1

Grading and Differentiation:

Reconcilable Differences?

A Practitioner’s

Journey

Carol Tomlinson

University of Virginia

cat3y@virginia.edu

To Untangle the Grading KnotWe need to consider two elements:

1) Grading issues of particular concern in a differentiated

classroom

2) Best practices in assessment

and grading

3) Whether best practices in assessment

& grading would adequately address

the issues related to grading &

differentiation.

Unless we understand both the issues related to academically diverse classrooms and best practices in assessment & grading (and theirinterrelationship) we’ll stay tied in a knot! And unless the former leads us to solve the latter, we have a problem as well.

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The power of grades to impact

students’ lives creates a

responsibility for giving grades

in a way that reflects both

assessment best practice &

sensitivity to the human

beings we teach.

3

Some ?s about Grading &

Academic Diversity! How do learners benefit from a grading system that reminds everyone

that students who speak English as a second language do not perform

as well as students without disabilities or for whom English is not

their native tongue?

! What do we gain by telling our most able learners that they are

“excellent” on the basis of a standard that requires modest effort,

calls for n intellectual risk, necessitates no persistence, and demands

that they develop few academic coping skills?

! In what ways do our current grading practices motivate struggling or

advanced learners to persist in the face of difficulty?

! Is there an opportunity for struggling learners to encounter excellence

in our current grading practices?

! Is there an opportunity for advanced learners to encounter struggle in

our current grading practices?

Tomlinson

What is Fair in School?

Making Sure Everyone is Treated Exactly Alike?

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What’s Fair?Daniel was born with legs that won’t carry him.

What’s fair about that?

Juan’s dad doesn’t smile because his back is too tired from picking beans or apples or whatever is growing in somebody’s field in the next place.

Roy doesn’t have a dad, smiling or not.

What’s fair about that?

Elise doesn’t talk. She doesn’t know the language of the lunchroom table, so she has no voice. No friends.

Lavon doesn’t talk because he’s afraid. His mom is sick and maybe won’t get well. He is silent but his eyes get darker every day.

Jessie has a head full of ideas that should make him happy and probably would if there were someone to talk to about them. Allthose ideas make a wall between him and the people who step back when he talks.

What’s Fair?Matthias is sixteen now. He’s been an indentured servant to the alphabet for

over a decade. There is no end to his bondage in his view.

Lindeen means to make people happy and takes the wrong path every time she tries. All the kids hate her. She must know her compass is broken. She looks sad all the time, unless it is scared.

Derek is good in math and poor and Black and doesn’t know how to make the pieces of a life he imagines come together in the dreams he doesn’t tell his friends about because maybe they’d be mad. And they’re what he has and he can’t risk the loss of them.

What’s fair in those worlds?

What’s fair anywhere?

And all those lives come together in the place called school where fair is everything.

What is fair in the place that demands all those lives that know little of fairness when they come?

Tomlinson ‘04

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What is Fair in School?

1. What role should “fair” play in school?

2. What would “fair” mean in school in order for

school to work for the full diversity of

learners?

3. How does “fair” generally work in schools

now? How does that definition of fair play

out for various learners?

4. What would “fair” mean in regard to grades?

All learners need

a balanced success

to effort ratio

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Struggling

Learners:

Heavy Effort

Little Success

Advanced

Learners:

Great Success,

Little Effort

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The Unspoken Effect of Grades

For some students, the certainty of praise

and success in school has become a drug;

they continually need more.

For many other students, year upon year of

“not good enough” has eroded their

intellectual self-confidence and resulted in

a kind of mind-numbing malaise.

Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, p. 15.

What role should grades

play in regard to the

“success to effort” ratio?

In other words, can we

do anything to moderate

negative motivational

effects of grades?

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A Guide for Grown-Ups: Essential Wisdom from the Collected Works of Antoine de Saint Exupery

A belief in effort-based achievement is critical to success in school…

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Essential Question: To what degree would adhering to the key principles of

effective grading address the differentiation-related concerns about grading

while eliminating error and communicating clearly to students & parents?

We should seek to ensure that grades are:

1)RELIABLE—

That is, that if we were to use the same

measure a couple of days, weeks, or months

later, the results would be relatively the same

for a given student.

2) VALID—

That is, we actually measured what we meant

to measure.

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X = T + E

The Observed Score = the True Score + Error

The Grade We Give Really Indicates What the Student

Knows, Understands, and Can Do + Extraneous Factors

that Get in the Way of Indicating Precisely What the

Student Knows, Understands and Can Do.

For Grades to Be Valid, We Have to Do All We Can Do

to Eliminate Error.

That’s the Game Plan for Grading: To Ensure that Our

Grades are as Close as Possible to the Student’s

“True Score.”

To Minimize Error, We Need to Attend to:

Grading Variables:Eliminate any confusion about what the student will be expected to know,

understand, and do. Is the learning target absolutely clear?

