Part 1: What does the data say about grades?
Consider the scatter plot above, which represents data from an LAUSD high school. On the scatter plot, each point represents a student. Student grades in 11th grade ELA (x-axis) are compared to their scores on the 11th grade ELA SBAC (y-axis). SBAC scores: 4=Standard Exceeded, 3=Standard Met, 2=Standard Nearly Met, and 1=Standard Not Met.
Given this information, what story does the scatter plot tell? What might be some areas of concern? Support your analysis with evidence.
Part 2: What do students say about grades?
Students Answer Questions About Grading – Consider asking your students what they think about grades. You could have them respond orally, on paper, or create a Padlet (a free electronic Post it notes forum). Here’s an example of the responses one teacher got when she did exactly that.
Part 3: Would you like to read more on this topic?
“Grading Policies That Work Against Standards . . . And How To Fix Them” – In “Grading Policies That Work Against Standards. . . . And How To Fix Them” Thomas R. Guskey, author of numerous books on Standards-Based Grading, suggests remedies to four traditional grading practices: grading on a curve, valedictorian selection, punishment grading, and using zeros in grading.
A History of Grading -This academic article provides a brief timeline and description of the evolution of grades.
Making the Grade: A History of the A-F Marking Scheme – This lengthy academic article on the history of grades outlines the origins and permutations of grades over time since 1785.
Read one or more of the resources above. In the comments section below, cite textual evidence and explain “what might be some problems with traditional K-12 grading practices?”
Grading for Learning 
Part 1: The data shows that grades are not necessarily aligned to the standards and overall understanding. As we know, there are many other factors that contribute to students. While they are doing what is needed to pass the class, they are not meeting the state standards. We need to made grades and assessments to be more aligned to that is on the SBAC
Part2: One of the most prominent issues brought up by students was the disconnect from the grade and their actual learning. They do not feel like their learning is being reflected, as well as feeling like grades become competitive and become more about who can do the best rather than who is obtaining the knowledge. I also thought it was interesting to see one student said grades are used by colleges to see how intelligent they are.
Part 3: Mark Durm in “A History of Grading” almost proves and backs up the data above and the comments from students regarding their opinions on grades. He states that students particular in college go for classes that are easy to pass(or that don’t count absences against their grade!) rather than where they can learn something valuable and worthwhile. If students in grade school would be able to do the same, the data would be a little different where students are getting awesome grades yet not really learning anything. Personally, while I did look for a professor who was not a harsh grader, to be it was really important for me to learn something especially in my major courses. Like a L.A Times article we read previously, getting good grades feels great but at the end you might be placed under different circumstances like that young black student would realized his understanding and learning we not up to par to the grades he received or the expectations of a UC school.
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Part 1
The data shows that the SBAC scores and grades are not aligned to the academic performance. All if not most students who received an “A’ should have scored in Standards Met or Exceeded. There are several who passed the class, but did not meet the standards. This discrepancy in grading and performance test calls for a closer visit at grading policies. Even students who failed the class performed well on the SBAC according to the plot.
Part 2
According to the article one student said, “The purpose of grading is to judge someone’s skills and effort. Others mentioned “motivation” or “ranking system.” Students collectively expressed that grading is a form of measurement that represents value or quantity. For students, one single mark can be impactful and be interpreted in many ways. It can be influential and catastrophic. I think that each student creates their own interpretation based on their experiences with grades. However, when looked at historically there had to be a system or representation of how to measure learning. However, different learning styles and systems have caused confusion and irregularities.
Part 3
Reading and learning about traditions and the history of grading really allows us to analyze and explain the problem with the first scattered plot. It also helps us understand why students who put a lot of effort are rewarded with good grades, but struggle in SBAC and or college level courses. The problem is that these traditional practices are no longer supporting all learners and teachers across the nation need to revisit grading so that it represents learning rather than effort.
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Part 1 The scatter plot to me indicates that not all students perform well on all tests, all the time. It also might be an indication that teachers are not grading according to standards. The class grade might be a reflection of them showing effort in class and meeting the teacher’s criteria to earn that “A” but not meeting the state standards.
Part 2 Most of the students’ comments indicated a negative connotation to grading. I think student reflections are helpful to a teacher and can help them to adjust or modify their examination practices. I believe growth and learning are more important than a grade, but students also feel the pressure to maintain a high g.p.a.
