Grading Policies That Work Against Standards...and How to Fix Them

Chapter 2 of Serious Solutions for Serious Problems in Standards-Based Grading is an article by Tom Guskey titles "Grading Policies That Work Against Standards...and How to Fix Them".  Here are a few notes from this article:

Grading "on the Curve"

• ...grading "on the curve" communicates nothing about what students have learned or are able to do.  Rather, it tells only a student's relative standing among classmates, based on what are often ill-defined criteria.
• Students who receive the high grades might actually have performed very poorly in terms of the established learning standards, but simply less poorly than their classmates.  Differences between grades, therefore, are difficult to interpret at best and meaningless at worst.
• If we are effective in our instruction, the distribution of achievement should be very different from the normal curve.  In fact, we may even insist that our educational efforts have been unsuccessful to the extent that the distribution of achievement approximates the normal distribution.
• ...research has shown that a seemingly direct relationship between aptitude or intelligence and school achievement depends on instructional conditions, not a normal distribution curve.  When instructional quality is high and well matched to students' learning needs, the magnitude of this relationship diminishes drastically and approaches zero.
• At all levels of education teachers should identify what they want their students to learn, what evidence best reflects that learning, and what criteria they will use to judge that evidence. 
• Grades based on specific learning criteria and standards have direct meaning and serve well the communication purposes for which they are intended.

Selecting the Class Valedictorian (aka RECOGNITION)

• In reviewing admission applications and making decisions about scholarships, colleges and universities today are for more interested in the rigor of the curriculum students have experienced.
• Recognizing excellence in academic performance is a vital aspect of any learning community.  But such recognition need not be based on arbitrary criteria and deleterious competition.  Instead, it can and should be based on clear models of excellence that exemplify our highest standards and goals for students.  Educators should take pride in helping the largest number of students possible meet these rigorous criteria and high standards of excellence.

Using Grades as a Form of Punishment

• ...no studies support the use of low grades as punishments.
• Instead of prompting greater effort, low grades more often cause students to withdraw from learning...students may blame themselves for low grades, but feel helpless to make any improvement.
• Sadly, some teachers consider grades their "weapon of last resort."  In their view, students who do not comply with their requests must suffer the consequences of the greatest punishment a teacher can bestow: a failing grade.  Such practices have no educational value and, in the long run, adversely affect students, teachers, and the relationship they share.
• Rather than attempting to punish students with a low grade in the hope it will prompt effort in the future, teachers can better motivate students by considering their work as incomplete and then requiring additional effort. 
• Some schools have initiated grading policies that eliminate the use of failing grades altogether...this is based on the belief that students perform at a failure level or submit failing work largely because teachers accept it...teachers reason that if they no longer accept substandard work, students will not submit it.  And with appropriate support, they believe students will continue work until their performance is satisfactory.
• ...giving failing grades to students who have not performed well, despite their ability to do so, offers them an easy way out.  But if teachers insist that students complete all assignments designed to demonstrate learning at an acceptable level, they are convinced that students will choose to do their work in a timely manner and at a satisfactory level of quality. 

Using Zeros in Grading

• Many teachers assign zeros to students' work that is missed, neglected, or turned in late.  That zero, however, seldom reflects what a student has learned or is able to do. 
• ...zeros are assigned to punish students for not displaying appropriate effort or demonstrating adequate responsibility.
• ...if the grade is to represent how well students have learned or mastered established learning standards, then the practice of assigning zeros clearly misses the mark.
• The impact of assigning zeros is intensified if combined with the practice of averaging to attain a student's overall average.  Students readily see that receiving a single zero leaves them little chance for success because such an extreme score so drastically skews the average.
• ...there are far better ways to motivate and encourage students to complete assignments in a timely manner than through the use of zeros, especially considering the overwhelmingly negative effects.
• One alternative approach is to assign an I or "incomplete" grade with explicit requirements for completing the work...they might be required to attend after-school study sessions and/or special Saturday classes until their work is completed to a satisfactory level.
• ...students learn that they have certain responsibilities in school and that their actions have specific consequences.
• ...[not assigning zeros] helps make the grade a more accurate reflection of what students have learned.

