Grading Update for Parents

August 2006

Ways People Use Grades

• Communication to parents and others

• Student self-evaluation

• Select, identify, or group students

• Provide incentives

• Evaluate the effectiveness of instructional programs

• Provide evidence of students’ lack of effort or inappropriate responsibility

Thomas Guskey, ASCD Conference, 2005

Why Change?

• Growing emphasis on standards and performance assessments

• Demand for more and better information about student learning progress

• Advancement in technology allows for more efficient reporting of detailed information

• Grading and Reporting recognized as one of educators’ most important responsibilities

• Growing gap between our knowledge base and common practice in grading and reporting

• Need for validity• Need for reliability

Weaknesses of Traditional Grading

• Validity (Does not measure what it is supposed to)

• Reliability (Is not consistent between classes or schools)

• Student Motivation and Engagement (learning stops when most students see a grade)

• Inadequate information• Fails to inform students of ways to correct and

improve• Provides a road-block for teachers to individualize

instruction (both remediation and enrichment)

This Happens in a Traditional System

• Student who has demonstrated mastery of ALL of the standards, but fails the class

• Student who has demonstrated mastery of only SOME of the standards, but passes the class

• Student who turns in everything and follows every direction and makes an A

• Student who fails every test and passes the class• Student who does well on every test and does poorly in the

class• Students who would receive different grades for the same

coursework with another teacher• Student who takes a course and who do not get exposed to

all of the standards required• Student who does well in a class and fails the CRCT or EOCT

The average doesn’t tell the real story, does it?

• Complete information about student achievement of standards

• Clear expectations for parents and students• Consistent accountability to high standards• Grades assigned based on clear criteria and multiple

assessments• Validity and Reliability • Academic grade only reflects student

progress/achievement of standards• Reports non-academic topics, such as effort and

behavior, separately• Should provide predictions as to achievement on

standardized tests• Increased student involvement, engagement and

achievement

Why is Forsyth County Doing This?

• Improve Student Engagement

• Improve Student Achievement

• Increase Accountability

• Provide Valid Grading

• Provide Reliable Grading

• Align our practices to the Georgia Performance Standards/State of Georgia

Standards-Based Classrooms

• Base units and lessons upon Georgia Performance Standards

• Create a balanced classroom assessment program based upon Assessment FOR Learning principles

• Design engaging and effective lessons• Grade student performances against known and

rigorous criteria• Report student performance against standards

A Forsyth County initiative since 1998. A State of Georgia initiative since 2004.

Plans for 2006-2007

• No Pilot Program for 2006-2007• Only K – 3 will report using 3, 2 or 1• Determine policies and procedures for utilizing

A, B, C, or F and standards-based reporting for grades 4 – 12 for the future

• Maintain and communicate commitment to valid and reliable grading and reporting

• Maintain and communicate commitment to standards-based education

• Increase teacher knowledge and use of best practice in classroom assessment

What Does the Report Card Look Like?

Click Clip-Art to see the Second Grade Report Card

What Does the Criteria for Achievement Look like?

Uses place value Identifies, recognizes, and writes the place value of any two-digit number or higher using a variety of diagrams, models, and number sentences. (ex. expanded form)

Identifies, recognizes, and writes the place value of some two-digit number using a variety of diagrams, models, and number sentences. (ex. expanded form)

Does not identify, recognize, and write the place value of any two-digit number using a variety of diagrams, models, and number sentences. (ex. expanded form)

Applies money skills Counts any coin combination.

Inconsistently counts a collection of coins.

Does not count a collection of coins.

Compares and orders numbers

Compares pairs of numbers less than 100 and number sentences using >, <, or = and writes them in ascending and descending order. (ex. 58+40 > 28+40)

Compares pairs of numbers less than 100 using >, <, or = or writes them in ascending or descending order.

Does not compare pairs of numbers less than 100 using >, <, or = or writes them in ascending or descending order.

Computes addition and subtraction facts fluently

Solves 45 or more one-digit addition facts in three minutes.

Solves 31-44 one-digit addition facts in three minutes.

Solves less than 30 one-digit addition facts in three minutes.

A Small Excerpt from the Second Grade Math Rubric for First Quarter

3 2 1

Key Action Steps For the District To Improve Grading and Reporting

• Improve Internal Communication

• Improve External Communication

• Improve Professional Learning for Teachers

• Find Exemplars from around the nation

Key Researchers

• Robert Marzano• Rick Stiggins• Dylan Black• Paul Wiliam• Jay McTighe• Grant Wiggins• Ken O’Connor• John Hattie• Susan Brookhart • Tom Guskey

Recommended Reading:

How’s My Kid Doing?: A Parent’s Guide to Grades, Marks, and Report Cards by Thomas R. Guskey (2002)