K-12 Grading For Learning
Guidebook for Teachers
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Franklin Public Schools:
K-12 Grading For Learning Guidebook for Teachers
DRAFT 3/1/2013
GFL Website: https://sites.google.com/site/fpsgrading/
“It’s not what you earn, it’s what you learn.”
- Susan Brookhart
Table of Contents
Note: Click on the links below to direct you to the appropriate page in this document.
● Introduction
Expectations for use of this Guide, Resources, Thanks
Purpose, Focus Areas, and Outcomes
Grading For Learning Timeline
●
Essential Questions, Position Statements, and Research
Area #1: Grade Determination
Area #2: Linking Learning To Standards
Area #3: Zeros, Late Work, and Redos
Area #4: Assessment
Area #5: Homework and Extra Credit
● Appendix
Rubric Scale K-12
Report Card Standards Areas (soon to come)
Academic Success Habits K-12
Teacher Q and A: Standards-Based Grading, Assessment, and Report Cards
○ ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
○ MIDDLE SCHOOL
○ HIGH SCHOOL
Application of Grading Position Statements to Grading Practices
Grading For Learning Definitions
Supporting Research
Other Information
Expectations for use of this Guide
We all need to take time to examine our own individual philosophies and practices in regard to grading. This
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means taking a look at our own past practices and what it means to run those practices through a “best
practices” filter. This guide was developed through the research of our Grading For Learning Committee in
which best practices were sought out to answer our guiding “Essential Questions” in regard to our major areas
of focus that included: Grade Determination, Linking Learning To Standards, Zeros, Late Work, and Redos,
Assessment, and Homework and Extra Credit. The answers to the questions are divided up into elementary
and middle/high school responses and quotes that were cited. Each area includes a summary position
statement in order to give greater direction on best practices in grading. Since we will not have perfect
solutions to some of the questions in regard to grading practices immediately, we must work together to answer
questions that we encounter. Our district will continue to support and enable teachers to have the appropriate
staff development that they need to help students see the value in their learning and not in a grade.
Resources Used in the Study
Our Grading For Learning Committee was equipped with the five books focused on best practices in grading
and a binder of several best practices in grading articles and report card samples. A “Grading For Learning”
website was created with resources that were being utilized, updated minutes from Grading For Learning
Committee meetings, a feedback section for teachers to pose questions or comments, and timelines for the
research and staff development process. Through these resources, a Skype session with a grading expert,
teacher survey, meetings with local districts that have made a grading practices shift, and discussions with
post-secondary officials we have been able to develop an approach to best practices in grading that best meets
the needs of the students in Franklin Public Schools. Many of the grading experts who have been writing and
speaking on the topic of best practices in grading for more than the past twenty years. Since grading is a topic
with so much complexity, we estimated that this process would take about two years to reach a starting point
for transforming grading practices.
Special Thanks!
A special thanks goes out to the following committee members (teachers, administrators, and parents) who
have helped in this process: Christina Hanks, Mary Agostini, Laura Detert, Tracy O'Reilly, Sue Butkowski,
Kim Davitz, Jenny Stauber, Mary Lynn Samppala, Heike Logic, Donna Shaw, Linda Scherrer, Judith
Hryniewicki, Joy Vangen, Beth Gorak, Sherrie Nackel, Michelle Koenig, Nick Campbell, Courtney
Lukasavitz, Lauren Molitor, Karin Adelmann, Katie Lesko, Brian Karolewicz, Tyler Hull, Carla Gannon, Lisa
VanHyle, Lydia Riesch, Denise Ryan, Gail DeClark, Allison Lauber de Garza, Jill Arneberg, Elizabeth Berlyn,
Mike Nowak, Susie Rach, Terry West, Chris Reuter, Karen Noel, Chad Nelson, Christine Cody, Mary Pat
Siewert, Wendy Dzurick, Mike Zellmer, Jean Steffes, Mary Kay Carr, Melissa Klein.
The Purpose, Focus Areas, and Outcomes Considered in the Study
The major focus of grading practices is that grades should be reflective of student achievement.
A grade is composed of many factors that include behavior, attendance, timeliness, etc. and these factors need
to be reported separately from an achievement grade. There are also many grading practices that need to be
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refined due to the fact that this is an area that has not been reviewed on a district level. We focused on Grade
Determination, Linking Learning To Standards, Zeros, Late Work, and Redos, Assessment, and Homework
and Extra Credit. Within each of these areas were “Essential Questions” that our committee set out to answer.
Those questions are stated on the following page of this guide. Within this guide you will see a focus on the
following purpose and outcomes below.
Purpose
We will create a shared vision of the primary purpose of grades, which will result in a grading practices model
and approach that supports the transformational learner in Franklin Public Schools.
Outcomes
1.
Recognize the need to critically examine our current grading practices
2.
Appreciate the complexity of grading
3.
Understand the meaning of key terms
4.
Identify the purposes of grading
5.
Understand how to grade for learning (Link grades to standards)
Grading For Learning Timeline
By February 8, 2012
● Roll out the initial plan for the Grading Practices Committee at the half day
● Includes principal representation from elementary, middle, and high school levels
● Includes teachers: grade levels, content areas, cross-categorical, ESL, and specialist area
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●
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Includes parent and board member representation
A teacher needs to submit his/her name to grade level/content area liaison by February 15, 2012.
Conduct teacher survey for baseline data on current grading practices
Meet with Assistant Superintendent/Director from Muskego/Norway Schools and Elmbrook Schools to
discuss grading practices shift and standards-based report card (Administrators only)
By March 7, 2012 (3:30 to 4:30 PM at building hosting half day (TBD)
● Put a K-12 team together and announce to the district
● Host a one hour after school meeting to outline committee charge including best practices reading
assignments
● Select summer dates to debrief
Mid-June (1st week out of school – 2 days in a row and possibly a day in August )
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Debrief on readings
Develop position and vision statements
Determine current grading practices at all levels (review staff survey)
Conduct a gap analysis and determine gaps
SKYPE grading practices expert(s) to speak to our committee
Work on grading practice changes
Determine plan to work on setting up a new report card (during 2nd semester of 2012-2013 school year
for the following school year in 2013-2014)
2012-2013 (First Semester)
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Share initial plan for grading practices with staff with implementation coming in the following year.
Grading expert to speak to all teachers on September 26.
Teachers will be revising practices, but “living” under the current work
Determine grading practices to share with staff to “try out” during the 2012-2013 school year.
2012-2013 (Second Semester)
● Work on report card revisions for the 2014-2015 school year
● Shift grading practices philosophy
2013 (Summer)
● 2-Day Summer Institute to work on equipping leaders to work with teachers to align assessments and
report card standard areas
2013-2014 School Year – Half day work focused on grading practices and assessment
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2013-2014 (All Year)
● Work on developing common assessment practices
● Align assessments and report cards
2014-2015 School Year
● Implement report card revisions and grading practices at all levels
Area #1: Grade Determination
1. What factors should be included in a letter grade? What should a grade represent?
2. How should grades be calculated? What scale(s) should be used? Should teachers use the mean,
median, or mode?
3. How should attendance, behavior, effort, and growth factor into grade determination?
4. Should group scores be included in an individual grade?
Summary Position Statements on Grade Determination
●
A grade represents a clear and accurate indicator of what a student knows and is able to do –
a student’s mastery level.
●
Grades are artifacts of learning, and should reflect student achievement only. Grades should
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represent academic achievement, which is based on subject-specific content, thinking and
reasoning skills, and general communication skills. An effective letter grade must be
consistent, accurate, understandable, meaningful, and support learning. Grades should be
based on academic standards, not non-achievement or non-academic factors. Behavior, effort,
timeliness, and attendance should not be included with academic achievement in an overall
grade.
●
When determining grades, looking at the most consistent levels of performance over time
makes for a more accurate report of what students truly know. The median is statistically
accurate while the mean is not, due to extreme outliers. The mode should also be taken into
consideration when calculating grades.
●
Using smaller scales with clear descriptions creates a more accurate report of student
mastery.
●
Group grades don’t reflect an individual student’s achievement or growth. They are better
utilized for minor feedback in the cooperative learning process.
Click Grade Determination Detail for questions and research that supports the Grade Determination
position statements.
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1.
2.
3.
Area #2: Linking Learning To Standards
What are the benefits of having grades linked to standards?
What standards are the “correct” standards to assess and report out?
What is the view on assigning grades based on a student’s achievement compared to other students?
Summary Position Statements on Linking Learning To Standards
●
Standards-based reporting requires curriculum, instruction, and assessment to be agreed upon
and implemented consistently.
●
Linking learning and grading to standards is necessary to provide a consistent picture of
student learning and mastery. Without common standards, grades have very little meaning as
a reporting method for communicating achievement. Ken O’Connor notes, “We need to
develop approaches to help teachers both assess and grade more accurately and consistently.
One key to accomplishing this is shared understanding of performance standards - agreement
on “how good is good enough.” The standards provide a clear purpose in grading, making
them more meaningful for staff, parents, and students. Standards answer the question, “What
do I want students to learn and be able to do?”
●
The standards should be based from the Common Core State Standards and be translated into
clear, easily understood versions for staff, parents, and students to bring shared understanding
of levels of achievement. We need “unpack/ unwrap” the elements in each standard into more
homogenous categories or topics. These more specific categories can form the basis for
constructing learning objectives that can be effectively assessed using rubrics.
●
When using standards, teachers should not use normative criteria as it does not provide
information about the learner and whether they have met a standard or not, just how the
learner compares to others. This also creates an unhealthy competitiveness versus a
collaborative environment. When you use criterion-referenced data, it shows the learner
where s/he is strong and where s/he needs improvement as an individual. Guskey points out
that “Grades based on standing among classmates tell us nothing about how well students
have learned. In such a system, all students might have performed miserably, but some
simply performed less miserably than others.”
●
Linking learning and grades to standards provides a personalized learning environment by
allowing students to achieve their mastery of objectives in multiple ways.
Click Linking Learning to Standards for questions and research that supports the Linking Learning to
Standards position statements.
