260 10 Mean 26 1.0 Letter
Grade F D What grade should this student
get?
66
Guideline for Grading

• Discuss and involve students in assessment,
  including grading throughout the
  teaching/learning process.

Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 176.
67
Guideline for Grading

• Use quality assessment(s) and properly recorded
  evidence of achievement.

Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc., p. 162.
68
In Summary
69
The Relationship Between Grading Issues and the
Grading Guidelines
p.41
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc.,
70
p.42
Source How to Grade for Learning linking Grades
to Standards, 2nd Ed., by K. OConnor, Pearson
Education, Inc.,.
71
The three Cs of motivation
COLLABORATION (Learning Together)
CONTENT (Things Worth Knowing)
CHOICE (Autonomy in the Classroom)
Kohn, Alfie, Punished by Rewards The Trouble
with Gold Stars, Incentives Plans, As Praise and
Other Bribes, Houghton Mifflin, NY, 1993, p.
212-221
72
. . . the primary purpose of classroom
assessment is to inform teaching and improve
learning, not to sort and select students or to
justify a grade.
McTighe, J., Ferrara, S., Performance-Based
Assessment in the Classroom, Pennsylvania ASCD
73
What is insanity???
Insanity is doing what you have always done and
expecting things to improve.
Stephen Covey