Grading and Reporting Results

Dr. Aftab Ahmad Khan

Concept of grading – need and importance
• The word ‘grade’ is derived from the Latin word ‘gradus’ where it
means ‘step’.
• Grading is an act of classifying something on a scale by quality, rank,
size, or progression, etc.
• It is an act of assigning a mark or rating indicating achievement or the
worth of work done.
• Grading involves evaluating student work.
• It is a process where in subjects or pupils may be classified on the
basis of predefined standards and aimed at minimizing
misclassification.
Conti…
• In grading, students are categorized into a few ability groups on the
basis of their performance and proficiency.

• It involves the use of a set of specialized symbols or numerals whose

meaning ought to be clearly defined and uniformly understood by the
students, teachers, parents and all other stakeholders.

• The grading symbols must have the same meaning for all who use
them to serve the purpose of communication meaningful and precise.
Functions of Grading Systems
i. Improve students’ learning by:
• Clarifying instructional objectives for them
• Showing students’ strengths & weaknesses
• Providing information on personal-social development
• Enhancing students’ motivation (e.g., short-term goals)
• Indicating where teaching might be modified
• Best achieved by:
• day-to-day tests and feedback
• plus periodic integrated summaries
ii. Reports to parents/guardians

• Communicates objectives to parents, so they can help promote

learning

• Communicates how well objectives being met, so parents can better

plan
iii. Administrative and guidance uses

• Help decide promotion, graduation, honors, athletic eligibility

• Report achievement to other schools or to employers

• Provide input for realistic educational, vocational, and personal

counseling
Qualities of a Good Grading System
• A good grading system:
i. Clearly and accurately communicates results to students, parents, and
teachers.
ii. Measures academic progress and achievement separately from
character traits, and behaviors, so that parents and teachers can
accurately determine the difference between learning needs and
behavioral needs.
iii. Doesn’t demotivate students, instead helps them understand their
aptitude and excel academically as well as in life.
iv. Ensures consistency and fairness in the assessment of learning.
 Fairness can only be implied when the system recognizes which students
need special attention or cannot cope up with their studies.
Purpose of Grades in School
• Grades serve a variety of purposes, including:

 Performance assessment,

 Motivation

 Framing Learning Objectives

 Administrative management.
 Performance Assessment
• The simplest purposes of grading is performance assessment.
• Grades serve as a formal tool to measure a student's academic
performance in class.
• Teachers assign grades, students receive reports showing their grades
for each class. This offer students formal feedback on the teacher's
view of their performance based on the established grading criteria
for the course.
• By grade assessments, educators give students a chance to seek
additional information to make adjustments to performance.
 Motivation
• Beside being an informative assessment tool, grades can motivate
students to behave more effectively in the learning process.
• On tests ambitious students will typically put more time and effort
into studying and learning.
• When students receive high marks, they often feel positive
reinforcement and strive to repeat.
• Low grades can serve as a wake-up call for under-performing
students.
 Framing Learning Objectives

• Grades allow teachers to formulate and communicate learning

objectives for a class.

• Grading criteria are normally established prior to the start of a class.

• Criteria used for grading provide insight into the learning objectives
and expectations for the class.
 Administrative Management
• Grades serve a broader purpose in various facets of school administration.
• Colleges use high school transcripts and grades to assess an applicant's
qualifications for entrance.
• Elementary and Secondary schools evaluate grades to determine whether
students can compete in sports and extra-curricular activities.
• Universities use college transcripts and grades to assess an applicant's
qualifications for entrance.
• Employers use university degrees or college transcripts and grades to
assess an applicant’s qualifications for selection
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Grading System
Advantages of Grading Systems

• Grading systems help determine the Weakness and Strengths of

students.

• It helps students understand which subjects they need to work on.

• Teachers can know which students find the subject difficult and they
can give them special attention if required.
Disadvantages of Grading Systems

• Students are highly demotivated when they score lesser marks than
expected.

• Grading increases room for comparisons.

• Students often focus on achieving passing marks instead of

understanding the concepts.
Assignment
• Go to www and write a detailed description of:

i. Grading scheme for SSC/matric level

ii. Grading scheme for HSSC/intermediate level

iii. GPA and CGPA