1 grading malpractice bdonegan
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GRADING MALPRACTICE:
Why We MUST Align Assessment Practice with Assessment ResearchBillie Donegan,, The Center for Secondary School Redesign, www.cssr.us
As American secondary school leaders take on the challenge of preparing students for a challenging world,they must take on the challenge of guiding their teachers to embrace the state-of-the art research that willaccomplish that goal. One of the quickest and most criticalways to stimulate positive change in the classroomis by tackling our current traditional grading practice and replacing it with proven bestpractice in grading andassessment. It is virtually impossible to maximize student achievement if we fail to redesign how we grade.There is a preponderance of evidence on assessment and grading that shows how traditional practices notonly produce low yields, but frequently inhibit motivation and academic growth. This session will provideinstructional leaders with research and tools that will allow them to explode the myth of the zero, address the
tyranny of averaging, and lead their faculty to standards-based gradingfor learning. Participants will also leave with informative assessment tools that will increase learning and buildstudent ownership in their own progress. This session provides frequent opportunities for self-assessing andinteracting as we share ways to meet this challenge.
Handouts in this packet include:1-2. A Preponderance of Evidence
3. The Assessment Experience, Stiggins
4. Ken OConnors 15 Fixes for Broken Grades
5. An Innocent E-mail and an Averaging Quiz
6-7. The Homework Dilemma8. Charting Progress Example
9-10. Self-Analysis of Assessment Examples
11-12. Developing a Departmental Policy That Aligns with Best Practice
Other handouts will be referred to during the session and available through e-mail request.
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Grade Reflects Take Small Steps to Shift More Toward Right Grade ReflectsBehavior Learning
Quantity Quality
Journey Destination
Individual Preference Common Agreement
Short-Term Compliance Long-Term Retention
Teacher Involvement Student Involvement
Arbitrary Assignments Authentic Experiences
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Building a Knowledge Base on the Link between
Assessment, Grading, Homework and LEARNING
150 Ways to Increase Motivation in the Classroom, Raffini
Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning, Reeves-Stiggins-DuFour-Guskey, et al
Activating the Desire to Learn, Sullo
Assessing and Reporting on Habits of the Mind, Costa
Assessment Manifesto, Stiggins
Boosting Achievement with Messages that Motivate, Dweck
Building Teachers Capacity for Success: A Collaborative Approach for Coaches and School Leaders, Hall and Simeral
The Case Against Homework, Bennett
Clarity in the Classroom: Building Learning-Focused Relationships, Absolum
Classroom Assessment and Grading that Work, Marzano
Coaching Reluctant Learners, Donegan and Green
Common Formative Assessment: Connecting to Standards-Based Instruction, Ainsworth
The Competent Classroom: A Creative Guide to Aligning High School Curriculum, Standards, and Assessment, Zmuda
Effective Grading Practice: How Small Decisions Make a Big Difference in Achievement and Motivation, Reeves
Effort and Excellence in Urban Classrooms: Expecting and Getting Success with All Students, Corbett, Wilson and Williams
Enhancing Student Achievement: A Framework for School Improvement, Danielson
Fair Isnt Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, Wormeli
Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students, Cushman
The Game of School: Why We All Play It, How It Hurts Kids and What It Will Take to Change It, Fried
Getting to Got It: Helping Struggling Students Learn How to Learn, Garner
Grading Practices that Work Against Standards and How to Fix Them, Guskey
The Homework Myth, Kohn
How to Grade for Learning, OConnor
How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader, Gabriel
Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time, Pollock
The Kids Left Behind, Barr
The Learner-Centered Classroom, McCombs
The Learning Leader: How to Focus School Improvement for Better Results , Reeves
Making Classroom Assessment Work, Davies
Motivating Students in an Era of Standards, Sagor
Never Work Harder than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching, Jackson
The Passionate Teacher: A Practical Guide, Fried
Personalizing the High School Experience for Each Student, DiMartino and Clarke
Practical Solutions for Serious Problems in Grading, Guskey
The Quality School Teacher, Glasser
A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades, OConnor
The Standards-Based Teaching to Learning Cycle, Benson
Test Better-Teach Better: The Instructional Role of Assessment, Popham
Tranformative Assessment, Popham
Transforming Classroom Grading, Marzano
Why Didnt I Learn This in College?, Rutherford
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WHY WE MUST MAKE THE SHIFT!