Part 3 Thomas R. Guskey addresses in the text “Grading Policies That Work Against Standards…And How To Fix Them” problems with the current grading system. Not moving away with traditional grading systems will continue to have negative effects on learning and will deter students from learning content. Until practices are altered, students will continue to seek a grade rather than an education.
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In “A History of Grading,” Mark W. Durm begins with a poignant thought – “students probably consider grades a higher priority than learning.” It’s point I never considered before, but makes sense. Students want to earn a good grade and therefore, want – NEED – to know specifically what to know so they can adequately prepare for the items tested – not the items learned. Why would students want to waste their time memorizing information for which they will not be assessed?
Durm goes on to explain the focus for some students is on their grade point average (GPA). Given schools and colleges alike tend to use a percentile scale for grading, which then gets computed to a GPA, students are concerned about their averages, more so than the knowledge they’ve gleaned that would support them after graduation.
However, I must disagree with Durm’s position on “easy teachers.” Durm states that students often choose an easy teacher “rather than one from whom they may learn.” There are many “easy teachers” who simply explain the content better than others, or are more approachable to students with concerns. This does not necessarily equate to the students not learning from said teachers.
Durm goes on to quote I.E. Finkelstein to demonstrate that society seems to have a “blind faith” when it comes to percentile grading, which is truly an “uncalibrated instrument.” This brings to light that, as a society, we would never approve of medical or scientific instruments not accurately calibrated when used to collect data. So, why are we so readily accepting of an unregulated grading system?
Finkelstein opens up the fact that there is a large variability in the distribution of grades by different teachers for similar assignments. He goes on to state that grades also “infrequently are determiners of the student’s career.” This is yet another quite valid point as students who may earn fails due to low scores over skills, will more than likely not pursue careers that require further education. This, no doubt, correlates with the early days of colleges, when differentiating students “seemed to center around social class.” It seems this gradiation has only adapted to the progression of time.
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One main problem with traditional grading is that it as a student stated, “Grading is a negative influence on learning because it only provides student with a score to compare him/herself with others. The numbers mean very little in terms of having the student know on what they need to learn or improve.” This is a big problem for students, because when they receive a low grade, most teachers just move on and do not give the student feedback on how they can improve or what they did wrong to earn that low grade. Traditional grading leaves little to no room for communication between teacher and student. Some teachers have thirty-five plus students in their class. The problem is also most teachers are stuck in their ways, and do not want to change their traditional grading practices, but true educators will do what is best for their students learning.
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Part I:
The scatterplot shows that grades aren’t always aligned with SBAC performance. This demonstrates a disconnect between grades and SBAC performance. How is it that students earning a “A” would score a “1”? This shows inconsistent grading practices among teachers. What about the students scoring a “4” when they are earning an “F” in the class? This is a clear example of students who can score high on standardized tests that are perhaps not being challenged appropriately in the classroom. They show to have an “F”, but clearly are proficient in the ELA categories.
Part II:
Ben S
“I think that grading has a negative influence on learning because students think about the grade
rather then what they have learned.”
Ben’s response resonated with me the most since I have heard this same sentiment over the years. I make my best effort to tell the students to stop focusing so much on the grade and think about retaining the content.
Part III:
The phrase that resonated with me the most was the “entrepreneurial student”. This student “plays” the system in order to earn the highest possible grades by doing the least amount or least challenging amount of work. In college, I remember trying to schedule classes and workload based on what GPA I could earn. Back then, I don’t think I had the mindset of challenging myself despite what the outcome would be in the class. I don’t want me students to have the “entrepreneurial” mindset. I will continue to do my best to foster an environment of growth mindset and working toward proficiency.
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In Thomas Guskey ‘s 2001 article “Grading Policies that Work Against Standards… and How To Fix Them” he points out four different traditional school policies that impose procedural barriers and strategies to fix them. First he addresses grading “On the curve” and how all this does is to put students against students to compete for the few top grades. Students end up refusing to work or study with each other and will, in some cases, sabotage other student’s work in order to beat out the student for the higher grade. They will hide necessary library books or equipment needed for a project, etc. He concludes that the fairness of “grading on the curve” is really nothing but a myth. To correct this he states that grading should be done to specific learning criteria and not in reference to normative criteria, which is an inadequate description of a student’s progress and learning. Teachers should give a clear understanding of the standards they will use for their grading criteria.
