Fifteen Fixes for Broken Grades

Ken O’Connor

How confident are you…

…that the grades students get in your classroom are consistent, accurate, meaningful, and that they support learning?

…that the grades you assign to students accurately reflect our desired learning outcomes?

“Why would anyone want to change current grading practices? The answer is quite simple: grades are so imprecise that they are almost meaningless.”

Bob Marzano, 2000

Problems with Subjectivity•Researchers made copies of two English-

language exam papers written by Freshman

•These papers were sent to 200 teachers. 142 of the teachers graded and returned the essays.

•Both papers were graded on a percentage scale on which scores could range from 0-100.

Problems with Subjectivity, cont.•For one paper, the score ranged from 64

to 98.•The other paper received scores ranging

from 50 to 97.•One of the papers was given a failing

mark by 15% of teachers while 12% of teachers gave it a grade of more than 90 points.

Problems with Subjectivity, cont.•Critics blamed the results of this study on

the subject area chosen – English – which they said was prone to subjectivity.

•But when the same study was repeated the following year by math teachers using geometry exams, researchers found even greater variation in the grades. Scores on one exam ranged from 28 to 95 points: a 67 point difference!

Fix 1

•Don’t include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc.) in grades; include only achievement.

Fix 2

•Don’t reduce marks on work submitted late; have the learner finish the assignment

• “If Rory is a brilliant writer who always hands in assignments late, both aspects are hidden if she gets a C or a D. But if she gets an A and the report says, ‘brilliant writer, but always late,’ then we have accurate information.

Fix 3

•Don’t give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in higher levels of achievement.

Fix 4

•Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement.

Fix 5

•Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately.

District policy for Out-of-school Suspension:Students may not be allowed make-up privileges for assignments missed as a result of being suspended out-of-school.

Fix 6

•Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence.

•“There is a pattern to classroom life summarized as ‘learn it in a group, perform it alone.’”

Johnson and Johnson, 2004

Fix 7

•Don’t organize information in grading records by assessment methods or simply summarizing into a single grade; organize and report evidence by standards / learning goals.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

How many learning goals?

•180 days in a school year. •180 learning goals are too many.

•18 learning goals are too few.

How many learning goals?

•Typically, 40-45 learning goals per grade level, per subject is appropriate and doable. This gives you 3-5 days per learning goal.

•At the primary and secondary applied arts areas, this drops to about 25 learning goals .

•Select the number of learning goals for which you can realistically provide quality feedback to students.

Fix 8

•Don’t assign grades using inappropriate or unclear performance standards; provide clear descriptions of achievement expectations.

Traditional vs. Research-Based•Link letter grades

to percentages•This has created a

grading scale with 101 levels and the illusion that grades are mathematically precise.

•Fewer Levels▫Excellent

Achievement▫Proficient

Achievement▫Basic

Achievement▫Insufficient

Achievement

The Grade Book•Concepts/Learning Targets/Objectives NOT

assignments!•“Page 87” tells us nothing!• If concepts are listed in the grade book:

▫Teachers can easily tell parents, students, and administrators what concepts are mastered.

▫IEP goals and objectives are easily written.▫Incomplete grades can be given to individual

concepts- helping to identify areas that need more instruction.

Aligning Achievement IndicatorsEdmonton Catholic Schools, 2006

Wow Yes Yes, but No

Excellent Achievement

Proficient Achievement

Basic Achievement

Insufficient Achievement

Exemplary, Exceptional, High quality,

In-depth, Superb,

Outstanding

Skilled, Adept, Appropriate,

Solid, Capable

Limited, Predictable,

Within reason, Generally accurate

Unsuccessful, Partial, Well

below, Inadequate,

Misconceptions, Omissions,

Errors

Some students will be within this level, very well prepared for the next grade

level or course.

Most students should be within this level, well

prepared for the next grade level or

course.

Some students will be within this level,

needing more direct support to succeed at the next

grade level or course.

Students who are achieving within this

level should be screened for alternate

programming.