These Authors Know Just How Important It Is
The antiquated grading
system in use today haslittle or no research to
support its continuation
and is highly ineffective.
A complete shift in our
practice is needed if we
are ever to maximize
student performance.
What we now know
about effective classroomassessment and grading is
vastly different practice fromthe norm.
When teachers make this shift
the impact on subsequent
student success is substantial:
improved performance in
grade-equivalent scores of
as much as three or four grade
levels, which translates on
standardized test scores
to improvement of almost
15 percentile points.
And from Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning:Courage is required. Those who implement changes in assessment, grading, and the professional practicessurrounding it, risk not only confrontation, but also unpopularity, social isolation, and public humiliation.
Research results for
GOAL SETTING:percentile gains of 16 - 21 %.
Research results for
TRACKING PROGRESS:*every 3 weeks +13.5%
*every week +24.5%
Research results for
FEEDBACK:percentile gains of 10 - 37 %.
Involving students in actively
monitoring their progress on
specific learning targets:
builds ownership of learning
and responsibility in theclassroom
increases the likelihood
students will avail themselves
of support opportunities
helps students set goals and
devise action plans to
increase their performance
motivates students to stay
engaged in the learning
process
And from Transformative Assessment:Any time an author predicts that a book can help bring abouta fundamental transformation in anything;youre likely dealing with someone in need of therapy. So why do I claim classroom assessment can trigger
such a transformation in someones teaching? I do it because I know the claim to be stone-cold true.
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The Assessment ExperienceExcerpt from Assessment Through Students Eyes, by Rick Stiggins, 2007
ETS Assessment Training Institute helps K-12 educators improve student achievement byintegrating student-involved classroom assessment with day-to-day instruction.
www.assessmentinst.com
FORSTUDENTS ON WINNING STREAKS FORSTUDENTS ON LOSING STREAKSAssessment results provide
Continual evidence of success Continual evidence of failure
The student feels
Hopeful and optimistic Hopeless
Empowered to take productive action Initially panicked, giving way to resignation
The student thinks
Its all good. Im doing fine. This hurts. Im not safe here.
See the trend? I succeed as usual. I just cant do this . . . again.I want more success. Im confused. I dont like this help!
School focuses on what I do well. Why is it always about what I cant do?
I know what to do next. Nothing I try seems to work.
Feedback helps me. Feedback is criticism. It hurts.
Public success feels good. Public failure is embarrassing.
The student becomes more likely to
Seek challenges. Seek whats easy.
Seek exciting new ideas. Avoid new concepts and approaches.
Practice with gusto. Become confused about what to practice.
Take initiative. Avoid initiative.
Persist in the face of setbacks. Give up when things become challenging.
Take risks and stretch go for it! Retreat and escape trying is too dangerous!
These actions lead to
Self-enhancement Self-defeat, self-destruction
Positive self-fulfilling prophecy Negative self-fulfilling prophecy
Acceptance of responsibility Denial of responsibility
Manageable stress High stress
Feeling that success is its own reward No feelings of success, no reward
Curiosity, enthusiasm Boredom, frustration, fear, anger
Continuous adaptation Inability to adapt
Resilience Yielding quickly to defeat
Strong foundations for future success Failure to master prerequisites for future success
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Our current grading practices often not only fail to meet our objectives but also wind up doing the oppositeof what we intend. OConnor does a great job of setting the stage for the underpinning issues of fairness, motivation, andobjectivity - as well as the importance of student involvement - as we examine and improve grading practices. He
provides excellent research and rationale, plenty of examples, and ways to involve students for each fix.
Fixes for Practices that Distort Achievement
1. Dont include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc.) in grades; include onlyachievement.
2. Dont reduce marks on work submitted late; provide alternate deterrents and provide support for the learner.3. Dont give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in a higher
level of achievement.