Next, he points out that in selecting valedictorians it can have a negative impact on students when only one valedictorian is selected. There can be bitter competition between the top students to be that one and only. You not only have to excel, but you have to beat out every other student for that honor. The remedy is simple, just have a policy of selecting multiple valedictorians. One high school in Virginia has selected anywhere from 15-25 valedictorians every year, all deserving students, and thus eliminated the discrimination of singling out one student above all others, when many were deserving. The objection raised that colleges want a single valedictorian in order to award special scholarships was found to be untrue and that colleges are more interested in the rigor of the curriculum that the students experienced (Bracey 1999).
The third policy named was “Using Grades as a Form of Punishment” where teachers felt it was necessary to give failing grades as their “weapon of last resort” because the students did not comply with their requests and must suffer the consequences. But this practice has no educational value and in the long run has an adverse on the students. To remedy this his suggestion is to eliminate failing grades altogether and instead issue A,B,C or “I”. Where the I is incomplete and the students must preform additional work until their work is up to a passing level. Students are required to attend after school programs or Saturday classes to bring their grade up and those who don’t comply would go to summer school. He cites a middle school in Ohio where this is done and the motto of the teachers is, “if it is not done well, then it is not done!” This does require extra resources and a commitment from the community as well as the teachers but has proven to be very successful where implemented.
Lastly he addresses the common problem of Using Zeros in Grading. He suggests that many teachers use zeros as punishment for missed, late or incomplete assignments. But a zero is a poor reflection on what the student has learned or is able to do (Raebeck 1993). He uses the Olympics judging as an example of a fairer system, where the high and low marks are thrown out to get a truer reflection of the performance and to keep any one judge from controlling the event. There are better ways to motivate the students than the threat of giving out zeros, especially when you consider the negative side effects. The remedy for this practice is the same as the previous policy, to give an “I” (or incomplete) instead of a zero. Students would have to attend after school sessions or Saturday classes until their work is up to passing levels. They will learn to be more responsible and productive, and it will benefit them in the long run. Failure is not an option.
To sum it all up, teachers should stop using narrow-minded grading policies and start using broader policies that focus on a deeper concern for the students and assess them accurately to their true level and abilities.
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In the article “Students Answer Questions About Grading” students instinctively realize that our grading system is flawed. Many students state there is an emphasis on receiving a grade rather than actual learning. Other students feel that working towards a grade motivated them to learn. I believe that students understand that our grading system does not give an accurate picture of a student. But, that is all students know. Like us, they have been trained to chase the points as a measure of being a good student. This does not allow students to take risks or explore different interest. Many students will choose a teacher that is easy, or they will take classes that “look good” on their transcripts. The good students know how to get a good grade but not necessarily have knowledge of the subject they are studying.
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What might be some problems with traditional K-12 grading practices? Reviewing the data from the scatter plot diagram, it is evident that most of the students who performed at met or exceeded the standards on the SBAC also received A, B and C grades (college ready based upon their grades and SBAC scores). However, the data was more skewed for students who scored a 2 or 1 on the SBAC; some of these low performers actually earned As in the class. Perhaps those students had a bad day/s during the testing, or the class grades were possibly inflated. Quite a few students “earned” a C in class, but score woefully (1) on the SBAC; again, can the low SBAC scores be attributed to a bad day of testing or inflated grades that didn’t reflect mastery of the standards?
Regarding student responses about their grading, I agree with a student who commented that students were more concerned about grades than learning. It is incumbent upon me as a classroom teacher to provide clear feedback so that students know what they need to do in order to improve. A growth mindset, that student ability and effort should have a correlation, would encourage all students to do their best to achieve mastery of the standards.
According to Guskey in his article on grading policies, grading on a curve doesn’t allow students to show mastery of the work; there will always be the standard deviation of A, B, C, D, and F grades. Any student who shows mastery of the content should earn an A; conversely, any student who earns an F should be given constructive feedback in order to show mastery at a later time, possibly earning an A after learning the material. “…students must be graded in terms of what they have learned and are able to do, not in terms of their relative standing among classmates.”
