Common Sense Issues in Grading Students

Will his grade make sense
 to him and his parents?

• Fifty grades are not needed for assessment – half that number or less will suffice if assessment tools are properly designed; 
• Keep it simple – a grading system should be easily understood and used; 
• Avoid unjustified and complicated procedures in grading that confuse students and parents; 
• Remember that students own grades, not teachers – teachers shouldn't manipulate grades; 
• Avoid grading on a curve to normalize grades ­– the best teachers will have students whose grades are skewed to the high end and that is what teachers should try to do; 
• Expect the worst student grades on early assessments while students are still learning how individual teachers write tests; therefore begin testing with easy assessments; 
• Grade assessments – not behavior – and grade for learning – not effort ­­and responsibility; 
• Report  – don't grade  –  behavior and responsibility;
• Try to avoid giving zeros, as they can have disastrous and often unjustified effects on grades; often zeros mean student grades are missing, not that the student truly had zero knowledge; zeros should never be punitive.
• Don't be surprised that many students seem to make no effort to improve; bad grades do not motivate most students to improve;
• Grade summative assessments, not formative assessments like homework.

New and Experienced Teachers Should Avoid Playing Games with Grades

All teachers are advised to avoid playing around with grading. Doing so can be unethical and discourage students to take grading seriously. 

Among the most popular mistakes teachers make in assessment are:

Proper assessment techniques assure 

that grades are meaningful.

• giving meaningless extra credit to raise a grade
• grading behavior
• giving academic credit for non-academic tasks
• using pop-quizzes
• including trick questions on assessments
• curving grades
• grading homework or any formative assessment

The above list is presented only to develop awareness. The idea is that assessment is serious business and teachers and students should treat to as such.

New teachers will likely want to adapt procedures discussed to fit needs, but they should do so thoughtfully with a professional approach and keep it simple. There may never be an absolutely best way to assess and evaluate, but there is more to it than aimlessly grading and averaging. In the long run, when done right, there is actually less to it than many teachers realize.


Links:


Principles and Indicators for Student Assessment Systems


What Are Some Types of Assessment?

GRADING AND REPORTING STUDENT LEARNING

Grades are "not essential to the
 instructional process."

General Conclusions From the Research:

1. Grading and reporting are not essential to the instructional process.

2. Grading and reporting serve a variety of purposes, but no  one method serves all purposes well.

3. Grading and reporting will always involve some degree of subjectivity.

4. Mathematic precision does not yield fairer or more  objective grading.

5. Grades have some value as a reward, but no value as a punishment.                    

6. Grading and reporting should always be done in reference to learning criteria, never "on the curve."

7. Three general types of learning criteria are used in grading  and reporting:    
 a. Product criteria
 b. Process criteria
 c. Progress criteria
8. Report cards are but one way to communicate with parents.
    
    Guidelines for Better Practice:
1. Begin with a clear statement of purpose and specific learning goals.
    a. Why are grading and reporting done?
    b. For whom is the information intended?
    c. What are the desired results?
2. Ensure that grading and reporting methods provide accurate and understandable
    descriptions students learning.
    a. More a challenge in clear thinking and effective communication
    b. Less an exercise in quantifying achievement
3. Use grading and reporting methods to enhance teaching and learning.
    a. Facilitate communication between teachers, students, parents, and others.
    b. Ensure that efforts to help students are consistent and harmonious
4. Alleviate questionable practices:
    a. Example 1: Averaging to obtain a student's grade or mark.
    b. Example 2: Assigning a 'zero' to work that is late, missed, or neglected.
    c. Example 3: Taking credit away from students for behavioral infractions.



From: Guskey, T. R., & Bailey, J. M. (2001). Developing Grading and Reporting
Systems for Student Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Guskey, T. R. (2002). How’s My Kid Doing: A Parent’s Guide to Grades,
Marks, & Report Cards. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Grades have no value as punishment. 

Really Bad Classroom Discipline Practices

Really Bad Classroom Discipline Practices

"The ends justify the means." (Attributed to Machiavelli.)

There are many techniques that teachers have used from the beginning. The very worst evolve from poor understanding of human behavior and justice. They tend to be based on the little known philosophy of consequentialism, which in its simplest form defines moral behavior in terms of results. 