4. Dont punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determineactual level of achievement.5. Dont consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately.6. Dont include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence.
Fixes for Low-Quality or Poorly Organized Evidence
7. Dont organize information in grading reports by assessment methods (quizzes, tests, homework, etc.) or simplysummarize into a single grade; organize and report evidence by standards/learning goals.
8. Dont assign grades using inappropriate or unclear performance standards; provide clear descriptions ofachievement expectations.
9. Dont assign grades based on students achievement compared to other students; compare each studentsperformance to preset standards.
10.Dont rely on evidence gathered using assessments that fail to meet standards of quality; rely only on qualityassessments.
Fixes for Inappropriate Grade Calculation
11.Dont rely only on the mean; consider other measures of central tendency and use professional judgment.12.Dont include zeros in grade determination when evidence is missing or as punishment; use alternative deterrents
and use alternative grading such as reassessing to determine real achievement or use I for Incomplete orInsufficient Evidence.
Fixes to Support Learning
13.Dont use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summativeevidence.
14.Dont summarize evidence accumulated over time when learning is developmental and will grow with time andrepeated opportunities; in those instances, emphasize more recent achievement.
15.Dont leave students out of the grading process. Involve students; they can and should play key roles inassessment and grading that promotes achievement.
Date: Thurs, 11 Nov 2007 21:12 (PDT)From: Linda Anderson
From A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades by Ken OConnor
Educational Testing Service, 2007 ISBN 0-88685-387-7
www.assessmentinst.com
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Subject: Thank you for contacting us!To: Dear Ms. Shurmann,
Jeff's father and I both appreciate that you let us know about the failing grade he is making in German. We are sorry hehas not been living up to his potential, and we will have a family meeting/talking to this weekend to make certain the Jeffbegins to take his education responsibilities more seriously from this point on. We assure you it will include groundinguntil his grade comes up.
If possible, can you provide us with some more information and ammunition for this conversation? What are somebehaviors, assignments, or skills that are lacking? What assignments or behaviors do you need to see from him so hecan begin passing? And if he can turn himself around and we assure you he WILL what is the highest projected gradehe can reach by the time report cards come out?
Thank you again for taking the time to notify us. If for any reason, you don't see a change in Jeff's performance, pleaselet us know and we will see to it he makes the most of your class.
Sincerely,Linda and Kenneth Anderson642-1314---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2007 11:09 (PDT)
From: Subject: RE: Thank you for contacting us!To: [email protected]
Dear Mrs. Anderson,Thank you for your support. I am sure that working together we can help Jeff pass. As you know, Jeffs current averageis 44.31% which is significantly below what he is capable of. As of today, he is missing 13 homework assignments. Forsix of those assignments, he is beyond the window of opportunity to turn those in late and will receive a zero for thoseassignments. Four of those assignments are still within that late window, and if he will turn them in by the end of nextweek I can allow him to receive a 50 on each of those. I am willing to accept the final three assignments by the end ofnext week for full credit. You can look in Jeffs notebook at the homework assignment list and it is also posted on ourGerman II webpage on the school website.
We have one remaining chapter left before the final. If Jeff will complete those seven assignments, continue to participatein class, and stay at the same level on tests, he has the ability to receive a projected potential grade of 72.1% by reportcard time. Jeffs main problem is he believes he is above doing the homework. His attitude has been of concern on thistopic and he is perfectly capable of completing them on his own. His test and quiz average so far this semester is96.67%. If he had completed the required homework, his scores could have been in the high A level. Once again, Iappreciate your interest and your support. I look forward to working this out for Jeffs behalf,
Doris SchurmannXXX High School, 642-2001
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CLASS GRADING POLICY Susans Grades Resulted In Kyles Unit 3 Quizzes/Test
Class Participation = 15% Class Participation = 7% 1 Quiz 1: 88
Homework = 15% Homework = 12% 3 Quiz 2: 78
In-Class Assignments = 20% In-Class Assignments = 18% 4 Quiz 3: 0Tests and Quizes = 30% Tests and Quizzes = 23% 2 Quiz 4: 91
Final Project = 10% Final Project = 10% 4 Unit Test: 87 (x4)
Final Exam = 10% Final Exam = 9% 4
100% Total Points Possible What grade should Susan get? What grade should Kyle get?
