1. ERLC Webinar Series Fall 2009 A Repair Kit for Grading - 15 Fixes for Broken Grades Webinar Session 2 With Ken O’Connor

2. Welcome and thank you for participating in

3. ERLC Webinar Series Fall 2009 A Repair Kit for Grading - 15 Fixes for Broken Grades #2 Fixes 3, 4, 5 and 6

4. Presented by Ken O’Connor Assess for Success Consulting kenoc@aol.com www.oconnorgrading.com

6. 2-5

7. The Essential Question How confident are you that the grades students get in your school are:  consistent  accurate  meaningful, and  supportive of learning? If grades do not meet these four conditions of quality they are “broken,” i.e., ineffective. 2-6

8. Grading Issues Achievement (only) Evidence (quality) Calculation Learning (support) 2-7

9. Grades are broken when they - include ingredients that distort achievement arise from low quality or poorly organized evidence are derived from inappropriate number crunching, and when they do not support the learning process. 2-8

10. For each Fix What do you think? - PMI Where are you/school/district now? Where do you want to go - you/school /district? 2-9

11. Fixes for ingredients that distort achievement 1.Don’t include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc) in grades; include only achievement. 2. Don’t reduce marks on ‘work’ submitted late; provide support for the learner. 3. Don’t give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in a higher level of achievement. 4. Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement. 5. Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately. 6. Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence. 2-10

12. HANGOVERS FIXES 1 AND 2 2-11

13. Fix #3 Don’t give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in a higher level of achievement. 2-12

14. Letter to the Editor - Harrisburg, PA Patriot News November 21, 2003 Recently it was “Dress like an Egyptian Day” at my school. If we dressed like an Egyptian we got extra credit. When we didn’t (which the majority of the kids didn’t) our teacher got disappointed at us because we just ‘didn’t make the effort.”... One of the most frustrating things in my mind is that we get graded on something that has no educational value. I would very much like to discontinue these childish dress-up days. JENNIFER STARSINIC Hummelstown Fix #3 Extra Credit 2-13

15. Extra credit - points for things that have nothing to do with achievement of learning outcomes should be not allowed by school or district policy. Students should, however, at any time be encouraged to provide “extra” evidence of their achievement of learning outcomes. Fix #3 Extra Credit 2-14

16. Fix #3 Bonus Points “it is inappropriate to have bonus points on tests that simply make it appear that students achievement is higher than it really is. It makes no sense for a student to be able to score 70 points on a test that has a maximum recorded value of 50 points. Furthermore, the questions for bonus points are usually the questions that distinguish between competence and excellence, so all students should be expected to attempt these questions. O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition, Corwin, 2009, 104 2-15

17. Fix #3 Extra Credit and Bonus Points “The basic problem with weaving extra credit and bonus points into a single grade when they reflect something other than the expected learning (outcomes) is that they distort the record of achievement. Extra credit and bonus points stem from the belief that school is about doing the work, accumulating points, and that quantity is the key - with more being better- rather than about achieving higher levels of learning. But in standards-based systems the main issue should be having enough quality evidence to accurately determine each student’s achievement. Extra credit and bonus points come from a culture that emphasizes extrinsic motivation.” O’Connor, K., A Repair Kit for Grading, ETS, Portland, OR, 2007, 32 2-16

18. For Fix #3 What do you think? + hand clap - thumbs down 2-17a

19. For Fix #3 Where are you/school/district now? Implementation A complete B almost complete C partial D limited E none 2-17b

20. For Fix #3 Where do you want to go - you/school/ district? Implementation A complete B almost complete C partial D limited E none 2-17c

21. Fix #4 Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement. 2-18

22. Schools and districts need procedures to deal fairly and appropriately with academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism. This can be achieved best by having a clear district or school policy on academic honesty. 2-19 Fix #4

23. “Effective policies first and foremost recognize that academic dishonesty is a very serious inappropriate behaviour equivalent to theft, and as such requires primarily behavioural consequences. These policies also recognize that academic dishonesty deprives everyone of quality evidence of student achievement. The appropriate assessment consequence is to have students redo the work with honesty and integrity. O’Connor, K., A Repair Kit for Grading, ETS Portland, OR, 2007, 39 2-20 Fix #4