Hodgepodge Grading

• Teachers vary widely in terms of which and how many particular sources of evidence they use in determining students' grades. 
• One reason for these differences is the lack of agreement among teachers about the purpose of grading.  Without consensus about purpose, the appropriateness and validity of different sources of evidence is impossible to determine.
• Most report cards allow only a single grade be assigned to students for each subject area or course...this compels teachers to distill all of these diverse sources of evidence into a single symbol...the result is a 'hodgepodge grade" that includes elements of achievement, attitude, effort, and behavior.
• ...the final grade remains a confusing amalgamation that is impossible to interpret and rarely presents a true picture of students' proficiency
• The criteria that teachers use in assigning grades can generally be grouped into three broad categories:  product, process, and progress criteria.
• Product Criteria -- they focus on what students know and are able to do at a particular point of time.  Teachers who use product criteria typically base grades exclusively on final examination scores, final products (reports, projects, or exhibits), overall assessments, and other culminating demonstrations of learning.
• Process Criteria -- those who use process criteria feel that grades should reflect ont only the final results but also how students got there.  Teachers who consider effort or work habits when assigning grades are using process criteria.  So are teachers who count regular classroom quizzes, homework, punctuality of assignments, class participation, or attendance.
• Progress Criteria -- used by educators who believe the most important aspect of grading is how much students gain from their learning experiences.  Teachers who use progress criteria look at how much improvement students made over a particular period of time, rather than where they are.  As a result, scoring criteria may be highly individualized among students.
• Most teachers routinely base their grading procedures on some combination of all three types of criteria. 
• Many teachers also vary their grading criteria from student to student, taking into account individual circumstances.  Although teachers defend this practice on the basis of fairness, it seriously confounds the meaning of any grade. 
• Recognizing these interpretation problems, most researchers and measurement specialists recommend the exclusive use of product criteria in determining students' grades.  They point out that the more process and progress criteria come into play, the more subjective and biased grades become.
• Many teachers point out that if they use only product criteria, some high-ability students receive high grades with little effort, while the hard work of less talented students goes unacknowledged.  Teachers also emphasize that if only product criteria are considered, low-ability students and those who are disadvantaged -- students who must work hardest -- have the least incentive to do so.
• A practical solution to the problems associated with these different learning criteria...is to report separate grades or marks for students on each set of criteria...after establishing explicit indicators of product, process, and progress learning criteria, teachers assign a separate grade to each.  In this way, grades or marks for learning skills, effort, work habits, or learning progress are kept distinct from assessments of achievement and performance.  The intent is to provide a better, more accurate, and much more comprehensive picture of what students accomplish in school.
• Teachers sometimes presume that reporting multiple grades will increase their grading workload.  But those who use the procedure claim that it actually makes grading easier and less work.  Teachers gather the exact same evidence on student learning that they did before, but no longer worry about how to weight or combine that evidence in calculating an overall grade.  As a result, they avoid irresolvable arguments about the appropriateness or fairness of various weighting strategies.
• Parents favor the practice because it provides a more comprehensive profile of their child's performance at school...college admissions persons also like it because it offers more detailed information on students' accomplishments.  With all grades reported on the transcript, a college admissions officer can distinguish between the student who earned high achievement grades with relatively little effort and the one who earned equally high grades through diligence and hard work.  The transcript thus becomes a more robust document that presents a better and more discerning portrait of students' high school experiences.
• The key to success in reporting multiple grades, however, rests in the clear specification of indicators related to product, process, and progress criteria.  Teachers must be able to describe how they plan to evaluate students' achievement, attitude, effort, behavior, and progress.  Then they must clearly communicate these criteria to students, parents and others.
• If grades are to represent information about the adequacy of students' performance with respect to clear learning standards, then the evidence used in determining grades must denote what students have learned and are able to do.  To allow other factors to influence students' grades or to maintain policies that detract from that purpose misrepresents students' learning attainments. 
• Grading requires careful planning, thoughtful judgment, a clear focus on purpose, excellent communication skills, and an overriding concern for students.  Such qualities are necessary to ensure grading policies and practices that provide high-quality information on student learning in any standards-based learning environment.