Rethinking Letter Grades

Caren Cameron, M.Ed. (1949-2021) retired from a long and varied career in education. She was a teacher for over 30 years and became a District Principal for Educational Programs in Sooke School District #62. As a workshop leader and facilitator, and university instructor, she spent time working with colleagues across North America on a variety of literacy and assessment topics. She has co-authored several practical books to assist busy teachers.Kathleen Gregory, M.Ed. has retired from a wide-ranging career in education. She taught in elementary, middle and secondary schools and became a district curriculum coordinator and a district support teacher for classroom teachers and school teams who were integrating students with special needs. Kathleen was an instructor for assessment courses at the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University, and worked with colleagues across BC on strategies in literacy and assessment.

The cover promises “A Five-Step Approach for Aligning Letter Grades to Learning Standards”, and it is deceptively small, at 72 pages, and is a quick read at about an hour. Despite its small size, this book changed everything as far as my assessment process is concerned.

• ContentsIntroductionWho Is This Book For?What Is This Book About?Why Use a Different Approach? Why Now?How Is This Book Organized?What Are Our Intentions for Writing This Book?1. Arriving at Letter Grades: Focus on NumbersSome Key Research FindingsChanging our Focus2. Arriving at Letter Grades: Focus on LearningThe Five-Step Process3. Arriving at Letter Grades: Focus on Working It ThroughStep 1: Identify Three to Five Big Ideas for One Subject AreaStep 2: Write Three Levels of Performance for Each Big IdeaStep 3: Identify Evidence that Shows Student PerformanceStep 4: Highlight Descriptions of Learning on the Learning MapStep 5: Determine a Letter Grade (and a Percentage if Necessary)4. Arriving at Letter Grades: Focus on QuestionsFrequently Asked Questions5. Rethinking Letter Grades: Focus on Personal FindingsThree RemindersSeven FindingsAppendix 1: Example of Conversion from a Letter Grade to a PercentageAppendix 2: Big Ideas for Different Subject AreasAppendix 3: Descriptive Language for Learning MapsAppendix 4: Parent BrochureAppendix 5: Conversation CardsAppendix 6: Article: “Arriving at Letter Grades: Get Closer to the Learning”