24. Policy Examples Archbishop MacDonald HS, Edmonton, AB Lakeview HS, Battle Creek, MI Valparaiso HS, Lafayette, IN St. Michaels University School, Victoria, BC 2-21 Fix #4

25. O’Connor, K., A Repair Kit for Grading, ETS, Portland, OR, 2007, 37 2-22 Fix #4

26. “An Insider’s Guide to Cheating at Lakeview High School” provides, in a very student-friendly manner, a definition of cheating, examples of cheating, and sections on why you shouldn’t cheat, how we know you cheat, how you get caught, consequences of cheating, and how to avoid cheating. O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition, Corwin, 2009, 93-94 2-23 Fix #4

27. “The students, teachers, and administration of Valparaiso High School are committed to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. To that end, members of the Student-Faculty Senate developed a school-wide policy on cheating and plagiarism, which was approved by the administration. This policy will be discussed in detail with the student body on the opening day of school and a copy of the policy will be posted in each classroom.” Source:Valparaiso High School, Student Handbook, 2007, 49 in O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition, Corwin, 2009, 94 2-24 Fix #4

28. “As with other misbehavior, academic dishonesty is primarily a discipline problem, so there needs to be clear consequences for academic dishonesty. Valparaiso lists consequences for first through fourth offences. Consequences for the first offence “may include but are not limited to... 1. no credit for the material in question, 2. referral to the assistant principal, 3. parent notification, 4. Saturday class.” Source: Valparaiso High School, Student Handbook, 2007, 50-51 in O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition, Corwin, 2009, 95 2-25 Fix #4

29. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism will be treated as a behavioral issue and not included in a student’s mark. When an incident has been discovered; a)the student will be required to re-submit the work in question in order to demonstrate mastery of the skills and content. b)the format and timing of the submission will be at the discretion of the teacher and will likely result in a loss of discretionary time privileges for the student. Students who are found to have committed academic dishonesty on more than one occasion will have more severe consequences applied in a manner commensurate with the incident(s) in question. A clear statement of policy on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be added to the student code of conduct. Source: SMUS Draft Policy 2-26 Fix #4

30. Cizek notes that most students do not cheat and suggests that we “must work to avoid tendencies to suspect all students of cheating.” He further suggests that “To foster student learning, risk taking, creativity, trust and respect for others, the classroom environment must be one in which cheating is defined, identified and condemned. What is needed is a healthy awareness, not an atmosphere of anxiety, suspicion, or mistrust.” Source: Cizek, G., Detecting and Preventing Cheating: Promoting integrity in Assessment, Corwin, 2003 61-62 in O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition, Corwin, 2009, 94 2-27 Fix #4

31. Think about this “Words such as lying, dishonesty, misrepresenting, deception, and morality appear in the literature on cheating and may be applied to situations in which students do not realize that they are “wrong” in school terms. The line between helping (an ethical behavior) and cheating (an unethical behavior) is culturally marked and variable. Where the line is drawn is related to cultural differences in the purposes of schooling, notions of how knowledge is constructed, the nature and meaning of assessment, and the relationship between the individual and the group.” Source: Rothstein-Finch, C. and Trumbull, E. 2008 Managing Diverse Classrooms, 158 in O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition, Corwin, 2009, 95 2-28 Fix #4

32. “Don’t use grades punitively.... Without exception, experts in the area of student grading recommend that grades not be used in a punitive sense. When a teacher uses grades as punishment for student behaviors, the teacher establishes an adversarial relationship in which grades are no longer meaningful to students as indicators of their accomplishment. The punitive use of grades only increases the likelihood that students will lose respect for the evaluation system; consequently the appeal to students of subverting such a system will be heightened.” Source: Cizek, G. J. 2003. Detecting and Preventing Classroom Cheating; Promoting Integrity in Assessment, Corwin, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2003, 100 in O’Connor, K., A repair Kit for Grading, ETS, Portland, OR, 2007, 42 2-29 Fix #4

