What Is Important with Grades and Grading

A few years ago, I sent the manuscript of a revised edition of one of my books to the publisher. For several weeks, 12 hours a day, I was immersed in reconsidering what I had previously written how to grade for learning. Here is what I believe is important.

The Key Aspects of Grading

Start with purposes. The purpose of school is learning, and the purpose of grades is to communicate that learning in summary format. Then, consider principles. Grades must be accurate, consistent, meaningful, and supportive of learning. Each school and district’s grading procedures must align with their mission and vision statements.

Next, make sure your practices are appropriate. Curriculum, instruction, and assessment should be standards-based. Extrinsic motivation should be minimized, and intrinsic motivation should be maximized. Fairness should mean equity of opportunity, not uniformity. Additionally, teachers’ professional judgment must be honored.

Consideration must then be given to the policies teachers are required to follow from the state, province, or district. After all that, it’s time to consider the procedures teachers will need to use. I recommend the following:

• Grades (and gradebooks and computer grading programs) shall be based on standards, not assessment methods.
• Performance standards shall consist of a limited number of levels of proficiency. Therefore, percentages will not be used.
• There will be no penalties for late “work,” academic dishonesty, or absence, and no bonuses like extra credit or bonus questions. Valued behaviors and learning skills will be reported.
• The  formative assessment process will be used to gather information to improve learning and teaching. Students will receive descriptive feedback, and there will be no scores for formal formative assessments. Instead, the evidence used to determine grades will come from summative assessments.
• When making judgments .
• When making judgments about student achievement, teachers may collect and crunch numbers, but the data should inform, not determine decisions. For example, grades for standards should be determined by the most consistent level of achievement on each standard, and grades for subjects (if required) should be determined using logic rules.
• Teachers must use evidence only from quality assessments to determine grades. Quality assessments have a clear purpose, clear targets, and sound design. Teachers must keep records (hard copy or electronic) of all evidence used to determine grades.
• Students must be provided with age-appropriate information to understand the assessments that will be used and how grades will be determined. Students should be involved in the assessment and grading.

Understanding the Final Determination of Grades

These procedures need to be implemented in the classroom. The use of online grade books can help the somewhat complex task of organizing the evidence collected for each student and determining grades based on the clear understanding that the final determination of grades rests on the professional judgment of teachers.

About Ken O’Connor

Ken O’Connor is widely recognized as an industry expert in issues related to the communication of student achievement, especially K-12 grading and reporting. He has been a staff development presenter and facilitator on assessment, grading, and reporting in 47 states, 9 Canadian provinces and one territory, and 25 countries outside North America. Ken enjoyed a 23-year classroom teaching career and, for 10 years, was the Curriculum Coordinator responsible for Student Assessment and Evaluation and Geography for the Scarborough (Ontario) Board of Education. He is the author of How to Grade for Learning: Linking Grades to Standards (4th edition), The School Leaders Guide to Grading, A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades, and Fifteen Fixes for Broken Grades: A Repair Kit. Articles written by Ken have appeared in the NASSP Bulletin, Educational Leadership, and School Administrator. Ken has an M.Ed. from the University of Toronto and a B.A. (Hon) and a Diploma of Education from the University of Melbourne. He can be reached at oconnorgrading.com.