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res what we usually try
Experience This approach worked for me as a student.
This approach works successfully for some students I teach now.
Logic and Reason Youre in high school now, you need to learn to be responsible.
Homework will help you learn more and make better grades.
You need to learn to do homework now, so youll be prepared to
do homework in college.
Consequences Your grades will suffer if you dont do homework.
If you dont do homework, youll be in trouble with
me parents front office college screwed up for life.
Take a deep breath and let go!
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Sothen what CAN improve their
application of homework so thattheir learning CAN improve????
SOME GIVENS: Assessment is the process of gathering evidence to inform instructional decisions.
It is rarely used that way. Shift!
Homework- when designed and used correctly - can be a key instructional tool and assessment
tool. It is rarely designed and used for maximum effectiveness. Shift!
One size can not fit all. Personalized performance assessment works best to increase learning and
to measure learning. Homework is almost never used this way. Shift!
SOME STRATEGIES THAT HAVE A PROVEN TRACK RECORD: Community-Based, Problem-Based, Performance-Based, and Service-Based Assignments
Student Voice in Homework Design
Differentiation as Part of Homework Design
Interesting and Integral Use of Homework Application in Class
Study Teams
Use of Homework in Action Research classroom or individual
Students Involved in Monitoring Progress through Assessments FOR Learning.
Personalized Negotiation
Proactive Parent Outreach on Front End
Frequent, Positive, and Purposeful Intervention with Student
Frequent, Positive, and Purposeful Communication with Parents
Celebration and Intrinsic Rewarding of Progress on Homework
Interdisciplinary Extension and Enrichment
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METACOGNITION: The Importance of Charting Progress
Traditional progress reports rarely show progress. Students and teachers both benefit from seeing visual and period
in micro-feedback loops. When students take a moment to chart their own progress you are automatically buildintheir own learning and their own results. You could do it weekly as in the chart below, but you need to at least do i
Metacognition in this context means we teach students to make connections between their actions and their result
actions and behaviors that created the result. Teachers may need to help them see those relationships in the beginnistudy with a partner? Did they turn in homework? Did they forget to do make-up work? Were they absent three d
In a traditional classroom, students are competing against every other student for a grade. Where you stand in rel
personalized classroom, students are competing against themselves. Where they stand this week compared to wherStudents see the teacher and fellow students as part of team that provides support for everyone elses personal impr
Creating the first measurement as a baseline score allows you to start from a neutral position and recognize effort
that work works. Because it is a neutral scoring system, it can be posted for teams within a period and/or in pericompetition between one class and another.
End of Week: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+36
+33
+30
+27
+24
+21
+18
+15
*12
+9
+6
+3
Baseline Growth:up 2
Growth:up 4
Growth:down 9
Growth:up 12
Growth:up 9
Growth:
Growth:-3
-6
-9
-12
-15
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Biology Success Tracker: UNDERSTANDING ECOSYSTEM
MUST KnowsUnit Test
Question #Questions
RightWhat I want to learn and do before final rubric
Able to describe how energybecomes available within the
ecosystem
Able to describe what
happens to energy as it flowsand to matter as it cyclesthrough the ecosystem
Able to identify and describe
the relationship between
living and non-living factorsin an ecosystem
Able to identify trends
Able to create graph
Able to use graphs to identify
and analyze problems
Able to make predictions
about environmental changes
Recall, interpret, and use the
twelve key vocabulary related
to ecosystem
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________________________________
World History Period ______
LEARNING JOURNEY:_______________________________________________________________
SKILLCONCEPT
TERM
Im under water!!Glub-Glub
Id float with alife jacket.
Treading wateron my own
Swimming toShore
Land Ho!
==================================
Test Analysis on
Q#missed
IN YOUR OWN WORDS (short),what was this question asking?
What do we need to teach/do/learnto get it right when you see it again?
By when??