Consequentialistic behvior is observed frequently in children because they have not yet learned that our society is based on pre-established morals which define how we should act first. The outcome may be unpleasant, but we are willing to accept the consequences because of the rules of an accepted morality. In other words,"Do the right thing."

Consequentialism when applied by teachers can reinforce the use of the behavior in children and offer an unclear model of justice or "fairness."

Consequentialism in The Classroom 

These rules are offered in  no particular order. They are all demonstrate a weakness in classroom management skills.

1. Punishing the who class when because one or two students do not comply with the teacher's request. In the adult world this could be compared to making everyone leave a movie theater because someone is talking on his cell phone.

2. Assigning homework as punishment because the class was talkative. This practice defines homework as "punishment," rather than a learning experience. In teaching, there are good days and bad days-- get over it!

Mom has homework because her son's
class misbehaved.

3. "Zero tolerance" rules. Although intended to demonstrate a no-nonsense approach to the worst violation (E.g., drugs, weapons, etc.), they really allow administrators to bow out of the decision-making process. Extreme examples of zero tolerance are rampant. They can have consequences that are entirely inappropriate for the violation.

4. Reading an intercepted note aloud to the entire class. Children often use poor judgement about what they choose to put in writing. Sometimes their words can be intensely embarrassing when heard by others or might even place them in jeopardy. Either possibility is not a desirable form of punishment.
5. Rewarding children for behaviors that are generally accepted as societal norms. Doing so can turn well-behaved children into materialists. As adults we don't expect someone to suddenly appear an hand us a five-dollar bill every time we leave a store without having shoplifted. 

Rules and Responsibility

Volunteering. "Doing the right thing! 

Just because!

There can be no questions that rules are necessary in classrooms and everywhere in society. The problem is that class rules can influence the classroom environment in a positive or negative way.

Rules can reveal volumes about the personality of the teacher or cause students to misinterpret whether or not the teacher is “good” or “bad.” Many teachers post their rules on the Internet. Scrutinizing these expectations” often reveals that rules contain pet peeves, are rudely composed, are based on antiquated practices, reveal a hunger for control and an over-reliance on the use of “zeros,” and are unnecessarily threatening. Their carved-in-stone tone leaves little room for exceptions and exceptions are unavoidable. Sarcasm is rampant (“Your mother doesn’t work here!”or "No whining!"). 

I posted one “rule” in my class: “Do the right thing -- just because!” I held a discussion the first day of class about what that meant. Students were always willing to take part in clarifying the statement, and they applied it to behavior, turning in work, mutual respect, and pretty much all issues included in class rules, including exceptions. When students violated “the rule,” there was room to discuss the violation as it applied to students as individuals. 

I was, and still am, a proponent of character education. Therefore, rules had to inspire good character with my students. “Do the right thing -- just because!” was inspirational, because I made it clear that it bound me to be fair to students. A acknowledged that adults are often wrong and students are often right. 

Lists of rules, it seems, are never complete. Teachers and administrators are constantly finding new rules to address new issues. Frequently rules of this type are made in haste in response to an anger or irritation, and in the busy school environment they provide additional burdens for students and /or teachers. Rules should be carefully considered and written when emotions are not involved. Rules may have unexpected consequences. Teachers and principals might avoid problems by discussing the issues with the class or faculty before posting. Gathering the perspectives of others can often be a solution and avoid another rule. 

If you must post rules, resist the stern voice. Encourage politeness by being polite. One particular teacher might be the only positive role model some kids have.

Are Students Trapped by Zeros?

The way students assessed was never developed in an orderly fashion. Standardized rules for grading don't exist. The lack of systematic assessment has created confusion.

The controversy over zero grades has been gaining momentum over the past decade. One side is represented mostly by administrators who are concerned about the ability of teachers to instruct well enough to reduce failing grades to a minimum. Schools and districts with a high failure rate are shunned, and although administrative concerns are deeper than mere appearance,communities apply pressure to develop “good” schools.

