Practical Solutions for Serious Problems in Standards-Based Grading

Thomas R. Guskey, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Chicago’s renowned Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistical Analysis (MESA) program, he began his career in education as a middle school teacher, served as an administrator in the Chicago Public Schools, and was the first Director of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning, a national educational research center. He is the author/editor of twenty-seven books and over three hundred articles published in prominent research journals as well as Educational Leadership, Kappan, and The School Administrator. Dr. Guskey served on the Policy Research Team of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, and on the task force to develop the National Standards for Professional Development. He was named a Fellow in the American Educational Research Association and was awarded the Association’s prestigious Relating Research to Practice Award. He was also awarded Learning Forward′s Outstanding Contribution to the Field Award and Phi Delta Kappan′s Distinguished Educator Award. Perhaps most unique, in the 158-year history of his undergraduate institution, Thiel College, he is one of only three graduates to receive the Outstanding Alumnus Award and be inducted into the Thiel College Athletic Hall of Fame. His most recent books include Implementing Mastery Learning (2023), Instructional Feedback: The Power, the Promise, the Practice (with Smith & Lipnevich, 2023); Get Set, Go! Creating Successful Grading and Reporting Systems (2020), What We Know About Grading (with Brookhart, 2019), and On Your Mark: Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting (2015). He may be contacted by email at guskey@uky.edu, Twitter at @tguskey, or at www.tguskey.com.

"A very well-written, well-researched work with excellent documentation. It is obvious the contributors are experts and have the ability to communicate their expertise well."

• 1. Introduction - Thomas R. GuskeyThe Difficulty of ChangeBackground and FormatContent SummaryOur HopeReferences2. Grading Policies That Work Against Standards...and How to Fix Them - Thomas R. GuskeyPolicy #1: Grading "On the Curve"Policy #2: Selecting the Class ValedictorianPolicy #3: Using Grades as a Form of PunishmentPolicy #4: Using Zeros in GradingPolicy #5: Hodgepodge GradingSummaryReferences3. The Challenges of Grading and Reporting in Special Education: An Inclusive Grading Model - Lee Ann JungWhy Does Special Education Grading Matter?Grading AdaptationsImplications of Standards-Based GradingInclusive Grading ModelStep 1: Determine If Accomodations or Modifications Are NeededStep 2: Establish Standards for Modified AreasStep 3: Determine the Need for Additional GoalsStep 4: Apply Equivalent Grading Practices to Appropriate StandardsStep 5: Communicate the Meaning of the GradesSummaryReferences4. Assigning Fair, Accurate, and Meaningful Grades to Students Who Are English Language Learners - Shannon O. SampsonChallenges of Grading Students Who Are English Language LearnersSpecial ConsiderationsAccommodationsModificationsCurrent Research and Knowledge BaseRecommendations for Effective CommunicationImplications for Educational Policy and PracticeSteps Toward Better PracticeCommunicationReflectionReferences5. Legal Issues of Grading in the Era of High-Stakes Accountability - Jake McElligott, Susan BrookhartCurrent Research and Knowledge BaseWhat Is a Grade and Who Assigns It?Students and Legal Issues in GradingDue Process and Equal ProtectionGrade ReductionsConfidentialityTeachers and Legal Issues in GradingFirst AmendmentLiabilityImplications for Policy and PracticeConfidentialityGrade PenaltiesAppeals Policies and Due ProcessEducator ResponsibilitiesRecommendations for ImprovementReferencesAppendix6. Fostering Consistency Between Standards-Based Grades and Large-Scale Assessment Results - Megan Welsh, Jerry D′AgostinoDescription of the ProblemOverview of Standards-Based Grading in the DistrictUnderstanding Teachers′ Assessment StylesAssessing Most StandardsGrading on Achievement, Not EffortCreating or Borrowing Assessments to Supplement Text-Provided TestsTracking Performance Skill-by-SkillFocusing on Attainment of Standards Instead of the District TextGrading With End-of-Unit AssessmentsOther Grading StrategiesFocus on Overall AchievementFrequency of Assessment for Grading PurposesMultiple Assessment ApproachesClear Grading MethodsImplicationsChanges in Report Card FormatOrganizing for Standards-Based GradingLack of Alignment Between District-Adopted Texts and State StandardsSkepticism From Parents and TeachersRecommendationsApproaches to Organizing Grade BooksUsing Diagnostic, Formative, and Summative AssessmentsSeparating Content Area Grades From EffortSelecting a Method for Computing GradesDifferentiate Teaching to the Standards From Teaching to the AssessmentReferences7. Synthesis of Issues and Implications - James H. McMillanCurrent Grading PracticesKey Role of Teacher JudgmentThe Fundamental Purpose of Standards-Based GradingValidity of Standards-Based GradingFairness in Standards-Based GradingStandards-Based Grading and Student MotivationStudent Standards-Based Self-GradingStandards-Based Grading and FeedbackWhere Do We Go From Here?ReferencesIndex