Grading Scenarios

Scenario 1 In her 7th grade social studies class Ms. Nguyen's report card grades are based on quizzes, tests, and an out-of-class project that counts as 25% of the grade. Terry obtained an A average on his quizzes and tests, but has not turned in the project despite frequent reminders. In this situation, Ms. Nguyen A. Exclude the missing project and give Terry an A? B. Assign Terry a 0 for the project and D on his report card because his average would be a 68%? C. Assign Terry a lower grade than an A, counting off some for not turning in the project? D. Something else. . .

What the research says Scenario 1: Not b because-Zeros distort true level of achievement. Not c because-Only count achievement. Answer c would count a behavior-not turning in work-as part of the grade. We would choose d-assign an incomplete because there is not enough information to make a true estimate of student learning. An incomplete grade is turned into a failing grade if the work is never handed in.

Scenario 2 Mr. Marlowe's 9th grade English class has students of varying abilities. During this grading period, the students' grades are based upon quizzes, tests, and homework assignments that involve practice exercises. Kelly has not turned in any homework assignments despite frequent reminders. His grades on the quizzes have ranged from 56% to 75%, and he received a D on each of the tests. In this situation, should Mr. Marlowe A. Assign Kelly a 0 for the homework assignments and include this in the grade, thus giving him an average of F for the grading period? B. Ignore the missing homework assignments and assign Kelly a D? C. Ignore the missing homework assignments and give Kelly a C? D. Something Else. . . .

What the Research Says Scenario 2: Not a because-Zeros distort true level of achievement. We would choose b or c because-do not include all scores in grades, especially scores on practice work. Base grades on summative assessments. We don't know whether a grade of C or D is more appropriate because we don't know the grading scale. The only caveat is if the homework would provide additional information about student achievement; then we might assign an incomplete

Scenario 3 Mr. Paderewski is the teacher in a 6th grade heterogeneously grouped class. Chris one of his students, has strong academic abilities as shown by her previous work, tests results, reports of other teachers, and his own observation. As he looks over her work for the grading period he realizes that the quality of her work is above average for the class, but it doesn't represent the best that she can do. The effort shown has been minimal, but, because of her ability, the work is reasonably good. In this situation, should Mr. Paderewski A. Grade Chris on the quality of her work in comparison to the class, without being concerned about the quality of work she could have done? B. Lower Chris's grade because she did not make a serious effort in this class; she could have done better? C. Give Chris a lower grade to encourage her to work harder? D. Something else.. .

What the Research Says Scenario 3: Not a because-don't grade on a curve, (norm referenced) use criterion referenced grades. Not b or c because-include only achievement in the grade. We would choose d-grade on a preset criterion-referenced standard.

Scenario 4 Ms. Quantum has a heterogeneously grouped 7th Grade science class. Barbara is one of her lower performing students, as measured by her previous performance and the observation of her previous teachers. Throughout this grading period Barbara has worked very hard. She has turned in her assignments on time and has often come to Ms. Quantum for extra help before tests. Her average for this grading period is two points below what she would need to get a D on Ms. Quantum's grading scale. In this situation, should MS. Quantum A. Give Barbara a D for the effort she has shown? B. Grade Barbara according to the grading scale and give her an F? C. Something else.. .

What the Research Says Scenario 4: Not b because-only include achievement in grades. We would choose c because we would want to make sure we have the best available evidence of achievement before failing a student. So, we would check for-use of quality assessments and properly recorded evidence of achievement. Was there something in the assessment procedure that made test results inaccurate? We might also collect more information, perhaps from an oral exam (use the most current information).

Scenario 5 Ms Exponent is teaching high school algebra. In her class she gives two tests each grading period. David received an F on the first test and a low B on the second. In this situation, should Ms. Exponent A. Assign David an overall grade of D based on the average of his performance on the two exams? B. Assign David an overall grade of C because he showed improvement on his performance? C. Assign David an overall grade of B because that was his level of performance at the end of the term? D. Something Else.. . .

What the Research Says Scenario 5: The answer to this one depends on whether the second test covered material also covered on the first test. If the student really did use the F on the first test to learn the material, the-use the most current information; so we'd choose c. If the tests covered different material then we'd choose a orb depending on the relative weight of the two tests

Scenario 6 Ms. Reese Pawnsibility is determined to teach kids the value of doing homework and participating in class. She counts each as 20% of the final grade. Ken is a student in her sixth grade math class who does all his homework (It is usually incorrect but Ms. Pawnsibility only grades on effort with homework). He seems to be paying attention and asks and answers questions in class daily. Ken has a 100 average in both Homework and Class participation and his overall average is an 81. Should he take Pre-Algebra next year?

What we often forget Scenario 6- Ken’s average in the things that measure what he knows/can do is 68. His lack of understanding is camouflaged by his teacher’s inflated percentages in areas that do not measure a student’s knowledge/ability in Math. Ken has parents (Don’t use Powerschool) who are both very willing to help, but unfortunately, never knew there was a problem since Ken was receiving a B on his report card.