Reporting Variables:Ensure that we report out clearly the factors that give a clear

multi-dimensional perspective on a particular student as a learner. Are

audiences clear about the student’s development as a learner?

“Knowing the Kid” Variables: Ensure that we adapt instruction based on accurate information in order to

support students in attaining the learning target. Am I doing what I can do

as a teacher to make sure the student has the best possible chance to hit

the learning target?

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Let’s examine

six key principles

of best-practice grading

to see if they would

help us eliminate

error, address concerns that

arise in regard to grading &

differentiation, & help balance

the success to effort ratio.

Principles of Effective Grading & Reporting

Principle #1

• It’s unwise to

over-grade

student work

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Diagnostic/Pre-assessment - assessment which takes place

prior to instruction; designed to determine a student's

attitude, skills or knowledge in order to identify student

needs.

Formative/On-Going - Assessment designed to provide

direction for improvement and/or adjustment to a

program for individual students or for a whole class,

e.g. observation, quizzes, homework, instructional

questions, exit cards, initial drafts/attempts, etc..

Summative/Final - Assessment/evaluation designed to

provide information to be used in making judgment

about a student’s achievement at the end of a

sequence of instruction, e.g. final drafts/attempts,

tests, exams, assignments, projects, performances.

To Avoid Over-Grading

• Never grade pre-assessments

– Students have had no opportunity to learn

• Grade on-going assessments sparely

– Students need opportunity to practice, analyze work,

& learn from errors in a safe context

• Use summative assessments as primary data

for grading

– Make sure assessments are squarely focused on the

criteria specified to students (KUDs)

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Students can be assessed or checked

on many things they do…

BUTeverything that is assessed and/or

checked does not need a score…

AND

every score should not be included in

the grade.

Kinds of feedback: Israel (1)

• 264 low and high ability year 7 pupils in 12 classes in 4 schools; analysis of 132 students at top and bottom of each class

• Same teaching, same aims, same teachers, same class work

• Three kinds of feedback: marks, comments, marks+comments

[Butler(1988) Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 58 1-14]

Feedback Gain Attitude

grades none top +ve

none bottom -ve

comments 30% all +ve

both none top +ve

none bottom -ve

From a presentation by Dylan Wiliam - “Inside the Black Box”

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Principles of Effective Grading & Reporting

Principle #2

Grades should be

based on clearly

specified learning

goals

Clear Learning Goals Are:

• Known to the student and teacher throughout the learning cycle

• Essential rather than tangential or trivial

• The unambiguous focus of assessments

• The focus of feedback

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“Systems that are aligned - curriculum,

teaching, and assessment - have a

greater chance of success for students.”

Glenda Lappan, NCTM News Bulletin, October, 1998

Principles of Effective Grading & Reporting

Principle #3

Grades should be

criterion-based,

not norm-based

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Perhaps the most serious

negative consequences

of traditional grading practices

have come from the use of

normative comparisons.

Preparing Teachers for A Changing World • Editors Darling-Hammond and John Bransford

Press. -Jossey-Bass • San Francisco. CA • P. 304

(1 of 4)

In a series of studies, Butler (1987, 1988)

and Butler and Nisan (1986) found that

normatively distributed grades resulted in

lower interest, less willingness to persist,

and lower performance compared

feedback.

Preparing Teachers for A Changing World • Editors Darling-Hammond and John Bransford • Jossey-Bass •San Francisco. CA • p.304

(2 of 4)

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Preparing Teachers for A Changing World • Editors Darling-Hammond and John Bransford • Jossey-Bass •San Francisco. CA • p. 304

(3 of 4)

In a classic study, Harackiewicz, Abrahams,

and Wageman (1987) found that evaluation

based on social norms reduced interest in a

task whereas evaluation based on achieving

a predetermined standard increased interest.

Preparing Teachers for A Changing World • Editors Darling-Hammond and John Bransford • Jossey-Bass •San Francisco. CA • P. 304

(4 of 4)

In a classic study, Harackiewicz, Abrahams,

and Wageman (1987) found that evaluation

based on social norms reduced interest in a

task whereas evaluation based on achieving

a predetermined standard increased interest.

Stipek’s (1996) general conclusion from this literature was

that evaluation, especially of difficult tasks, tends to

undermine intrinsic interest. However, the exception she

identified is noteworthy and foreshadows our own

recommendations for grading practices: “Substantive

evaluation that provides information about competencies

and guidance for future efforts, and evaluation that is

based on mastery rather than social norms, however,

appear not to have these negative effects and can even

enhance intrinsic interest in academic tasks.”

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In Norm-Based Grading Systems

The Human Factor Suffers:

• There will necessarily be winners and losers competing for scarce rewards.

• The implications for learning environment are predictably negative.

