Grading Practices Study September 13, 2018

High School 2022 Operating Principles Ensure equitable access and opportunity for all students. Implement flexible scheduling to support student-centered learning. Encourage students to explore their interests and passions for course credit. Use fair and meaningful grading practices.

Study Texts

Assessment vs. grading Assessment--The goal of assessment is to improve student learning. Although grading can play a role in assessment, assessment also involves many ungraded measures of student learning. Moreover, assessment goes beyond grading by systematically examining patterns of student learning across courses and programs and using this information to improve educational practices Grading--Generally, the goal of grading is to evaluate individual students’ learning and performance. Although grades are sometimes treated as a proxy for student learning, they are not always a reliable measure. Moreover, they may incorporate criteria – such as attendance, participation, and effort – that are not direct measures of learning.. Source: Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.

Grading Practices--current state Conducted a research-based survey of grading practices based on Ken O’Connor’s work Surveyed on Grading Practices Opinions about grading Grading confidences 100% participation rate from all teachers in grades 4-12 Division results will be sent to teachers this fall and will be posted to our survey results page. Results for individual schools have been shared with principals

Preliminary findings Opinions about grading show greater consistency 4 of 6 areas had 71% or higher similar responses 97% agree that there should not be a limit on number of students who can earn an “A” 76% disagree that assessments should demonstrate how well students are doing in comparison to others

Preliminary findings More inconsistency in grading practices 50/50 split on use of zeroes for missing assignments 50/50 split on using performance on homework in final grades 55/45 split on allowing students to redo assignments that they did not do well on without penalty

Preliminary findings Strong confidence in ability to develop strong assessment and grading systems

Driving question Do our results indicate fair and equitable grading practices in our schools?

Next steps Meeting with secondary staffs beginning in October Sharing the results of the survey with guiding questions Does the information gathered from your school indicate fair and equitable grading practices? Why or why not? What are the bright spots you see in the results? What are the areas for improvement? What ideas do you have for change?

Questions?