4 3 2 1

A B-C C-D N

90-100% 75-89% 60-74% Below 60%

Fix 9

•Don’t assign grades based on students’ achievement compared to other students; compare each student’s performance to pre-set standards.

“You’re a teacher. You should know better than to grade papers on a curve.”

Fix 10

•Don’t rely on evidence gathered using assessments that fail to meet standards of quality; rely only on quality assessments.

Fix 11•Don’t rely only on the mean (average); consider other measures of central tendency and use professional judgment▫“Whenever I hear statistics being quoted I am

reminded of the statistician who drowned while wading across a river with an average depth of three feet.” (McMann, 2003)

Fix 11, cont.•Using the mean overemphasizes outlier

scores.•For example:

91, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91, 70, 91, 91 Total: 889, Mean = 88.9, Final Grade = B

Median = 91 Mode = 91

•Determine grades – don’t “calculate” them. Grading should be “an exercise in professional judgment, not just a numerical, mechanical activity.”

Fix 12

•Don’t include zeros in grade determination when evidence is missing or as punishment. Use alternatives, such as reassessing to determine real achievement or use “I” for incomplete or Insufficient Evidence.

Forgot to check thermometer! Recorded temperature as 0º

Average Temperature

:

63º

Fix 12, cont.

•“A zero has an undeserved and devastating influence, so much so that no matter what the student does, the score distorts the final grade as a true indicator of mastery. Mathematically and ethically this is unacceptable.”

Wormeli, 2006

Fix 13

•Don’t use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summative evidence.

•i.e., Don’t grade homework or class work assigned as practice.

What is the point of homework?

Parent Concerns?

•“If we did in basketball what we frequently do in the classroom, the game would not start 0-0, but each team would start with a score based on an assessment of the quality of their practices in the days leading up to the game. This would be absurd – and is equally so in the classroom.”

“But if I don’t grade it, they won’t do it.”

Really? Do you know this for certain?•Did you quit doing homework in college

because it wasn’t included in the final grade?•Do 8th grade basketball players quit playing

during practice because the scoreboard isn’t on?

•Do kids quit playing video games because the “character” they are playing with dies?

•Do you quit teaching on days you aren’t evaluated by your principal?

Student Grade ProfilingHomework Results Assessment Results

High scores on homework

Moderate scores on homework

Poor / missing scores on homework

High scores on assessments

Moderate scores on assessments

Poor scores on assessments

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Homework Rubric – 10 pointsCategory 3 points 2 points 1 point 0 points

Completion

Homework is 100% complete. It is clear that the student attempted

every problem.

Homework is 70% complete. The student

attempted most problems.

Homework is 30% complete. The student attempted a few problems.

No homework was turned in.

Student Work

Student work is thorough, clear, and

legible for all problems. Student included all relevant diagrams.

Student shows an adequate amount of work for each problem and it is legible. Student included some relevant diagrams.

Student shows some work, but it is inadequate. Student did not include

relevant diagrams.

Student shows no work.

Accuracy

Homework is 100% accurate or student has

made thorough corrections on all missed

problems.

Homework is 70% accurate or student has

made thorough corrections on some

missed problems.

Homework is 30% accurate. The student did not make corrections on missed

problems.

All problems are incorrect.

Format

Student used lined paper, wrote name, date, period, and HW# in the upper right hand corner, wrote the page number and original problem down, did the necessary

work in only two columns, stapled multiple sheets together, and used pencil.

Student did not follow the homework

format.

Fix 14

•Don’t summarize evidence accumulated over time when learning is developmental and will grow with repeated opportunities. In those instances, emphasize more recent achievement.

Fix 15

•Don’t leave students out of the grading process. Involve students; they can – and should – play key roles in assessment and grading that promote achievement.

ExpectationsBehavior• Students expected to

behave• Students expected to

follow/obey rules• Students expected to

follow procedures• Zero tolerance• Misbehaving is not an

option!

Academic• Students expected to

complete/submit work?

• Students expected to follow directions of the assignment?

• Students expected to pass?

• Zero Tolerance? • Failing is not an

option!