• The outcomes for both struggling and advanced learners carry high negatives as well.

In Norm-Based Grading Systems

Clarity of Communication Suffers

• A student might receive an “A” for being the best

performer in a group of low performers. An “A”

thus becomes the “best worst.”

• A student might make a “C” despite quality work

because the group of students is so strong. A

“C” then begins to mean, “Knows the stuff, but

doesn’t look so great compared to

the others.”

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“Grading on the curve makes learning a highly competitive

activity in which students compete against one another for

the few scarce rewards (high grades) distributed by the

teacher. Under these conditions, students readily see that

helping others become successful threatens their own

chances for success. As a result, learning becomes a game of

winners and losers; and because the number of rewards is

kept arbitrarily small, most students are forced to be

losers.”

Guskey, Thomas R. (Editor), Communicating Student Learning: The 1996 ASCD Yearbook),

ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1996, 18-19

Using a Criterion-Base for Grading

• Makes the meaning of grades clearer

• Removes the need for

winners and losers

• Helps align instruction

& grading

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Principles of Effective Grading and

Reporting

Principle # 4

Data used for grading

must be valid (measure

what we intend to measure).

That is, the data must be free

of “Grade Fog.”

Five Quality Standards for Assessment

•appropriate and clear target

•clear purpose

•method(s) matched to target (and purpose)

•appropriate sample of the learning domain

•control for all sources of interference

Based on the ideas of Rick Stiggins, ATI, Portland, OR

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Measure What you Mean to Measure

• If you want to determine a student’s ability

to demonstrate the relationship between

density & buoyancy, results shouldn’t be

clouded by:

– Lack of proficiency in writing in English

– A missing name on a paper

– Difficulty following directions

– Rewards for unused bathroom passes

Common Sources of Bias and Distortion

Problems that can occur with the student

Lack of reading skill

Emotional upset

Poor health

Lack of testwiseness

Evaluation anxiety

Problems that can occur with the setting

Physical conditions – light, heat, noise, etc.

Problems that can occur with the assessment itself

Directions lacking or unclear

Poorly worded questions/prompts

Insufficient time

Based on the ideas of Rick Stiggins

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Principles of Effective Grading and

Reporting

Principle # 5

Grade later in the

learning cycle

rather than

earlier.

“The key question is, “What information provides the

most accurate depiction of students’ learning at this

time?” In nearly all cases, the answer is “the most

current information.” If students demonstrate that

past assessment information no longer accurately

reflects their learning, that information must be

dropped and replaced by the new information.

Continuing to rely on past assessment data

miscommunicates students’ learning.”

Guskey, Thomas R. (Editor), Communicating Student Learning: The 1996 ASCD Yearbook,

ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1996, 21.

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“. . . students often say, “I have to get a B on the

final to pass this course.” But does that make

sense? If a final examination is truly

comprehensive and students’ scores accurately

reflect what they have learned, should a B level

of performance translate to a D for the course

grade?”

Guskey, Thomas R. (Editor), Communicating Student Learning: The 1996 ASCD Yearbook,

ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1996, 21.

In effective classrooms, one of the most

consistent practices of successful teachers

is the provision of multiple opportunities to learn.

The consequence for a student who

fails to meet a standard is not a low grade,

but rather the opportunity—indeed the

requirement—to resubmit his or

her work.

D. Reeves (2000, Dec.). Standards are not enough: Essential transformations for

school success. NASSP Bulletin, p. 11.

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Some Possible Solutions

What About Report Cards?

Principles of Effective Grading and

Reporting

Principle # 6

When it’s time for

report cards,

practice 3-P

grading.

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Report Card

3.33

B

B-

A-

A

C+

A

B+

Overall

Grade

Above

Grade

Level

Current GPA

French

Chorus

PE

English

US History

Science

Math

Below

Grade

Level

At

Grade

Level

Course Title

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Report Card (Marzano, 2000)

3.433.243.33Current GPA

BBBGeography

ACB-Chorus

B+AA-PE

AAAAm Lit

CBC+US History

BAAAP Physics

ACB+Alg II & Trig

NonacademicAcademicOverallCourse Title

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Report Card examples

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Too often, educational tests, grades,

and report cards are treated by

teachers as autopsies when they

should be viewed as physicals.

(Reeves 2000, p.10)

School report cards are still hopelessly

narrow, containing little information about

student achievement and concealing more

than they reveal.”

Mike Schmoker (2002)

The Trouble With Report

Cards…

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30

This Bridge

This bridge will only take you halfway there

To those mysterious lands you long to see.

Through Gypsy camps and swirling Arab fairs

An moonlit woods where unicorns run free.

So come and walk awhile with me and share

The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I’ve

known. But this bridge will only take you

halfway there--

The last few steps you’ll have to take alone.

Shel Silverstein

A Light in the Attic