Area #3: Zeros, Late Work, and Redos
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1.
2.
3.
What role do zeros play in a grade?
What is the view on late work for credit?
What role do redos have in determining a grade?
Summary Position Statements on Zeros, Late Work, and Redos
●
Assigning zeros, penalizing late work, and restricting redos have negatively impacted a
student's ability to demonstrate mastery of content standards.
●
Zeros distort achievement and decrease motivation, rendering the grade ineffective as
communication because the resulting grade is an inaccurate representation of a student’s
achievement. It’s readily apparent that students who receive a single zero have little chance
of success because such an extreme score drastically skews the average.
●
Likewise, late work penalties prevent students from demonstrating achievement. When
students fail to complete an assignment, the best means to hold students accountable for their
own learning is to hold them accountable for completion. It is “more advantageous to . . .
expect additional effort than it is to assign a failing grade for missing work.”
●
Additionally, students don’t all learn at the same rate, so they should be given opportunities to
“redo,” and the most recent evidence of students’ achievement should be reflected in a grade.
Learning is a continuous process that involves trial and error, mistakes and revisions. Rick
Wormeli states in Fair Isn’t Always Equal, “When we hold students to one moment in one
particular day of the school year to demonstrate mastery in a topic, we are telling them that
they must learn at the same rate, to the same extent, and with the same tools and resources as
their classmates, or they will suffer.”
Click Zeros, Late Work, and Redos Detail for questions and research that supports the Zeroes, Late Work, and
Redos position statements.
Area #4: Assessment
1.
2.
How are high quality assessments determined?
Formative vs. Summative assessments…what evidence needs to be gathered and reported out to
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students for effective feedback?
Summary Position Statements on Assessment
●
Research shows that a high quality, well-thought out assessment plan is based on clear
learning standards and includes formative/diagnostic and summative assessments.
●
Summative assessments that will be used to show mastery of learning should be designed
first.
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Diagnostic assessments should be used to determine the “what” and the “how” for teaching
and learning.
●
Finally, formative assessments help students achieve the learning goals through practice,
feedback and self-assessment.
●
Feedback through formative assessments is key to learning. To appropriately modify
learning, feedback has to be timely and meaningful, describing features of the work or
performance relating directly to learning targets and/or standards of quality; and be low
stakes. It needs to inform students of necessary skills in need of improvement in order to
demonstrate high levels of understanding.
●
It is critical that both teachers and students recognize when assessment is primarily for
learning (formative) and when it is primarily of learning (summative).
●
The balance between evidence gathered during the formative process to guide further
instruction and the evidence gathered to report levels of student achievement is also
important.
Click Assessment Detail for questions and research that supports the Assessment position statements.
Area #5: Homework and Extra Credit
1.
2.
What is the best approach to extra credit or bonus points, if any?
What is the prevalent view on homework? Should it be counted in a grade? If so, how much?
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Summary Position Statement on Homework and Extra Credit
●
Assessing homework and/or including extra credit or bonus points distorts an accurate
measure of what the student truly knows and is able to do.
●
Bonus questions that utilize higher-order thinking skills should be required of all students as
an opportunity to show mastery of the standard being assessed.
●
Students and parents need to be aware that better grades are a result of higher levels of
standards-based performance, as opposed to an accumulation of points.
●
In order to achieve higher levels of performance, homework should be offered as practice in
order to guide instruction to help students identify and remedy learning difficulties.
●
By grading practice activities, teachers are not respecting the learning process, which requires
numerous trials and errors before mastery is achieved. As in many aspects of life, evaluation
of achievement should be based on the eventual results, rather than the practice and learning
phases.
●
While research does not support including homework in a student’s grade, it does recognize
that the most important element of formative assessment is feedback. By excluding
homework and extra credit from a student’s grade, his or her grade will be a more accurate
reflection of what s/he knows, and students will learn to recognize the connection between
effort and outcome.
Click Homework and Extra Credit Detail for questions and research that supports the Homework and Extra
Credit position statements.
FPS K-12 Report Cards: Report Card Grading Scale and Academic Standards (TBD)
FPS Report Card: K-12 Standards-Based Grading Scale
Standards-based assessment and grading ensures that each student’s grade is an accurate indicator of what that
student knows and is able to do.
(REVISED 12.5.13)
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All instructional activities in a standards-based classroom are derived from specific learning targets. After presenting
new concepts and skills, the teacher designs formative assessments that provide opportunities for practice and feedback,
and then summative assessments to measure whether students have reached the learning targets. Other factors, such as
organization, participation, work completion, and behavior, while essential for student success, are not included in the
academic grade; doing so would mean that the academic grade would no longer be an accurate indicator of student
achievement.
The Rubric Scale: Instead of receiving points or percentages for each assessment, each student will earn a score that is
based upon previously communicated expectations (learning standards). Level 4 should represent high expectations of
advanced knowledge and application as for the course or grade level involved. All instruction should be focused at this
level. The lowest level represents no evidence. This scale provides a foundation for further rubric development at the
class or course level. That is, this general district scale itself is not to be used at the assessment or assignment level, but
is to serve as a guide for more specific rubric development at these levels. The rubric scale correlates to the following
grades and descriptors:
4.0 = Demonstrates advanced knowledge and application of the essential academic standards
3.0 = Demonstrates proficient knowledge and application of the essential academic standards
2.0 = Demonstrates developing knowledge and application of the essential academic standards compromised by a few
missing concepts
1.0 = Demonstrates minimal knowledge and application of the essential academic standards significantly compromised
by missing concepts
0.0 = Demonstrates no understanding of academic standards
Notes: The above descriptors will be used on all report cards K-12 and are not to be solely used to determine a
grade on an assignment. These descriptors can serve as guiding language for rubrics that are developed for
assessments within each discipline area/course.
Academic Success Habits on K-12 Report Cards
Grade K
Report Card Academic Success Habits (Listed ONCE for every subject area)
These areas will be rated with a Y for Yes, an N for No, or an I for Inconsistent.
Ready to learn:
● Organized
● Prepared for class
● Follows directions
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● Completes work in a timely manner
*Place the above indicators for every subject area on the report card
Respectful:
● Listens respectfully
● Shows respect in speech and action
● Displays cooperative behavior
Responsible:
● Takes responsibility for own behavior
● Appropriately reflects on own behavior
● Works well independently
Grade 1
Report Card Academic Success Habits (Listed for every subject area)
These areas will be rated with a Y for Yes, an N for No, or an I for Inconsistent.
Ready to learn:
● Organized
● Prepared for class
● Follows directions
● Completes work in a timely manner
*Place the above indicators for every subject area on the report card
Respectful:
● Listens respectfully
● Shows respect in speech and action
● Displays cooperative behavior
Responsible:
● Takes responsibility for own behavior
● Appropriately reflects on own behavior
● Works well independently
Grade 2
Report Card Academic Success Habits (Listed for every subject area)
These areas will be rated with a Y for Yes, an N for No, or an I for Inconsistent.
Ready to learn:
● Organized
● Prepared for class
● Follows directions
● Completes work in a timely manner
*Place the above indicators for every subject area on the report card
Respectful:
● Listens respectfully
● Shows respect in speech and action
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● Displays cooperative behavior
Responsible:
● Takes responsibility for own behavior
● Appropriately reflects on own behavior
● Works well independently
Grade 3
Report Card Academic Success Habits (Listed ONCE instead of for every subject area)
These areas will be rated with a Y for Yes, an N for No, or an I for Inconsistent.
Ready to Learn:
● Organized
● Prepared for class
● Follows directions
● Completes work in a timely manner
*Place the above indicators for every subject area on the report card
Respectful:
● Listens attentively
● Shows respect in speech and action
● Displays cooperative behavior
Responsible:
● Takes responsibility for own behavior
● Works well independently
*Place the above two categories as an overall on the report card
Grade 4
Report Card Academic Success Habits - (Listed ONCE instead of for every subject area)
These areas will be rated with a Y for Yes, an N for No, or an I for Inconsistent.
Ready to Learn:
● Organized
● Prepared for class
● Follows directions
● Completes work in a timely manner
*Place the above indicators for every subject area on the report card
Respectful:
● Listens attentively
● Shows respect in speech and action
● Displays cooperative behavior
Responsible:
● Takes responsibility for own behavior
● Works well independently
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*Place the above two categories as an overall on the report card
Grade 5
Report Card Academic Success Habits (Listed for every subject area)
These areas will be rated with a Y for Yes, an N for No, or an I for Inconsistent.
Ready to Learn:
● Organized
● Prepared for class
● Follows directions
● Completes work in a timely manner
*Place the above indicators for every subject area on the report card
Respectful:
● Listens attentively
● Shows respect in speech and action
● Displays cooperative behavior
Responsible:
● Takes responsibility for own behavior
● Works well independently
*Place the above two categories as an overall on the report card
Grades 6-8 Report Cards
Academic Success Habits (Y=Yes, I=Inconsistent, N=No)
● Completes assignments on time
● Comes to class prepared
● Takes responsibility for own learning
● Completes homework
● Works well independently
Grades 9-12 Report Cards
Academic Success Habits (Y=Yes, I=Inconsistent, N=No)
● Completes assignments on time
● Comes to class prepared
● Takes responsibility for own learning
● Completes homework
● Works well independently
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Standards-Based Grading, Assessment, and Report Cards
Teacher Q and A
Directions: Click on the links below to quickly move to the questions and answers regarding Standards-Based
Grading, Assessment, and Report Cards from the identified level:
○ ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
○ MIDDLE SCHOOL
○ HIGH SCHOOL
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Questions about Standards-Based Grading
1. How does the current level / quantity of curriculum fit into the standards based model? -RW This
will be a large part of the work to come next year to link assessments to standards-areas listed on the
report card. This question will be answered in the process of alignment and reviewing and revising
assessments to align with the identified report card areas for each subject and course/grade level. It is
anticipated that in most cases the "quantity of curriculum" will remain the same.