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Developing Departmental Assessment and Grading Practices
Remember:
*What works for one department may not work for another department. For example, in a course such as
speech, foreign language, or music, participation may need to be very specific, serve a very critical role inlearning, and thus be given larger weight than it would in mathematics. Likewise, practice at home may bemore potent and prevalent for some courses than for others, etc.
*Let some departments move more quickly than others. Another contributing factor is departmental culture some departments may be more willing and ready to embrace best practice than others, and thus their firstyear work surrounding effective grading and assessment practice may be ahead of other departments. That isokay, as long as each department is beginning to take steps to align their current practice with proven best
practice.============================================================================Our current practices are not only strongly rooted in tradition, they are strongly rooted in a belief it is the right
thing to do. Like urban myths, many of our strongly held beliefs have actually been clearly shown to beuntrue. The following beliefs, however, have been shown to be true. If you dont agree with at leastthe first
three statements (that are verified by overwhelming evidence), then it will be virtually impossible to developassessment and grading practices that maximize student learning and motivation.
1) Human beings make significant changes in their lives only when they are in an environment where theyfeel genuinely cared about.
2) The threat of a low grade is much more likely to motivate high achieving students than low achievingstudents.
3) There is little or no evidence that repeated failure makes people more responsible.4) One of the easiest ways for human beings to avoid the responsibility of failure is to quit trying.5) There is a major difference between making it difficult for students to failand making it easy to get
passing grades without much work and rework.
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To wind up with the highest quality outcome, follow these seven steps:
1st: ASSESSMENT LITERACY There is a preponderance of clear evidence about what works and what
doesnt; what is good for student motivation and learning, and what is detrimental. Any discussion or decision
about grading and assessment practices must not take place until at least a foundational understanding ofproven best practice is clearly communicated and understood within a department. Department Chair canexpose (or revisit) a few key articles with their teachers through jigsaw reading, joint reading, or their ownsynthesis of the research and practice about what we know works best to both increase learning, and increase
motivation and responsibility.
2nd
: ASSESSMENT PHILOSOPY Department Chair should work with their teachers to develop adepartmental philosophy surrounding the Integrity of the Grade, by answering the following questions:
Why do we grade? Which of those reasons is most important? (rank order) What do we want a grade to represent about what a student has mastered in our content area and
will remember and be able to use later? Are we confident we have a quality over quantity approach? (no more than 6-7 top notch assignments
per unit.) Have we bundled where possible and appropriate? Are we proud of our assignments and assessments? (proficient or above, engaging, personalized)
Have we compared and analyzed? When, how, and how much do we want to work on those together? Are we using homework as assessments FOR learning adequately?
Can we ethically and concretely show others that we haveparity in gradingand equity of service?To what extent are we willing to do so?
How do we want to communicate our philosophy to students and parents? How do we want to communicate progress to students and parents? Where on the philosophical continuum are we willing to be this year on the key issues that increase
student learning and motivation? Is this lip service or will it become a deeply held departmental belief and our professional practice?
How can we support each other to live up to this philosophy?
3rd
: ASSESSMENTS OF LEARNING
4th
: ASSESSMENTS FOR LEARNING
5th: PERSONALIZED PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS6
th: SUPPORT SYSTEMATIZED & NONINVITATIONAL
Then...7th:GRADING PROTOCOLS
Determine how assignments and grades will match up with powerful standards. Determine which items are formative and which are summative. Determine the number of authentic assessment experiences to be expected each term. Determine appropriate weight for key components of our content learning design. Develop appropriate rubric or description of basic, proficient, above proficient, and exceeds
expectations (or A,B,C, F or 4,3,2,1 etc.).
Develop our practice regarding Insufficient evidence versus opting out. Establish appropriate grade determination practices versus averaging. Determine how best to give specific feedback on 21stCentury Skills. Determine how we want our grade books to look.
For more information, contact Billie Donegan or Joe DiMartino at 401-828-0077 [email protected].
There are a whole set of top-notch practicesthat yield high results in these four categories.
It is helpful, but not mandatory, for these to bedeveloped before #7, as long as you intend to
begin developing and addressing themASAP.