33. 2-30

34. For Fix #4 What do you think? + hand clap - thumbs down 2-31a

35. For Fix #4 Where are you/school/district now? Implementation A complete B almost complete C partial D limited E none 2-31b

36. For Fix #4 Where do you want to go - you/school/ district? Implementation A complete B almost complete C partial D limited E none 2-31c

37. Fix #5 Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately. 2-32

38. Regular attendance is necessary and desirable for most students but learning outcomes based education is not about seat time, it is about what students know, understand and can do. Keep it simple - just record the number of days present for each student and the number of days in the grading period. 2-33 Fix #5

39. “Excused and unexcused absences are not relevant to an achievement grade. There is no legitimate purpose for distinguishing between excused and unexcused absences. For educational purposes, therefore, there need only to be recorded absences.” Gathercoal, F., Judicious Discipline,Caddo Gap Press, San Francisco, 1997, 151 in O’Connor, K., A Repair Kit for Grading, ETS, Portland, OR, 2007, 43 2-34

40. Fix #5 Teacher: “Are you telling me that if a student has been ill and another has been skipping, that they both should be able to make up the work missed?” Gathercoal: “(Yes) both needed an educator when they returned, perhaps the one who skipped more than the other.” Gathercoal, F., Judicious Discipline, Caddo Gap Press, San Francisco, 1997, 151 in O’Connor, K., A Repair Kit for Grading, ETS, Portland, OR, 2007, 45 2-35

41. For Fix #5 What do you think? + hand clap - thumbs down 2-36a

42. For Fix #5 Where are you/school/district now? Implementation A complete B almost complete C partial D limited E none 2-36b

43. For Fix #5 Where do you want to go - you/school /district? Implementation A complete B almost complete C partial D limited E none 2-36c

44. Fix #6 Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence. 2-37

45. “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, 69 Fix #6 2-39

46. 1. no(t) 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, 68-71 Kagan’s 7 reasons for opposing group grades Fix #6 2-40

47. “No student’s grade should depend on the achievement (or behavior) of other students.” Source: William Glasser Fix #6 2-41

48. 3.1.4 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. Source: Scarborough Board of Education, Assessment and Evaluation Policy, 1996 Fix #6 2-42

49. Think about this “It is essential to emphasize that cooperative learning is an instructional strategy, not an assessment strategy. If teachers want to evaluate students while working on a cooperative task, then the evaluation must be clearly outlined in the role expectations for each student. It must be very clear to students exactly on what they are going to be evaluated. The evaluation of each student should be based on what he/she accomplishes. There should not be a group mark. We cannot stress this enough. Further, teachers must develop the evaluation strategy as they design the assessment. Students should not have to guess what they are expected to do nor how their mark will be calculated.” Source: Stephens and Davis, “Traditional Group Work versus Cooperative Learning,” Crucible, 33 (1), 2001, 25 in O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition, Corwin, 2009, 111 Fix #6 2-43

50. For Fix #6 What do you think? + hand clap - thumbs down 2-44a

51. For Fix #6 Where are you/school/district now? Implementation A complete B almost complete C partial D limited E none 2-44b

52. For Fix #6 Where do you want to go - you/school /district? Implementation A complete B almost complete C partial D limited E none 2-44c

53. Fixes for ingredients that distort achievement 1. Don’t include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc) in grades; include only achievement. 2. Don’t reduce marks on ‘work’ submitted late; provide support for the learner. 3. Don’t give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in a higher level of achievement. 4. Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement. 5. Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately. 6. Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence. 2-45

54. Feedback for Presenter We are going to present a series of three questions for you to respond via polling. Please use the four point scale to respond, with A being the strongest agreement and D being the strongest disagreement. 1. The presenter communicated clearly.

55. Please use the four point scale to respond, with A being the strongest agreement and D being the strongest disagreement. 2. The presenter was well organized.

56. Please use the four point scale to respond, with A being the strongest agreement and D being the strongest disagreement. 3. The presenter engaged the participants in the materials.

57. Thanks for participating. See you next time on Wednesday November 4th for Fixes 7, 8, and 9