2. Will pacing charts be modified to address individual student learning?-RW When considering
student needs, especially for special education students, we need to find the most essential
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information that will still allow a student to stay on pace as close to his/her peers as possible. When
considering student needs, especially for special education students, we need to find the most
essential information that will still allow a student to stay on pace as close to his/her peers as
possible.
3. What about students who transfer in and haven’t been exposed to the curriculum that we have
previously taught, ie EDM, cursive?-RW We have to take every student where they are and help
them move forward. This is an age-old concern that will continue to exist regardless of the type of
grading or assessment that we implement.
4. When will we have time to work with grade level team to achieve this shift to standards based
learning / grading? -RW The focus within the content areas next year will allow for this work to be
done. The intent is to use release days and half-days for collaboration on this important work. If a
particular group needs other time, efforts will be made to support those needs.
5. Will our curriculum focus be narrowed? -RW We will work to link standards to assessments. We
cannot assess everything, so we need to determine what is essential to assess and report out.
6. How much time do we allow a student to work on something to become proficient in that standard?
What if they don’t become proficient (or can’t)? -RW We may need to look at what resources we are
offering out to students to equip them to be successful, but we may still have students who do not
meet all standards. We need to determine how we will work with students. We will need to have
further discussion about this question.
7. How do we account for/problem solve students who have limited proficiency for a variety of reasons?
-RW We will need to work together in our PLC teams and develop plans for students who are not
meeting proficiency expectations.
8. How will this process be meaningful to our youngest learners (k-2) ?-SWG This will provide clear
standards and expectations of learning along a continuum of learning from K to 2. Students will
begin to learn what standards are in relation to their learning.
9. What motivates students to achieve during this process (3-6)?--SG This will be a shift from the
points and percentage world to a more rubric-based and standards-based approach to learning. We
need to develop more specific rubrics that helps students to see what they need to know and be able
to do to be successful learners and not earners of a mark. One effect of a standards-based approach is
the clarification of expectations. The alignment among targets, assessments, classroom work, and
report card areas become transparent, making it easier for students to track their own progress. This
can lead to an emotional connection and an increase in engagement in school.
10. Will the target always be very specific/narrow - or will the target sometimes include a couple
different standards (2-4)? BF The target could include more than one standard.
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11. Are we going to know the CCSS and Franklin aligned standards for Social Studies before the shift?
What if Social Studies is integrated into other subjects? BF At this point, Social Studies has not been
integrated into other subjects. We will approach Social Studies as a separate subject area until such a
decision would be made.
12. Will the target always be very specific/narrow - or will the target sometimes include a couple
different standards (2-4)? BF, CD The target could include a couple of different standards. This is a
real possibility.
13. Are we going to know the CCSS and Franklin aligned standards for Social Studies before the shift?
What if Social Studies is integrated into other subjects? BF We are still examining this area and what
we should do as we proceed.
14. Will we need time for both content area and building level to implement this? Is it necessary for ⅚
teams to know what the building (other grade levels) are doing? CD Correct. You will need both
content area and grade level time to do this work. Much of the assessment work in the content areas
will be done during the 13-14 school year. It will be important that as teams map out assessments
that they are also using time to talk about how to use the data from those assessments in ways that
helps them to best report out on student achievement.
15. Will we make the full commitment to standards-based grading, involving dropping or moving away
from curricula that do not reinforce standards-based grading/learning? CD With standards-based
instruction and grading in place, we will look more specifically on what needs to be taught to support
the standards. The taught curricula should support teaching the standards.
Questions about Assessment Work
1. Who will be creating all of these rubrics for us? -RW We will be forming teams to do this work next
year across all content areas and grade levels. For each step in the process, including rubric and other
assessment development, group leaders will be provided with resources (guidelines, screencasts,
examples, etc.) to assist the groups in developing assessment strategies.
2. There is a skill level in writing assessments. Most educators were not trained in assessment writing will teachers be trained in writing assessments? -RW There will be trained teacher-leaders who will
outline how to do this work within your specific content area. See number 1 above.
3. Will there be rubrics and who will create them? -RW Yes. We will work in content area teams to
develop rubrics. See number 1 above.
4. How to create assessments that allow students to self assess that are both teacher and student
friendly? -RW This will be a process that will need to be developed for our teacher leaders to guide
all teams in our assessment creation process. The groups with trained leaders will be asked to
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develop assessment plans for each subject and grade level/course. These plans are to include both
summative and formative assessments. Student self-assessments are on the formative side. As
appropriate, rubrics and other tools that are to be used by students should be written in studentfriendly language.
5. Why aren’t there any teachers on the language arts or math leadership teams? -RW We already have
trained leaders in place who will lead this work with our content area teachers.
6. Grade level team time as a district is no longer valued, so how do teachers work collaboratively to
make this process successful?-SWG This will be a large focus of our professional development time
next year and we will have checkpoints and a support team to help teams through this process.
7. How will quality assessments be formed to align with the standards that are selected, and who will
design those assessments? - SWG We will work within content area and grade level teams to work
on this alignment process. Teachers will work with their trained teacher leaders to design/align
assessments as needed.
8. How are we effectively going to blend the common core standards with our current curriculum?SWG This needs to be developed into a process that begins with the end in mind (standards) and
then work to build assessments and rubrics. There are several ways to do this work: 1. The report
card areas in math and literacy are being developed to align with the CCSS at all levels; 2. Since this
question came from an elem school, part of the response is that the elems will be learning about an
EveryDay Math organizational system, including assessments, that is aligned with the CCSS-Math;
work is also being done to employ a document created by the Developmental Studies Center (DSC)
that aligns the DSC units with the CCSS-ELA. 3. The process that each group will be working
through requires that assessments be aligned to both the learning targets that will have been aligned
to the CCSS and to the report cards areas have also been aligned to the CCSS.
9. Connected to #5 above: How many grade levels’ standards will be on the report cards K-6?
(especially if we are reporting on standards until they are mastered?) Will they be segmented by K-3,
4-6? or something similar to accommodate for the possibility of continuous reporting? BF Each
grade level will have it’s own report card. Continuous reporting can be accomplished by aligning the
standards areas and building on the language as a student progresses from one grade to the next.
10. Will teachers be given time to work on the report cards each trimester since these will take more time
to complete? BF The majority of the time will not be at the trimester, it will be throughout the
trimester due to the increased level of feedback that students are getting formatively.
11. Will we be using Powerschool to report out? If we are adopting something new, will we be inserviced
on it? BF We will still be using PowerSchool. We will provide training for use of PowerSchool with
a standards-based reporting approach.
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12. Trimesters??! !CD The trimester allows for grades to be reported less often, but allow for more
formative and summative work between grading periods.
13. So next year we continue with the current report card while working on a new one? Piloting? CD
We will explore the possibility of some pilots, but that has not been decided yet because we have not
aligned any of the subject areas with the report card standards areas and the related assessments.
14. Referring to question 3 above, if elementary school is trimesters and ms/hs in qtr/ semesters, what
does ⅚ do? Are we considered elementary or ms? CD Grades 5 and 6 would still operate under the
trimesters because of elective offerings in relation to the specialist schedule.
Questions about the Report Card
1. Will parents be in-serviced? -RW Yes. This is an essential part to our communication plan. We are
beginning to inform parents of our work through World Cafe Meetings this year at all levels.
2. Will all grades and subjects adopt this new system? At this time we have multiple systems. Creating
confusion for parents. -RW All grades and subjects will adopt this new system at the same time.
3. Will we change the number of times we report learning on report cards?-SW The elementary level
will be switching to trimesters, while the middle and high school will still report out at the
quarter/semester times.
4. Will students have an opportunity to reflect on their learning on their report cards?--SW This is a
good question. Students should also be reflecting on their learning through formative assessments
through the trimester before they even get to the summative grade.
5. Will we continue to assess and report a particular standard until mastery?--SW This is still a question
that is under discussion. The language of our scale will help to determine the answer to this question
as well as the areas listed on the report card.
6. How is the EKS work that we did incorporated into this new grading system? - PV. See number 8
above.
7. How will self-assessment be balanced with a standards-based rubric and how will it be reported to
parents? How about peer assessment? - PV The groups with trained leaders will be asked to develop
assessment plans for each subject and grade level/course. These plans are to include both summative
and formative assessments. Student self-assessments and peer are on the formative side. As
appropriate, rubrics and other tools that are to be used by students should be written in studentfriendly language. Typically student self-assessments and peer assessments are used formatively and
are not reported to parents. In the standards-based system, summative results are reported to parents.
The results of self-assessments or peer assessments can be reported to parents at teachers' discretion.
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8. Has it been determined if specialists will report every trimester? - PV Not yet formally decided, but
probably (another option between just us is to report at the first trimester and then at the end of the
year...unless kids switch at trimester time).
9. Will non-content specific teachers be able to attend content area meetings even if don’t teach one
subject? -PV We are still exploring ways to handle this. One option could include leaders
participating in training at the summer institute and then be responsible to get back to their groups to
make sure that everyone in their group understands the concepts, terminology, and processes that the
other groups are going through. The idea is that when they hear the terminology in meetings or other
professional discussions, they have a context and understanding of what is going on.
10. Connected to #5 above: How many grade levels’ standards will be on the report cards K-6?
(especially if we are reporting on standards until they are mastered?) 6-8 grade level standards per
subject area.
11. Will they be segmented by K-3, 4-6? or something similar to accommodate for the possibility of
continuous reporting? BF Report cards can still be separated by grade level and still offer the
possibility of continuous reporting as standards build on each other.
12. Will teachers be given time to work on the report cards each trimester since these will take more time
to complete? BF Report cards should not take any more time at the end of the trimester. There will
be more time needed during the quarter as teachers assess the pre-determined areas.
13. Will we be using Powerschool to report out? If we are adopting something new, will we be inserviced
on it? BF Yes. There will be training for teachers to implement standards-based reporting.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Questions about Standards-Based Grading
1. How does this work for social studies when we are still in review and do not have standards? We
will need to move forward with identified state standards since we do not know when the CCSS is
coming out for this area.