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Part 1
The scatter plot shows that grades do not always correlate with performance on the SBAC. For example, not all students who received A’s scored in the proficient and advanced levels. Likewise, not all students who scored F’s and D’s scored in the nearly or not met levels. The concern is that grades are not good indicators of SBAC performance and therefore poses the question, Are grades or SBAC levels reliable?
Part 2
It’s interesting to see how students have different ideas about grades and how they motivate future performance.
Part 3
The problem with grading systems is that they do not always reflect real learning and have a history of faulty practices. One article states as a remedy to focus on learning outcomes, not norm referenced outcomes. The article states, “In educational settings where the central purpose is to have students learn, grades and reporting should always be done in reference to specific learning criteria.”
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Part 1:
What the data says about grades is that the SBAC Performance Levels and the grades students obtain have not a strong correlation. The graph shows some “A” students on level 1 of the SBAC performance levels. Likewise, there are some “F” students that are at level 4 of the SBAC performance levels. This could be interpreted, as the grades do not truly represent what students know or have learned. If this is the case, the current grading system needs to be revised and see if students are learning the required criteria and standards.
Part 2:
Students are more concerned about the grade they obtain than the actual knowledge they get. Once students have “passed” a class, they forget what they have learned. Some students claim that grades are meaningless. Other students believe that grades negatively affect their motivation to learn. They claim that if a student gets a zero, they lose motivation and become “withdrawn” from learning.
Part 3:
In the text “Grading Policies That Work Against Standards…And How To Fix Them” Thomas R. Guskey addresses four problems with current grading system. These issues are: grading on a curve, selecting valedictorians, the use of grades as a form of punishment, and using zeros in grading.
According to Guskey, these issues cause more negative effects on students and teachers. Among other effects, he mentions that obtaining good grades becomes so competitive that students see learning as a game of “winners and losers” and most students are forced to be losers, current grades do not communicate what students have learned or are able to do, grades are difficult to interpret and are meaningless, students lose opportunities just for having a GPA as little of “one-thousandth of a decimal point” lower than other students, low grades affect students emotionally, bad grades negatively affect teacher-student relationships, giving a zero to a student does not show how much he/she has learned or mastered learning standards.
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Part 1: i didn’t see a pattern except that the SBAC and grades in class were different.
Part 2: The main complaint is that students are more concerned with getting good grades than learning, a habit that has followed me all throughout my own educational career.
Part 3: Grading on the curve and giving low grades as punishment speak to me as being most unfair and detrimental. In a classroom full of advanced students, my own grades in high school biology were just average, but a semester earlier in a classroom full of low/failing students, I had an A in that class. I never could convince my high school biology teacher that this grading policy was wrong. Sadly, my beloved high school teacher never understood.
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Part 1:
According to the scatter plot, some of the academic grades and SBAC scores don’t correlate. For example, three students are receiving an “A” in class but scored a 1 on the SBAC. That means they did not meet the state standard. However, they are showing effort in class and they are meeting the teacher’s criteria to earn that “A” but not meeting the state standards. Hence, there is a confusion for everyone involved in the students’ environment, “How are these students passing the class and not passing the SBAC”. However, there are many factors that contribute to the students passing or scoring low on the SBAC.
Part 2:
One of the comments made by a student Kathy Li about grading really stood out to me, “Students don’t care about whether we understand the material or not. As long as we have a good grade is all that matters”. I have had students tell me that they want a good grade in class even though they are not motivated to improve using the feedback I have provided to them. Kathy goes on to state that students will take classes that are “easy” in order to raise their GPA score rather than take classes that are actually useful to them. This is very alarming because students are not challenging themselves to take the next level class like calculus or trigonometry. The students don’t want to risk getting a low grade so it won’t hurt their GPA.
Part 3
A universal grading system developed many consequences in schools. Jack Schneider shares one of the consequences that was pointed out by Richard Haswell, it resonated with me. “Another consequence was that students learned how to pursue rewarding grades while minimizing effort. The ‘entrepreneurial student’, Richard Haswell would later write, shops ‘for bargain courses.” Students learned to play the system so they can earn a higher GPA. Students dropped difficult classes years past and is still going on today. Students also share with each other, which teachers had an easier grading system. This reminds me of Rate My Professor, a website that allows you to rate your professor and also leave comments. I have seen secondary students using this website too or something similar. Students are looking for a less challenging path to take to have a higher GPA.
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