The assessment and evaluation procedures used in the nation’s schools were not designed with the most prudent statistical methods in mind. As a matter of fact, school grading systems weren’t designed; rather they evolved haphazardly. There have been recent efforts to ban zeros, to do away grades altogether, or to develop grading systems that can report progress without being subject to abuse. But most schools continue to use the 100 percent scale of long ago. Reform hasn’t met with overwhelming success, and zeros continue to take an uncalculated toll.

The Primary Problems with Zeros

• Some teachers continue to give zeros for behavior, while most knowledgeable educators understand that grades are for the assessment of academic progress. 
• Students are supposed to earn grades academically – teachers are not suppose to give them; 
• The distance between zero and passing is great. Consequently zeros can drop averaged grades severely. 
• When some teachers understand the mathematics and ethics of grading – and some don’t – then equally qualified students can perform equally and receive very different grades as a result of different grading “philosophies.” 

The Effects of Zero Grades are not Equally Understood by Teachers or Parents

The misunderstandings about grading and the effects of zeros are serious. The effects of non-academic zeros on beginning student can be confusing or discouraging. There is widespread belief that zeros motivate despite decades of research that students are more motivated by success.

The simple way to think about it is, “What makes me feel successful?” Answers to the question are not likely to include something that reminds one of failure. The old maxim, “Nothing succeeds like success,” is quite accurate. Success makes effort much more attractive because it makes one feel smarter. We learn from failure as adults. In school one fails from failure.

Prior to having a good understanding of human motivation, the practice of giving zeros for a wide variety of reasons had a head start. For some teachers, zeroes became a way to manage student behavior or even motivate students to perform better academically. Zeros continue to be given for trivial things like papers without student names or being turned in a day late.

The Solution: Uniform Understanding of Assessment and Better Teacher Training

To reduce confusion the most influential educators might help solve the zero mess by developing a set of accepted core beliefs about grading to clarify their purpose and use. Among these might be some of today’s more widely accepted elements of grading:

• Grades are for reporting student progress to students and parents. 
• Grades are confidential. 
• Grades are given to assess performance on valid assessments. 
• Grades are not to be affected by the inclusionof scores for behavioral pr procedural matter that are better managed byclassroom management techniques. 
• Grades are not for the development of or reporting of responsibility. 
• Low grades can be self-sustaining once started. 

These ideas are but a start. There is much more to the issue because, despite popular practice, reporting student progress completely and meaningfully is complex.

Leading educators, whoever they might be and whatever station they might hold, will have to become more vocal to develop new and more sensible ways to grade. Districts could initiate efforts to educate teachers who still do not understand motivation, discipline, and classroom management. Schools could benefit from sharing ideas about the ethical use of grades.

Zeros as grades are a defect from the antiquity of mathematics. Most teachers do well in assessing despite lack of good assessment guidelines,but some continue to use them as a convenient way to punish or motivate students, thus violating the generally honored practice of separating academics and behavior. Teachers, and most of all, students, could benefit from open dialogue.

Copyright Harvey Craft. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

Teachers must be students too.

Teachers' Quiz #2: Who’s Who in Education?

1. Who would be least likely to approve of rewards and homework.         
    A. Marzano  B. Dewey   C. Kohn    D. Danielson

2. Who wrote Effective Teaching? A. Danielson  B. Schmoker  
    C. Wong D. Dewey

3. "Behaviorism" as an educational method is most closely pop is 
     most closely associated with A. Watson  B. Skinner C. Thorndike 
     D. Wong.

4. "Developmental stages" like the sensorimotor stage, were emphasized by A. Glasser
    B. Watson C. James   D. Piaget.

5. His "taxonomy" is taught as a model for classifying levels of learning. A. Bloom  B. Kohn       

    C.  Gardner D. Marshall

6. She served as an advisor to presidents Coolidge, Hoover, and Roosevelt and is known for
    establishing educational opprtunities for African Americans. A. Booner  B. Bethune   C. Baker
    D. Chisholm

7. She is best known for her work with "differentiated instruction." A. Danielson  B. Baker
    C. Coker   D. Tomlinson

8. "A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is
    hammering on cold iron." is a statement of belief from A. Maslow  B. Mann  C. Skinner
    D. Watson.

9. The movement toward standards-based education and assessment that began with A
    Nation at Risk, which was a report of a commision appointed by president  A. Eisenhower
    B. Kennedy C. Reagan  D. Bush.