2. Will SS and SCI have to report out student achievement on common core standards? If CCSS are
available to identify as areas to list on the report card, we will include them. If they are not available,
we will use state standards.
3. If common core and new national standards are adopted, will departments be given additional time to
rework the standards that they will be reporting out on? If time is needed, time will be given. Much
of this work will be done during the 2013-14 school year.
4. Will other disciplines access disciplinary literacy CCSS?
5. Will we continue to use 6 traits to assess writing? Or will we assess on the standards, like the three
types of writing? 6-traits can still be assessed and reported out. The standards areas are clearly
written enough that each trait can be linked to a standard.
6. How are standards chosen? This needs to be developed into a process that begins with the end in
mind (standards) and then work to build assessments and rubrics. There are several ways to do this
work: 1. The report card areas in math and literacy are being developed to align with the CCSS at all
levels; 2. Since this question came from an elem school, part of the response is that the elems will be
learning about an EveryDay Math organizational system, including assessments, that is aligned with
the CCSS-Math; work is also being done to employ a document created by the Developmental
Studies Center (DSC) that aligns the DSC units with the CCSS-ELA. 3. The process that each group
will be working through requires that assessments be aligned to both the learning targets that will
have been aligned to the CCSS and to the report cards areas have also been aligned to the CCSS.
7. How will it be decided when to teach the standards and when to move on?
8. How much time will we be given while making this transition? Will we get additional time to do
grades, since this isn’t a simple calculation? (8 Science)
9. How do music concerts (outside the school day) fit into the standards based grading model? Not
sure what this is asking? If it is about assessing students who according to selected standards, then
yes.
10. How many standards are too many on an assessment? (7 Math) Yet to be determined.
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11. How will students be assessed when not working on grade level material? This needs to be discussed
further.
Questions about Assessment Work
1. How and when will we be trained on this? Will we get time to re-create assignments with rubrics?
We will work within content area and grade level teams to work on this alignment process with
assessments. Teachers will work with their trained teacher leaders to design/align assessments as
needed. Our half-day work will be focused on this work and training.
2. Will assessments be able to target multiple standards? It is first important to have in mind that there
will be areas on the report card for which students will be rated. This means that assessments will
need to be aligned with these report card areas. In some cases, the entire assessment (multiple
choice; essay; performance) may align with one of the report card areas. In other cases, there may be
an assessment where one part of it aligns with one of the report card areas and another part of it
aligns with a different report card area. In this case, it may be useful for both the teacher and the
student if the parts of the assessment are labeled or titled by their report card areas. Students are then
clear about what component of the course they are working on, and teachers have an easier time of
tracking what part of the assessment is used in helping to determine the rating for a particular report
card area.
3. Will there be a certain amount of times we have to assess each standard? That will have to be
determined.
4. Will there be a protocol/guidelines for reassessment? We will need to have more discussion about
reassessment. Many conversations will continue in PLC groups.
5. Will we have K-12 work time on this for encore staff? All groups will be allotted time for this work
during the 2013-2014 school year.
6. Will we tell students all the standards taught and assessed in a unit on the first day of the unit?
Students need to know what the standards will be just like the need to know the targets of a lesson.
They may not need to know all of the standards on the first day of the unit, but at some point in time,
they will need to know the taught and assessed standards in a unit.
Questions about the Report Card
1. How much communication will be given to parents about this huge change? Over the course of the
next 12-18 months we will continue to work to connect with students and parents in an effort to
educate them about the process. Having our students experience a high quality standards based
experience will be the best way to move the process forward.
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2. Are there other districts who have this model that we can all see? And how are they doing with this
new change? Do parents like? Dislike? Yes. We have already been in contact with at least two
districts who have made this shift. The districts have had very different concerns arise from this
process. One of the district’s did not develop assessments to align with newly identified standards, so
they had to go back and do this work before moving forward again. Another district had limited
communication with teachers and parents about the process and this made the transition very
difficult.
3. Will teachers be given time to work on these report cards each quarter because they are going to be
much more detailed and take more time to complete? Report cards should not take any more time at
the end of the quarter. There will be more time needed during the quarter as teachers assess the predetermined areas.
4. Will we still be using Powerschool? Is there a way to report out this information along the way? Yes.
PowerSchool can meet our needs of grade reporting.
5. In relation to P.E. and Health will we be able to report out separately? How will that work if they
only have Health 2 of the 4 quarters? (Physical Education). This will need more discussion.
6. Will the grades look different in the gradebook? For example, will the grades look like (proficient,
somewhat proficient, etc.). What will the top of the scale be exceeding or meeting the standard?
(Physical Education) The final grades will look the same in the gradebook; however, the other areas
underneath the final grade will also be reported out. The scale is still under discussion and will be
decided soon.
7. Can 1st and 3rd quarter be progress reports instead of final grades so that we can report the most
current student achievement. It is difficult to assess a standard accurately by the end of the 1st quarter
when we only see them every other day. (Suggestion: 1st and 3rd Quarter classes that are only 1
quarter long can have their FINAL grade printed on the semester report card) (Physical Education)
That remains to be determined. In many schools, the quarter grade becomes a progress report on how
a student is progressing in terms of mastering a standard.
8. Will other disciplines have disciplinary literacy CCSS on the report card? Groups will begin their
work of selecting reporting standards for the report card early next year. Some groups have already
started selecting reporting standards.
9. Will our report card be 4,3,2,1 or will there be descriptors? Descriptions for various levels of the
scale are currently being developed. This is very important as students, teachers, and parents will
need to clearly understand the differences between the various levels and how these impact
assessment and instruction. There will be close attention paid to the verbs that are used to describe
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the levels that exist.
10. When will PowerSchool reflect this work? PowerSchool has the capability to support a standardsbased approach.
11. Has the district considered moving to trimesters for academic classes at the middle school as well as
the elementary levels so we have more assessment data to use for final grades? Some other districts
that now use standard-based grading have done this switch. (8 Math) The elementary schools will be
making the trimester switch. There has been some time spent looking at the possibility of doing this
at the middle school, but with the encore offereings, we are not sure it could work. This could be
explored further.
12. Will we still be keeping letter grades or just using the numbers/descriptors? (8 Science) At this point,
it looks like we will be using numbers and descriptors through 8th grade.
13. Is this a fad? (Quoting a school board member) No. Standards-based teaching and learning is here to
stay because it enables us to better inform students about their own learning.
14. How much space do I get on the report card? The report card should be no longer than one-page
(front and back) in total.
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HIGH SCHOOL
Questions about Standards-Based Grading
1. Are we going to get examples of learning targets? Yes. As we move into the process of assessment
development, we’ll look to examples from other districts and schools that are further into the work. In
addition, the summer training institute for group leaders will include resources (guidelines,
screencasts, examples/models) in key areas including learning targets.
2. How are we going to finesse the logistics of students who do not meet the standards within a given
marking period? These details will need to be defined. In particular, issues like establishing
timelines for incompletes will need to be clarified. This will be even more significant at the ends of
semesters as new classes will begin and, in the case of semester two, students won’t be in attendance.
3. How to ensure all students are engaged and buy in to this process? Students will be on learning curve
as well as staff. One of the benefits of the standards-based system is that it does foster student
engagement. One effect of a standards-based approach is the clarification of expectations. The
alignment among targets, assessments, classroom work, and report card areas become transparent,
making it easier for students to track their own progress. This can lead to an emotional connection
and an increase in engagement in school. GFL should also impact instructional practices on a routine
basis. There should be regular communication with students in regard to learning expectations
relative to levels of thinking.
4. How do students really know if they are meeting learning targets correctly? The degree to which
students know whether or not they’re meeting learning targets will depend upon the fidelity of
implementation. Quality rubric and assessment design will inform student learning. Likewise, high
quality instruction that focuses on GFL will also help to inform students. Practically speaking, the
process that each group is to work through will Identifying how assessments are aligned with both
learning targets and report card areas. Then as formative and summative assessment results are made
available, students will more readily see their progress on the targets and the report card areas.
5. How do we communicate to students/parents their ability at a certain skill (i.e. basic
compare/contrast v. exemplary compare/contrast) If these skills are in the learning targets,
assessments will be identified to show how students are doing on the targets. If these skills are not
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currently in the learning targets, this process provides an opportunity to revise the targets to include
them and provide an aligned assessment for them. Another option is to have an assessment for these
skills even if there is not a target for them as long as they align to a larger target and align to one of
the identified report card areas. Powerschool gradebooks will be categorized according to standards
for each respective course. Likewise, rubrics and assessments will be designed with the intent of
communicating specific standards and their inherent characteristics.
6. What is the difference between learning targets, standards, lesson objectives, EKS’...? The
curriculum terminology can be confusing especially since different terms are used by different
institutions, organizations, authors, etc. In Franklin our terminology includes: 1. Standards (state
level or Common Core - level; these are usually quite broad); 2. Power Standards (a small number of
broad statements that apply to a subject area or area of study; for example, there is a set of Power
Standards for K-12 Science and another for Gr 7-12 Business, Marketing, and Information
Technology). 3. The next level is Essential Knowledge and Skills. These are more specific than
Power Standards for a subject area and are defined as having to apply across the subject area, prepare
students for the next level of study, and be applicable outside of school. 4. Learning Targets are the
most specific of the terms. These are written in the left column of the Eclipse curriculum mapping
tool and should be limited in number for each unit of study (typically 6-15, depending on the length
of the unit and the subject area. All learning targets should be assessed unless there is a solid reason
not to. Learning targets are written in a clause format beginning with a verb. There should be a
blend of learning targets from among those aligned with Bloom's taxonomy, emphasizing the higher
levels.
7. What is an acceptable level of “proficiency”? This is yet to be determined. It depends on whether
we work from a premise of proficiency or a premise of mastery. In either case, general guidelines
will be provided from the GFL committee. These guidelines can then be used by groups and
departments to develop rubrics for their assessment purposes. Elementary schools will most likely
identify the level of (3) as being proficient and at grade level. At the high school level proficiency
will likely be noted as (3), but combined lower levels of understanding will be used to determine a
grade of “passing” and “earning credit.”
