1.     Do the grades awarded fairly reflect the results from which they are derived?

 

 

 No. The grades are averaged which unfairly represents a student's work. The most glaring example of why this method is unfair is with Marg. Marg was absent quite a bit. Her lab work shows that she understands the concepts. Her first exam was not good, but by the last exam she got everything right. Her grade is unfairly judging her work ethic and much of it is based not on what she knows and is able to do, but on her lack of attendance. She was given a 0 for Attendance, and yet she must have attended some of the time to complete the labs.

Final Grade		Name
%	Grade
67.40	C	Robin
61.30	C	Kay
60.00	D	Marg
60.03	B	Jim
57.57	C	Peter
70.00	A	Lorna
56.07	C	John

 

Grades should reflect ability and material learned. Behavior, attendance and work habits should be graded separately from knowledge.

 

When I totaled the final grades and divided by 3, the percentage that I came up with for each of the students is reflected to the right. According to the grading scale used on the spreadsheet, several students were given a grade that was not based on the percentage points that they earned. Marg, Jim, Peter, Lorna and John all received grades that differed from their percentage average. This leads me to believe that the teacher used some personal judgment in deciding the final letter grade.

 

 

 

2.     What grading issues arise from this case study? Consider the  Conditions for Effective Communication.pdf.

This teacher seems to want to communicate that attendance and effort are a large part of the grading. However, grading for reporting out should reflect achievement in the target areas. The accurate information that the Conditions for Effective Communication sheet mentions include control for all relevant sources of bias and distortion. (Kessler, 2007)

 

I believe that the teacher wishes to motivate Marg to attend more regularly, even though Marg is certainly able to show that she understands the material. This grading method does not fairly represent her achievement.

 

3.     Is it clear what achievement targets the scores represent?

The achievement targets are not stated anywhere on the spreadsheet.

 

4.     Were the scores combined logically to produce the final grades? Why did the teacher average 0's?

Combining all of the grades together and then averaging them gives everything equal weight. It also doesn't allow for a student to show where their weaknesses or strengths are. Reporting such as this does not inform instruction.

 

Teachers often average zeros because that is how they were taught to grade. Many grade book programs do not allow for a blank entry and that complicates things. Some teachers use grades to motivate students and assume that they encourage them to try harder both from negative and positive perspectives. (Marzano, 2005) In this example, Marg knows that not turning in homework or not coming to class will affect her final grade, but she either won't come to class, or has some kind of extenuating circumstance that keeps her away.

 

5.     What should count as grades - achievement only or other things as well?

Some things are important to a particular standard. Chorus students must participate in singing, or they will not show their ability to meet the standard. Therefore participation must be part of a performance grade. Providing a separate skills and work ethic grading box clearly defines where the student needs work. This should not be averaged into the achievement grade.

 

6.     What should teachers do to avoid such problems?

Teachers should clearly define what they are assessing and why. Narrowing down concepts and refining targets will provide evidence of student achievement. The standards based grading movement provides a new opportunity to truly educate students and their parents about what is really being learned in the classroom.

 

Teachers also need to reflect on what data is important to impart. Providing merely a letter grade on a report card is in no way an adequate measure of learning.

 

 

 

References

 

Marzano, Robert J. (2005). Transforming classroom grading. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.