Grading System

Introduction
 Grading is the primary means by which the results of
assessments are summarized and communicated.
 It is seen as the culminating activity following the
instructional process:

planning  instruction  assessment  grading & evaluation

 Grading should not be an afterthought; it should be

treated as an integral part of the instructional process.
Rationale and Purposes of
Grading Systems
 Grading: The process of using a formal system for
purposes of summarizing and reporting student
achievement and progress.
• Very important professional responsibility of
teachers (especially due to important consequences).
• Grades can be assigned to individual measurements
(e.g., a test or paper) or to assessments (groups of
measurements—typically at end of grading period or
school year).
• Essentially involves comparison of performance to
standards or criteria.
Rationale and Purposes of
Grading Systems
 Grading (continued)
• Primary reason for grading is that school districts
require summative judgments about students.
 Highly reliant on teachers’ judgments.
 Should be based on accumulation of valid and
reliable evidence.
• Main purpose of grades is to communicate
information about student’s achievement and
progress.
• Can serve as source of motivation (typically for
already high-achieving students).
Rationale and Purposes of
Grading Systems
 Grading (continued)
• Important, necessary criteria for grading systems:

 Must be fair.
 Must be accurate.
 Should be based on sufficient amount of valid
data.
 Therefore, should be defensible.
• Not a good practice to grade “everything.”

 Grading for formative purposes versus grading

for summative purposes.
Rationale and Purposes of
Grading Systems
 Grading (continued)
• Types of work to be included in summative grades.

 Results of formal assessments (written tests,

large projects).
 Quizzes, homework, seatwork
 Nonacademic factors (e.g., attendance, effort,
attitude, participation, etc.)?
 Perhaps as basis for raising borderline grades.
 Summative grades should be based on academic
achievement.
Categories of Reporting
Progress and Achievement
 Categories of Reporting Systems
• Categories are based on types of comparisons of
performance:
 to performance of other students;
 to predefined standards of performance;
 to student’s own ability level; or
 to student’s prior performance.
• First two types of comparisons are most common in
regular classrooms.
Categories of Reporting
Progress and Achievement
• Criterion-referenced comparisons: Student
performance is compared to a preestablished set of
performance standards.
 More fair since sole basis is individual student’s
performance.
 Used by most classroom teachers.
 Possible for all students to earn top grade.
 Two types of performance standards:
 Performance-based criteria—similar to scoring
rubric.
 Percentage-based criteria—based on total points.
Specific Types of Grading
Systems
 Types of Grading Systems
• Letter grading system
 Oldest and most commonly used system.
 A–B–C–D–F (or others).
 Can summarize entire term’s work with a single
grade (an advantage as well as a limitation).
 Potential for imprecision—e.g., high “A” versus
low “A.”
 Can be remedied with “+/–” system.
Specific Types of Grading
Systems
 Types of Grading Systems (continued)
• Numerical or percentage grades
 Instead of converting points to letter grades,
simply report total number or percentage of
points earned.
 Both points/percentages and letter grades can be
reported in a multigrade system.
 No feedback on areas of weakness; only provide
overall indication of achievement.
Specific Types of Grading
Systems
 Types of Grading Systems (continued)
• Pass/fail grades
 Often used for college courses outside chosen
field of study.
 Not included in grade-point average.
 May be recommended in K–12 for students with
learning disabilities.
 Advantage is the reduction in anxiety.
 Only two categories provide little formative
feedback.
Specific Types of Grading
Systems
 Types of Grading Systems (continued)
• Checklists
 Variation of pass/fail system; represents a type
of dichotomous grading.
 Primary goal is to provide detailed analysis of
strengths and weaknesses.
 Since all factors are assessed separately,
nonachievement factors (e.g., effort and
participation) can be included.
Specific Types of Grading
Systems
 Types of Grading Systems (continued)
• Portfolios

 Purpose is to facilitate progress, document

growth, and showcase student work.
 Can be used summatively or formatively.
• Narrative reports

 Typically used in early years.

 Provide thorough description of strengths and
weaknesses.
 May be used quite effectively as a supplement to
letter grades.
Calculation of Grades
 Methods of Calculating Grades
• Most common method is total point approach.
 Each assessment is allotted points, which are
added up and the sum divided by the total
number of possible points.
 Variation is the calculation of percentages with
relative weights.
• Important issue related to calculation of grades is
measurement error, which can affect a student’s
observed score:

observed score = true score ± error score

Calculation of Grades
 Methods of Calculating Grades (continued)
 Measurement error can cause grade to be higher
or lower than actual evaluation.
 The importance of this concept and its relation to
calculating grades, especially in “borderline”
cases.
 For example, a student who earns 89.5% when
the cutoff point for an “A” is 90%.
 Grades are typically maintained by teacher in a
gradebook.
Reporting Progress to Parents
 Methods of Reporting Progress
• Most common method is through use of report cards.
 Typically only provide overall indication of
performance; not very useful in providing in-
depth feedback.
• Letters to parents provide a permanent record of a
teacher’s communication with parents.
• Parent-teacher conferences permit face-to-face
dialogue; communication is a two-way process (no
longer unidirectional, as with report cards or letters
to parents).
 Can be used to effectively supplement
information provided on report card.
 Time consuming; scheduling can be difficult.