8. If we have an abundance of standards, how do we assess ALL of them? How do we decided which
ones are more important to assess formally? Teachers will need to narrow down the number of
standards that are identified within a given course to a manageable number that is easily
conceptualized by students and parents. Departments and course alike teachers will engage in the
process of developing a wide variety to rubrics to address specific standards and specifics learning
tasks and assessments. Decisions need to be made about which standards to assess. The process that
groups will be working through in the 2013-14 school year will help to accomplish any prioritizing
and combining with an eye toward manageability of standards or groups of standards that will be
assessed.
9. How vague of a rubric do you have to have to measure very specific skills or do you need to have
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multiple rubrics? In general, there are two types of rubrics: holistic and analytical. An analytical
rubric can become quite detailed because it has several categories that are being rated. In this sense, it
is several rubrics in one, reducing the need for multiple rubrics in most cases.
10. How will SBG information be communicated to colleges/universities. In speaking with colleges and
universities throughout the area and nation, admissions offices are realizing that many school districts
are making adjustments to grading practices. They typically will look at corresponding college
readiness scores (ACT) in relationship to students GPA’s as part of the process. Again, students will
continue to receive letter grades at the end of a course that will factor into a GPA. Also, each high
school in the state provides colleges and universities with a school profile that lists the courses,
delineating dual-credit courses (AP, Transcripted Credit, CAPP, etc.) and other information about
academic descriptors and operations (e.g. weighted grading procedures) of the school. College
admissions counselors need this information to be able to understand and interpret student transcripts.
The SBG information will be communicated to colleges and universities through the descriptions of
Franklin's grading practices through the school profile.
11. I am the only one teaching my subject (Multiple preps) and am wondering how I can write rubrics for
all assignments? While some teachers don’t have the benefit of being able to readily collaborate with
course-alike colleagues, the opportunity should exist to connect with other teachers relative to rubric
design and skill standard work that spans different courses or even departments. There is probably
not a need to develop rubrics for every assignment. However, working as a singleton does present its
challenges. Know that the development of the assessments that are needed will be done over the
course of a whole school year, and administrative support can help to guide the process.
12. Do we record formative assessments and then delete them when we have a summative? Formative
assessments should be recorded for teachers, students and parents to track progress towards
standards. For this same reason, they should not be deleted. There are methods under development
for denoting formatives in PowerGrade. One option is to click the box "Do not calculate in grade" for
formative assessments.
13. How do I know where 175 students are with each standard? Gradebooks will be organized
according to established standards. Teachers, students, and parents should be able to view a student’s
record in PowerSchool to identify the progress being made and the learning needs that exist. You
should be able to see where students are in relation to each assessed standard in ways that are similar
to how you know how students performed on an assessment in the current system. PowerSchool can
help to track student progress if used differently. In the SBG system, assessments and student work to
be assessed are aligned with report card areas, so the tracking of student progress will be more
meaningful. That is, rather than knowing an overall score or rating, you will know ratings in multiple
areas, allowing you to target instruction accordingly.
14. Clarification for targets--How do we create consistent language and rubrics throughout the varied
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disciplines? This will require a consistent, collaborative approach by all teachers with an emphasis
placed on being aligned both vertically and horizontally. Leaders who participate in training will be
provided with resources and training about using a common format and will be provided with a list of
verbs to use in the common format. The verbs are aligned to Bloom's cognitive taxonomy and will
be distributed to all teachers. We may also be looking at Costa’s levels of questioning. This will
contribute to a common format and language across the district while allowing for content-specific
language and terminology.
15. Can we see some rubrics and teachers from a school already using this system? As we move forward
and look to next year as a time for rubric and assessment development to occur, part of the process
will include connecting with schools and teachers who have experience with GFL practices. Also,
rubric samples will be provided through the training sessions for leaders. Rubrics in a standardsbased system are not necessarily different from rubrics used anywhere else, except that they will be
aligned to learning targets and report card areas.
16. How does standards-based grading work with AP courses? How does standards-based grading work
with transcripted credit courses? These will need to be looked at on a case by case basis. The reality
is that many courses of this nature call for assessment practices that closely resemble those practiced
in a standards based environment.
17. How will we manage multiple practice opportunities with 150+ students? How many variations of a
practice opportunity are expected? Formative assessment is crucial in both a standards-based and
traditional grading environments. The key to quality formative assessment is that it is rooted in
providing developmental feedback. The high school level will use identified report card areas for
which to report ratings. These rated areas will be compiled to determine an overall letter grade. The
letter grades can then be used for reporting purposes for both AP and transcripted credit courses, but
the underlying report card areas need not be; these will be reported locally, however.
18. Can we have guest speakers come in to work with our departments who have lived the standardsbased world? Especially to see how they set up their standards-based gradebooks (for example, WL
= ?) Yes, specifically as we look at next year being focused on building high-quality rubrics and
assessment. We will look to area schools and districts who are deeper into the work to hear about
challenges and preferred routes to moving forward.
19. How do we assess learning for CWD students against standard based rubrics? Working with CWD
students requires paying close attention to current ability levels and the potential for each student.
Ultimately, it remains a discussion that focuses on identifying levels of thinking and providing
corresponding, high-quality assessment.
20. What will the response be if students chose to “delay providing evidence” of their performance on the
learning targets until the end of the term? Students procrastinate and need deadlines to avoid having
large numbers of standards to master within one week. In most circumstances, there will still be a
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definite need for due dates and deadlines. The difference is that it becomes more of a discussion
about missing the opportunity to demonstrating mastery of a learning standard. A teacher’s
professional judgement is more important than ever before.
21. How do you plan to differentiate/ personalize for special needs? Will they ever be able to achieve a
“4”? See number 18 above.
22. This seems very individualized, where is the community and bonding between peers Quality
assessment aims to measure what a student understands and is able to do relative to established
learning targets and standards. This is the case in both a traditional and standards-based method of
assessment.
23. If timely feedback is important, how can we manage this with large tasks such as essay writing?
Sometimes breaking larger tasks down into tangible learning tasks is a way to make the learning
experience manageable and worthwhile for students
24. What is the first step? Aligning our current learning targets to state standards? Alignment is the key.
Whether it be aligning to state standards of the common core, identifying the learning at hand is
always the first step in the process.
25. How are we going to educate students and parents about this change? Over the course of the next 1218 months we will continue to try to connect with students and parents in an effort to educate them
about the process. Having our students experience a high quality standards based experience will be
the best way to move the process forward.
26. Are we still going to have quarter grades? That remains to be determined. In many schools, the
quarter grade becomes a progress report on how a student is progressing in terms of mastering a
standard.
27. I feel like we are replicating an elementary classroom, which is great, but again how do we do that in
a high school setting? Large number of students? The key will be in developing high-quality rubrics
and assessments that help us to feel confident about our approach to assessment. A rubric should
simply state what we want a student to know and be able to do in relation to a given standard
according to predetermined levels of proficiency.
28. Will students be able to use this approach to advance through courses at an accelerated pace and
potentially graduate high school (or middle school, elementary grades) sooner? That remains to be
determined. A school would need to be far along on the GFL path before this type of practice is even
considered.
29. Is there going to be some high-stakes test at the end? Teachers would utilize high-quality,
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collaboratively designed assessments. From a high stakes perspective, our students currently take
part in the EPAS series (Explore, Plan and ACT). Our standards should mirror the college readiness
standards found in these exams.
Questions about Assessment Work
1. Will we all use standard descriptors of the 4, 3, 2, and 1 on the scale? Descriptions for various levels
of the scale are currently being developed. This is very important as students, teachers, and parents
will need to clearly understand the differences between the various levels and how these impact
assessment and instruction. There will be close attention paid to the verbs that are used to describe
the levels that exist.
2. How will this affect students? Can we see any info (sci. data, anecdotal) on how students adjust to
this scale? The benefits? We’ll use a wide-variety of information in attempting to monitor how
students are adjusting. In one regard we’ll look at external assessments like Explore, Plan and the
ACT. Likewise, we’ll use formative and summative assessment data at the classroom level (coursealike and grade specific) to monitor the academic progress that is being made).
3. Is this system proven to improve student achievement for every student of every background in a
school? Can we see the reports of possible drawbacks so we can combat/ prevent it? The system is
only as good as the teachers who utilize the system to help students understand their learning in terms
of identified standards. One of the biggest areas of difficulty from other districts was not creating a
solid foundation of assessments based on the standards.
4. Will we still be recording feedback on formative assessments in Infinite Campus? Or will we only
record summative assessments? The best information at this time is that both PowerSchool and
Infinte Campus can be configured to record both formative and summative assessments.
5. Does everything need to be graded using a rubric? What if there are not multiple levels of learning
for a certain target? The type of assessment to be used should be determined by the verb (and
sometimes other language) in the learning target. Matching assessment types with learning targets is
part of the process that teacher groups will be using to align/revise/ develop assessments next year. In
some situations, the appropriate type of assessment could be multiple choice (or fill-in’s, etc.); in
others it could be an essay; in others it could be a performance or project. Rubrics are typically used
with performances or projects. Rubrics would only be used where they are appropriate to assess the
target.
6. Are opportunities to meet standards offered multiple times throughout a grading period or once the
assessment for a standard has been given, is that the only opportunity for a student to show mastery?
It is appropriate for students to have multiple opportunities to meet standards. Each teacher group
will develop assessment plans that are to include both formative and summative assessments. Also,
the position statements in the Grading For Learning Handbook support the idea of teachers providing
multiple opportunities for students to show what they have learned. So, at both the design level and
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the instructional/classroom level, teachers’ discretion is vital in the determination of both the number
and characteristics of students’ opportunities to show their learning.
7. Do we need to represent every standard on each assessment? Or even section of assessment? This
question seems to refer to some type of designation of titling on a multiple choice, essay, or
performance performance of which sections or questions align with standards. If this is what the
question means, it is first important to have in mind that there will be areas on the report card for
which students will be rated, and that these ratings will be compiled into an overall letter grade at the
high school level. This means that assessments will need to be aligned with these report card areas.