10. Whose name would be most closely associated with contemporary educational research?
      A. Merzano B. Skinner  C. Purkey  D. Rodriguez

Click HERE for answers.

When to Scream at Students

Teachers should exercise care when managing the classroom. Here are 8 good reasons to scream at students.

Scream at students when:

1. His hair is on fire;

2. You see dynamite with a lit fuse in his desk;

3. He is tossing a large number of $20 bills into the air in class;

4. A poisonous snake is about to crawl up his pants leg;

5. A truck outside is headed at a high speed toward the wall next to his desk;

6. He is about to pour over 100 ml of any strong acid down the shirt or blouse of another   

    student in science lab;

7. At lunch, he is about to throw a plate of spaghetti at the principal;

8. He is headed straight for you or a classmate with a weapon in hand.                                                  
   

   Otherwise:
   "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Answers to Teachers' Quiz #2:  1C   2C    3B     4D     5A      6B   7D    8B     9C    10A

Many teachers and students believe that effort should be considered when grading. However, effort is not well-defined or consistently applied.

What does “effort” mean in a grade? How does grading effort affect students? Many teachers simply define effort as how hard a student tries and apply a grade for a good attempt as a motivational factor. Whether or not grading effort is a good practice is hard to say, but there are some issues that are worth considering.

Click here to read entire article

ASSESSMENT QUIZ FOR TEACHERS

1. Which word should not be used in the question part of a multiple choice test? 

    A. if   B. never  C. sometimes   D. why

2. Which type of assessment best qualifies as “formative?”
   A. multiple choice   B. matching quiz   C. essay test   D. pop quiz

3. Test validity refers to:
    A. consistency among different administrations.
    B. the degree in which a test truly measures what is intended it to measure.
    C. the agreement of pretest and posttest results.
    D. basing a test on correct standards.

4. An important disadvantage of a true-false test is:
    A. They are usually ambiguous.
    B. They tend to sample a limited amount of content.
    C. Scores tend to be unrealistically high.
    D. Bloom’s Taxonomy does not apply.

5. The most difficult part of writing a multiple choice test is:
    A. keying the test to standards.
    B. addressing high level thinking skills.
    C. writing proper “distractors.”
    D. Avoiding negative stems.

6. Which test type is best for addressing application, synthesis, analysis, and evaluation 

    levels of thinking? 

    A.  fill in the blanks    B. matching   C.  true-false    D. multiple choice.

7. Most studies regarding changing test answers on multiple choice tests indicate that:
    A. the newly selected answer will almost always be wrong.
    B. the newly selected answer will be right most of the time.
    C. students will change back to the first answer selected.
    D. changing the answer twice will improve chances of a correct choice by about 40%.

8. The best argument for not grading homework is that:
    A. homework is a formative assessment.
    B. homework is a summative assessment.
    C. homework takes too much time to grade.
    D. homework is usually not related to standards.

9. Regarding “pop quizzes,” which statement is most accurate?
    A. Pop quizzes should have less than 10 items.
    B. Pop quizzes should be short-answer questions answered in no more than two   

         sentences. 

    C. Pop quizzes should not be graded?
    D. Pop quizzes help keep students on task from day to day.

10. Which type of assessment is least useful in evaluating most student progress?
    A. self-assessment.
    B. essay questions.
    C. tests containing different types of questions.
    D. homework.

Click here for answers and go to bottom of article

Links on Student Motivation

Intrinsic Student Motivation and Relevance

Teachers want motivated students. Motivating students is easier if relevance is understood. To motivate students requires thinking it through.

Motivating Apathetic and At-Risk Students

Few issues are as important to teachers as motivating students. Lots of techniques are tried, but often fail. Knowing students is the key to motivation.


Extrinsic Rewards, Student Motivation, and Character Development 
Rewards have become a major component of the classroom and schools generally. Are rewards the best way to improve behavior and grades?

Student Motivation: Do Teachers Understand?

Daniel Pink Discusses Motivation (click)


A must-watch for all teachers who wish to understand motivation.

Are You Driving your Students Crazy?

Watch this if you Can!
Talk, Talk, and Talk some More!!!!