In some cases, the entire assessment (multiple choice; essay; performance) may align with one of the
report card areas. In other cases, there may be an assessment where one part of it aligns with one of
the report card areas and another part of it aligns with a different report card area. In this case, it may
be useful for both the teacher and the student if the parts of the assessment are labeled or titled by
their report card areas. Students are then clear about what component of the course they are working
on, and teachers have an easier time of tracking what part of the assessment is used in helping to
determine the rating for a particular report card area.
Questions about the Report Card
1. Will we still be doing quarter grades? Shouldn’t we be doing check-in reports and then a final
semester grade, so that we don’t average Q1 and Q2 to get the final grade? That remains to be
determined. In many schools, the quarter grade becomes a progress report on how a student is
progressing in terms of mastering a standard.
2. What happens when a student does not meet a particular standard. Are they retained until all
standards within a course or grade level are met? We may need to look at what resources we are
offering out to students to equip them to be successful, but we may still have students who do not
meet all standards. We need to determine how we will work with students. We will need to have
further discussion about this question.
3. What exactly will our report card look like, will there be any grades at all and how might our
community react to this type of report card. We will have a better idea of what the report cards look
like after the standards areas are selected. Grades can still be reported at the high school level within
a standards-based system.
4. What do colleges think? Colleges will be getting more information than ever on prospective
students. This should make the college process of selecting students much easier. Also, see response
in number 10 under “Questions about Standards-Based Grading.”
5. How are these standards-based grading going to translate into a report card? Is it still going to
translate into A, B, C, etc? How does that work for college entrance requirements? See response in
number 3.
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6. Would this lead to the elimination of grade levels as well? If a student can show mastery of all
standards in, say, a sophomore level class, should they be allowed to move to a higher level class
regardless of their age or grade level? That remains to be determined. A school would need to be far
along on the GFL path before this type of practice is even considered.
7. Do we have deadlines for learning? There are no deadlines for learning, but there are endpoints for
reporting grades because we are accountable to report final grades to the state.
8. How do we shift students and parents from exclusively valuing letter grades? This process will take
time for all stakeholders involved. We need to keep the focus on mastering the standards.
9. How cumbersome will the management of report cards be under a standards based curricula be?
Teachers will need to narrow down the number of standards that are identified within a given course
to a manageable number that is easily conceptualized by students and parents. Departments and
course alike teachers will engage in the process of developing a wide variety to rubrics to address
specific standards and specifics learning tasks and assessments. Decisions need to be made about
which standards to assess. The process that groups will be working through in the 2013-14 school
year will help to accomplish any prioritizing and combining with an eye toward manageability of
standards or groups of standards that will be assessed.
10. Will post-secondary learning environments shift to GFL standards based assessments as well? If
not.....will students then need to revert back to traditional letter grade systems? It is hard to say if
post-secondary learning environments will shift to a standards-based focus, but it is more informative
and helpful for students in terms of their own learning in relation to specific standards. It will enable
our students to do much better in their learning even if they are in a more traditional system because
they know more about their own learning.
Application of Grading Position Statements to Grading Practices
Grading Practices Meeting - Agenda
December 16, 2013 Noon - 3:30 Location: ECC
In attendance: Admins and content teacher leaders from FHS and FPMS
Shauna Fitzke, Mike Dicks, Chad Kafka, Mike Zellmer
Purpose:
Apply five position statements to PowerTeacher practices.
Develop “Standards-Based Grading Teacher Handbook” as an extension
of the “K-12 Grading for Learning Guidebook for Teachers” (this
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document)
Today’s work product(s): Create prioritized list of questions to be answered or
decided for “Standards-Based Grading Teacher Handbook.”
I.
Brief review of GFL documents:
Grading Position Statements
Academic Success Habits
II.
Questions to be answered/decided upon. Grading Practice Questions (Click link for list
that has been started)
III.
Assessment Plan Sample
IV.
PowerTeacher Demo & Recording of Relevant Questions
V.
Next Steps
Grading For Learning Definitions
For the purposes of this Teacher Guidebook, the following definitions are provided. It is important that we use
language consistently and effectively so that we come to a common and shared understanding in order to
inform best educational practices. The overall purpose of this is to continue to challenge our students to higher
levels of thinking and ultimately, greater learning.
accommodation: a change or alteration in the regular way a student is expected to learn,
complete assignments or participate in classroom activities
achievement level: a student’s demonstration of knowledge, skills and attitudes relative to grade level learner
outcomes
adapted programming: programming that retains the learner outcomes of the programs of study and where
adjustments to the instructional process are provided to address the special education needs of the student
assessment: process of collecting information on student achievement and performance that includes a variety
of assessment tasks designed to monitor and improve student learning
assessment for learning: assessment experiences that result in an ongoing exchange of information
between students and teachers about student progress toward clearly
specified learner outcomes (also called diagnostic and formative assessment).
assessment of learning: assessment experiences designed to collect information about learning to
make judgments about student achievement and performance at the end of a period of instruction that can be
shared with those outside the classroom (also called summative assessment).
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body of evidence: a collection of information about student achievement and performance of
the learner outcomes in programs of study incorporating data and samples from a variety of assessments
administered throughout the school year criteria what students need to do to show they have achieved the
learner outcomes (e.g., compare and contrast, explain, analyze)
criterion referenced: evaluation relative to grade level curriculum standards (learner outcomes)
diagnostic information: the results of formal and informal assessments that identify students’ areas
of strengths and weaknesses and which are used to determine individualized programming for students Grade
Level of Achievement Reporting
evaluation: making decisions about the quality, value or worth of a response for the
purpose of providing descriptive feedback (formative) and determining marks (summative)
grade level of achievement: a teacher judgment, based on the results from a variety of classroom
assessments throughout the school year, expressed as “at, above or below” in relation to learner outcomes in a
subject area after a course for a specific grade level has been completed and the student’s enrolled grade.
graded programs of study: learner outcomes, expressed in programs of study, organized in grade level
groupings from 1 to 9
horizontal enrichment: providing more in-depth learning opportunities with respect to the learner
outcomes at the enrolment grade level
learner outcomes: what Franklin Public Schools expects a student to learn; the knowledge, skills
and attitudes a student demonstrates as a result of schooling
mark: a letter, number or comment reported as a statement of student achievement and performance
modified programming: programming in which the learner outcomes are significantly different from
the programs of study and are specifically selected to meet students’ special education needs
norm-referenced: evaluation in relation to other students within a group
performance level how well a student demonstrates grade level learner outcomes.
reliability: the degree to which the results of an assessment are dependable and yield
consistent results across raters, over time, or across different versions of the
same assessment
validity: the degree to which inferences drawn about a student’s achievement of the
knowledge, skills and attitudes in the programs of study are trustworthy for
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making decisions about the student’s learning.
vertical enrichment: providing learning opportunities with respect to the learner outcomes above
the enrollment grade level.
Source of above Definitions: Grade Level of Achievement Reporting, PART ONE: Theory and Practice
/6 ©Alberta Education, Alberta, Canada. September 2006.
Supporting Research
Area #1: Grade Determination Research
Below are the questions and research that support the position statements:
1.
What factors should be included in a letter grade? What should a grade represent?
“In essence, it means ensuring that grades provide an accurate and understandable description of students’
achievement, performance, and progress in learning.” Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. (2001).
Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning. Corwin Press. p. 193.
”Grading and reporting should always be done in reference to specific learning criteria rather than in reference
to normative criteria...” Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. p .36.
“Grades for learning skills, effort, work habits, or learning progress are separated from assessments of
achievement and performance. The key to success...rests in the clear specifications of those indicators and the
criteria to which they relate.” Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. p. 42
“The most important purpose for grades is to provide information or feedback to students and parents. The best
referencing system for grading is content -specific learning goals: a criterion referenced approach.” Marzano,
Robert J. (2000). Transforming Classroom Grading. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development. p. 23.
“The driving force behind criterion-referenced grading is to ascertain the extent to which students reach a
specific level of knowledge or skill in a specific learning outcome at the end of a grading period.” Marzano,
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Robert J. p. 22
“...academic achievement is the primary factor on which grades should be based.” (Academic
achievement=Subject-specific content, thinking and reasoning skills, general communication skills). Marzano,
Robert J. p. 28-29.
A grade indicates mastery: “A grade represents a clear and accurate indicator of what a student knows and is
able to do--mastery. With grades, we document the progress of students and our teaching, we provide
feedback to students and their parents, and we make instructional decisions regarding the students.” Wormeli,
Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Portland,
ME: Stenhouse Publishers. p. 103.
Grades must directly affect specific learning goals. “Grades are artifacts of learning; as such they should reflect
student achievement only.” O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades.
Allyn & Bacon. p. 5.
Students are different in many different ways, and so treating them the same can actually be unfair....Fairness
is more about equity of opportunity than it is about uniformity. O’Connor, Ken. p. 7.
“Grades are summary symbols that should communicate only about student achievement at a point in time. To
be effective, they must be consistent, accurate, and meaningful, and should support learning.” O’Connor, Ken.
p. 136.
“Grades are broken when they include penalties for student work submitted late.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 24.
Articles:
Grades “should not be about what the students earn; they are about what they learn.” Brookhart, Susan.
(November, 2011). “Starting the Conversation About Grading.” Educational Leadership, p. 13.
“Standards-based grading is based on the principle that grades should convey how well students have achieved
standards. In other words, grades are not about what students earn; they are about what students learn.”
Brookhart, Susan. (November, 2011). “Starting the Conversation About Grading.” Educational Leadership, p.
13.
“Grades must always be based on clearly specified learning criteria. Those criteria should be rigorous,
challenging, and transparent.” Guskey, Thomas J. (November, 2011). “Five Obstacles to Grading Reform.”
Educational Leadership, p. 18.
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2. How should grades be calculated? What scale(s) should be used? Should teachers use the mean,
median, or mode?
“Uneven patterns in topic coverage across assessments such as this illustrate how misleading the point or
percentage method can be in summarizing student achievement. In fact, adding up points across quizzes,
homework, and so forth can give a very inaccurate picture of student achievement.” Marzano, Robert J. (2000).
Transforming Classroom Grading. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. p. 44.
“The overriding theme of this book is that a single letter grade or a percentage score is not a good way to report
student achievement in any subject area because it simply cannot present the level of detailed feedback
necessary for effective learning.” Marzano, p. 106.
Rubric based grade (vs percentages or points) “provides for more precision in assessment and reporting.”
Marzano, p. 68.
The median (middle score by rank) or the mode (the most frequently occurring score) are generally more
appropriate than the mean when confronted with extreme scores. O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for
Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 91.
“The median, which is the middle score in a group of scores is (frequently) a far more encouraging way of
calculating grades. The commonly used mean or average calculation tends to emphasize lower (outlier) scores.
Often the median is statistically accurate while the mean is not. Consideration should also be given to the use
of the mode, which is the most frequently occurring score or level.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 94.
Articles:
“...averaging grades falsifies grade reports” [and] “...averaging grades, no matter the distance between two or
more scores, decreases accuracy. Looking at the most consistent levels of performance over time makes for a
more accurate report of what students truly know.” O’Connor, Ken and Rick Wormeli. (November, 2011).
“Reporting Student Learning.” Educational Leadership, p. 41.
“...smaller scales with clear descriptors - such as 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0, in which all possible scores including
0.0, have equal skewing influence on the overall score - create a more accurate report of students’ mastery.”
O’Connor, Ken and Rick Wormeli. (November, 2011). “Reporting Student Learning.” Educational
Leadership, p. 41.
3. How should attendance, behavior, effort, and growth factor into grade determination?
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“Behavior infractions are not part of the evidence that reflects what students have learned and what they are
able to do.” Those behaviors should be reported separately. Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. (2001).
Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning. Corwin Press. p. 145.
A practical solution to the problem of these diverse learning criteria is to establish clear indicators of the
product, process and progress criteria, and to report them separately. Guskey, Thomas J. and Bailey, Jane M.
p. 42.
“If the expressed purpose of the grades...is to communicate students’ achievement status, then the evidence
used in determining grades should represent an accurate depiction of achievement...Those sources of evidence
that clearly reflect process should not be included in determining the grade...these criteria must be reported
separately.” Guskey, Thomas J. and Bailey, Jane M. p. 62
“ In an ideal grading system, effort, behavior, and attendance would not be included with academic
achievement in an overall grade.” Marzano, Robert J. (2000). Transforming Classroom Grading. Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. p. 37.
“One grade is an overall grade, the second is based on academic standards, and the third is based on the nonachievement or non-academic factors.” Marzano, Robert J. p. 116.
“The main problem with bonus point questions that that they are frequently conceptual or higher-order thinking
questions that enable teachers to tell the difference between students who are proficient and those who are
excelling. These questions should not be a matter of choice; all students should attempt them so the teachers
have the evidence they need to make that critical distinction.” O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for
Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 33.
Articles:
“. . . participation and effort are non-academic and should not be graded as academic achievement.
Participation grades and effort grades often include things like attendance and behavior.......it is not appropriate
to grade students on non-academic achievement in an academic grade. In order for grades to reflect what
students know and can do, grades must only reflect the student’s level of academic achievement.” School
District of Waukesha. (2007). “Grading and Reporting - Issue #3.” Best Practices in Grading.
Area #2: Linking Learning to Standards Research
Below are the questions and research that support the position statements:
1. What are the benefits of having grades linked to standards?
Linking grades to standards can provide “greater consistency among instruction, assessment, and the grading
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and reporting process.” Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. (2001). Developing Grading and Reporting
Systems for Student Learning. Corwin Press. p. 83.
“When clear learning goals or standards are established, standards-based grading offers meaningful
information about students’ achievement and performance to students, to parents, and to others.” Guskey,
Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. p. 91.
The major purposes of standards to assess and report out meet the following criteria:
1. “communicate the achievement status of students to parents and others
2. provide information students can use for self-evaluation
3. select, identify, or group students for certain educational paths or programs
4. provide incentives for students to learn
5. evaluate the effectiveness of instructional programs
6. provide evidence of students’ lack of effort or inappropriate responsibility”
Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M., p. 51.
“We need to develop approaches to help teachers both assess and grade more accurately and consistently. One
key to accomplishing this is shared understanding of performance standards-agreement on “how good is good
enough.” O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p.
11.
“Assessments are now broken down into standards and objectives, and it’s tightened up my instruction; I’m
forced to ask myself, why am I teaching this?” O’Connor, Ken. p. 66.
“We need clear, criterion-referenced achievement standards - absolute, not relative, standards that describe a
limited number of levels: at, below, and above proficiency.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 80.
Articles:
“Single-subject grades...provide little useful information. Providing standards-based grades makes grades
meaningful because they clearly show the student’s area of strength and areas that need improvement.”
“...Standards based grading should be the norm from kindergarten to grade 12 (and beyond) because it gives
students, parents, and teachers the valuable information they need to help students achieve at higher levels.”
O’Connor, Ken and Rick Wormeli. (November, 2011). “Reporting Student Learning.” Educational
Leadership, p. 43.
“In a standards-based system, grading and reporting must be criterion-referenced. Teachers at all levels must
identify what they want their students to learn and be able to do and what evidence they will use to judge that
achievement or performance. Grades based on clearly stated learning criteria have direct meaning and
communicate that meaning.” Guskey, Thomas R. (September, 2001). “Helping Standards Make the Grade.”
Educational Leadership, Vol.59, #1, p. 2.
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2. What standards are the “correct” standards to assess and report out?
“For grading and reporting purposes, the identified standards must be broad enough to allow for efficient
communication of student progress, yet specific enough to provide information that is useful to students,
parents, and others.” Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. (2001). Developing Grading and Reporting
Systems for Student Learning. Corwin Press. p. 85.
Translate state-level standards by “unpacking” the elements in each standard into more homogenous categories
or topics. These more specific categories can form the basis for constructing learning objectives that can be
effectively assessed using rubrics. Marzano, Robert J. (2000). Transforming Classroom Grading. Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. p. 53.
“Overall and specific performance standards with a limited number of levels, clearly describes in the language
of the appropriate achievement continuum.” O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for
Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 76.
”Professional dialogue about performance standards between teachers, so they develop shared understanding
and apply standards consistently.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 76.
“Clear, easy understandable student- and parent-friendly versions, made available from the beginning of
instruction.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 76.
3. What is the view on assigning grades based on a student’s achievement compared to other
students?
“Because normative criteria tell nothing about what students have learned, they are inadequate and promote
unhealthy competition, destroy perseverance, motivation and are unfair to students.” Guskey, Thomas R. and
Bailey, Jane M. (2001). Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning. Corwin Press. p.
38.
“In any educational setting where the central purpose is to have students learn, grading and reporting should
always be done in reference to specific learning criteria rather than in reference to normative data.” Guskey,
Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. p. 38.
“Grading on a curve is extremely distorting as a reference of mastery. A student can achieve a 70 percent
mastery rating, for example, but get an A because his grade is among the top three scores of the class.”
Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom.
Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. p. 128.
“Grading on a curve makes learning competitive, rather than cooperative.” Wormeli, Rick. p. 128-129.
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“Grading students by comparing their performance to one another distorts individual achievement. We need
clear, criterion-referenced achievement standards-absolute, not relative standards that describe a limited
number of levels: at , below, and above proficiency. Teachers in a noncompetitive grading system assign
grades to each student based only on that student’s own achievement in relation to the applicable standards.
O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p.80.
Articles:
“Grades based on students’ standing among classmates tell us nothing about how well students have learned.
In such a system, all students might have performed miserably, but some simply performed less miserably than
others.” Guskey, Thomas J. (November, 2011). “Five Obstacles to Grading Reform.” Educational
Leadership, p. 18.
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4. Should group scores be included in an individual grade?
“Group grades that are given to whole groups...don’t reflect an individual student’s achievement or growth,
and therefore can’t be used to document progress, provide feedback, or inform instructional decisions.”
Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom.
Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. p. 127.
“We can use the [group] grade as a minor feedback or documentation symbol in the moment of the lesson, but
the discerning teacher takes time after the lesson to decide whether the grade earned in the cooperative learning
task was a grade indicating mastery of the topic being studied or of proficiency with the cooperative learning
process.” Wormeli, Rick. p. 128.
“Group grades often tend to create unhealthy peer pressure among classmates, often generating negative
feelings toward immature and/or unmotivated members of the group who did not work as much as others, or
had trouble achieving at the same level.” Wormeli, Rick. p.127.
“Group scores may not accurately reflect the achievement of each student and therefore would be unfair for
some members of the group. Cooperative learning is essentially a learning activity, not an assessment tool.”
O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 54.
“The strategy is cooperative learning, which implies that any activities that occur in groups are learning
activities and any assessment of them is best considered formative assessment - to help students improve their
knowledge, understanding, and skill(s). Such assessment is for learning and should not produce scores that are
part of grade determination.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 54.
Articles:
“...we’re not sure where one student’s influence ends and another’s begins.” O’Connor, Ken and Rick
Wormeli. (November, 2011). “Reporting Student Learning.” Educational Leadership, p. 40.
Area #3: Zeros, Late Work, and Redos Research
Below are the questions and research that support the position statements above:
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1. What role do zeros play in a grade?
It’s readily apparent that students who receive a single zero have little chance of success because such an
extreme score so drastically skews the average. They continue with the discussion of assigning a zero for noncompletion and recommend that, “We believe that students should learn to accept responsibility and should be
held accountable for their work. Nevertheless, we know of no evidence that shows that assigning a zero helps
teach students these lessons.” Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. (2001). Developing Grading and
Reporting Systems for Student Learning. Corwin Press. p. 143-144.
“We believe that students should learn to accept responsibility and should be held accountable for their work.
Nevertheless, we know of no evidence that shows assigning a zero helps teach students these lessons.” Guskey,
Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. p. 144.
Zeros skew the grade to a point where its accuracy is distorted. Teachers using the 100-point scale who do not
replace a zero with a fifty, sixty, or seventy to equalize the influence of all grades earned end up recording
inaccurate grades. Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the
Differentiated Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
p. 129.
Zeros distort the actual achievement record and can decrease motivation to learn. A Repair Kit for Grading.
O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 101.
Schools/districts need to have clear procedures and timelines for students to move from an “I” to a grade that
accurately represents their achievement. O’Connor, Ken. p . 97.
Articles:
Many teachers see zeros as their ultimate grading weapon. They use zeros in grading to punish students for not
putting forth adequate effort or for failing to demonstrate appropriate responsibility. Guskey, T. R. (2004).
“Zero Alternatives.” Principal Leadership, 5(2), p. 50.
“...if a school decides that academic grades should reflect achievement only, then teachers need to handle
missed work in some other way than assigning an F or a zero.” Brookhart, Susan. (November, 2011). “Starting
the Conversation About Grading.” Educational Leadership, p. 12.
2. What is the view on late work for credit?
“Expect effort. Failing grades for unfinished work let the student off the hook.” Guskey, Thomas R. and
Bailey, Jane M. (2001). Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning. Corwin Press. p.
77.
“Let’s deal with late work in ways that lead to student’s personal investment and to learning the material.”
Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom.
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Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. p. 149.
“The appropriate consequence for failing to complete an assignment is completing the assignment. O’Connor,
Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 27.
Articles:
“Find out why work is late and assist.” School District of Waukesha. (2007). Ken O’Connor, 2002 qtd. in
“Grading and Reporting - Issue #6.” Best Practices in Grading.
3.
What role do redos have in determining a grade?
“Students don’t all learn at the same rate, so they should be given opportunities to retest. When we hold
students to one moment in one particular day of the school year to demonstrate mastery in a topic, we are
telling them that they must learn at the same rate, to the same extent, and with the same tools and resources as
their classmates, or they will suffer. This isn’t teaching.” Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal:
Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. p. 115.
“We must allow new evidence to replace old evidence when it is clear that a student knows or can do
something today that they didn’t or couldn’t previously.” O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading:
15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 5.
Articles:
"When we hold students to one moment in one particular day of the school year to demonstrate mastery in a
topic, we are telling them that they must earn at the same rate, to the same extent, and with the same tools and
resources as their classmates, or they will suffer. This isn’t teaching.” Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t
Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
p. 115.
“We must allow new evidence to replace old evidence when it is clear that a student knows or can do
something today that they didn’t or couldn’t previously.” O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading:
15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 5.
Articles:
“Making students redo their learning until it meets high expectations demands far more of both students and
teachers than letting them take a failing grade, but it also results in far more learning. Wormeli, R. (November
2011). “Redos and Retakes Done Right.” Educational Leadership. p. 26.
“I’ve found that educators who object to retests have considerable difficulty coming up with any examples of
assessments in the “real world” that don’t have a retesting component.” Dueck, Myron. (November 2011).
“How I Broke My Own Rule and I Learned to Give Retests.” Educational Leadership. p.75
“It makes sense to grade students according to their performance on standards, not the routes they take to
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achieve those standards.” Wormeli, Rick. (November 2011). “Redos and Retakes Done Right.” Educational
Leadership. p. 26.
Area #4: Assessment Research
Below are the questions and research that support the position statements above:
1. How are high quality assessments determined?
“A few well planned and well-formatted assessments provide far better information about student achievement
than do multiple assessments poorly planned and formatted.” Marzano, Robert J. (2000). Transforming
Classroom Grading. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. p. 87.
“Although the most underused form of classroom assessment, student self-assessment has the most flexibility
and power as a combined assessment and learning tool.” Marzano, Robert J. p. 102
“Avoid assessing students in ways that do not accurately indicate their mastery.” (examples: word problems
that require extensive reading comprehension, rather than math skill; an essay on diffusion for a student who
struggles with writing). Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the
Differentiated Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. p. 121.
“An assessment plan should start with the desired results-the learning goals derived from standards.”
O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 112.
“Grades are broken when they arise from poor-quality assessment, because the evidence is not accurate. The
fix is to check every assessment for quality - clear purpose, clear learning goals, sound design, and avoidance
of bias.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 85.
Articles:
There should be regularly scheduled tests that assess a reasonable amount of content rather than infrequent
tests covering a great deal of content. Test content should be determined by identifying the most important
topics and concepts taught, and the percentage of instructional time devoted to each. Salend, Spencer J.
“Creating Student-Friendly Tests.” (November 2011). Educational Leadership. p. 54.
2. Formative vs. Summative assessments…what evidence needs to be gathered and reported out to
students for effective feedback?
“Formative assessments are brief checks on learning used throughout the instructional process to assess
students’ progress and to pinpoint any learning difficulties they may be experiencing.” Guskey, Thomas R.
and Bailey, Jane M. (2001). Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning. Corwin Press.
p. 100.
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“In gathering evidence on student learning,however, a critical balance must be struck between evidence
collected for instructional and that compiled for use in grading and reporting. Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey,
Jane M. p.49.
“It is critical that both teachers and students recognize when assessment is primarily for learning (formative)
and when it is primarily of learning (summative)”....“To appropriately modify learning, feedback has to be
effective; it has to be timely, describe features of the work or performance relating directly to learning targets
and/or standards of quality; and be low stakes- i.e., allow for adjustments before it “counts.” O’Connor, Ken.
(2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p.109.
“An assessment plan should start with the desired results - the learning goals derived from the standards. The
summative assessments that are going to be used to determined whether the student knows and can do (the
only assessments to determine grades) follow. Next are the diagnostic assessments that are going to help
determine the what and the how for teaching and learning. Finally come the formative assessments that are
going to help students achieve the learning goals and through which the teacher will adjust teaching and
learning activities, such as the homework and quizzes that help students to be successful on tests, the practices
that lead to performances, and the series of drafts that help students to produce high-quality products.”
O’Connor , Ken. p. 112.
“Grades are broken if scores for everything students do find their way into report card grades. The fix is to
include, in all but specific, limited cases, only evidence from summative assessments intended to document
learning, that is, designed to serve as assessments of learning.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 106.
“Most often, however, homework is practice of whatever was learned in class that day-any assessment of this
work should be regarded as formative.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 110.
Articles:
“Effective feedback needs to be immediate and meaningful. Meaningful feedback is specific and formative,
giving students information on the specific content and the necessary skills students need to apply to meet their
learning goals.” School District of Waukesha. (2007). “Grading and Reporting - Issue #7.” Best Practices in
Grading. p. 21.
Area #5: Homework and Extra Credit Research
Below are the questions and research that supports the position statements above:
1. What is the best approach to extra credit or bonus points, if any?
“Students should be able to provide additional evidence of understanding, knowledge and/or skill. However,
this additional evidence must reveal deeper learning-and should be considered along with the previous
evidence to determine the student’s level of achievement.” O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading:
15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. pgs. 33 and 34
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Bonus point questions that are conceptual or tap into higher level thinking should not be a matter of choice
only for proficient or excelling students; all students should attempt them, so that teachers have evidence to
determine grades for all. O’Connor, Ken. p. 33.
“Students should be partners in identifying appropriate evidence of additional learning, making suggestions
about what they will do to show a higher level of achievement.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 35.
“. . . eliminate extra credit and bonus points that do not relate to achievement and to communicate clearly to
students and parents that better grades come from evidence of higher levels of performance, not just more
points.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 35.
“Additonal ‘bonus’ assignments or tasks provided for the purpose of ‘boosting’ grades are not appropriate as
they distort the proper assessment of student’s knowledge....in relation to the learning outcomes for that
course.” O’Connor, Ken. p. 37.
Articles:
“When the focus switches from working to learning, students understand that they can improve their final
grade by demonstrating mastery, not a ‘Hail Mary pass’ of an extra credit assignment two weeks before the end
of the semester.” Vatterott, Cathy. (November 2011). “Making Homework Central to Learning.” Educational
Leadership. p. 64.
2. What is the prevalent view on homework? Should it be counted in a grade? If so, how much?
“...homework is best suited for formative purposes to help identify and then remedy students’ learning
problems.” Guskey, Thomas R. and Bailey, Jane M. (2001). Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for
Student Learning. Corwin Press. p. 59.
“The most important response to a student’s homework assignment is feedback, not grades, and grades in
general are poor forms of feedback.” Wormeli, Rick. (2006). Fair Isn’t Always Equal: Assessing and
Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. p. 118.
“. . . learning is a process in which learners increase their knowledge, understanding and skills as a result of
effort, instruction, feedback from teachers and peers, and self-assessment and adjustment. We know that
students will rarely perform at high levels on challenging learning tasks at their first attempt. Deep
understanding or high levels of achievement are achieved only as a result of trial, practice, adjustments based
on feedback, and more practice. This process is not recognized when teachers include grades evidence
generated during practice (learning) activities. Standards-based teachers distinguish between teaching
activities for learning and summative assessments when students “perform” and show what they know.
O’Connor, Ken. (2010). A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades. Allyn & Bacon. p. 107.
Articles:
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“When practice work is part of the overall grade, students don’t take risks, and teachers don’t get valuable
glimpses into their understanding. Instead, students do whatever it takes to submit the work correctly the first
time, even if that means copying from a peer.” No Penalties for Practice p. 47.
An athletic coach observed, “We don’t score practices. We score real games.” Fisher, Douglas, Frey, Nancy,
and Pumpian, Ian. “No Penalties for Practice.” Educational Leadership. p. 48.
“Grades can reflect student learning. When they do, students rise to the occasion and meet high expectations.
They begin to understand that their effort determines outcomes, which is a valuable lesson for us all.” Fisher,
Douglas, Frey, Nancy, and Pumpian, Ian. “No Penalties for Practice.” Educational Leadership. p. 51.
“It’s not about homework’s value for the grade, but homework’s value for learning. … In schools in which
homework isn’t graded, it is still marked for correctness, and students still receive specific feedback.”
Vatterott, Cathy. (November 2011). “Making Homework Central to Learning.” Educational Leadership. p.
62.
Assessment and Grading Practices Alignment
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