Are Grading Policies Helping or Hurting Students?

By: Meghan Blowes

Learning Targets:

Describe the grading policies on students performance and motivation
Compare and contrast traditional and standard base grading practices
Student will be able to develop a student-center grading policy that focuses on equity, motivation, and mastery of learning

Picture a student in your head. Imagine the student is exceptionally hard working, always participate, always turns in their work, and show up to work for your class everyday. Now imagine that their grade is dragged down by one or two test scores. Now imagine a different students who aces every test but doesn't show up not ready to work and does not participates in class. Grading policies can shape a students motivation, self esteem, engagement, and success. Are tradition grading policies truly effective?

What's the difference between Standard Based Grading Policies and Traditional Based Grading Polices?:

Typical assessments sometimes include participation and behavior that would not show a student's academic promise, low-stake formative assessments with descriptive feedback, encouraging reassessment for student growth (Brookhart, 2017). Huey et al. (2022) offers research-based evidence on the success of SBG, finding that SBG to better academic achievement by focusing on skill mastery rather than on behavior. SBG focuses on the mastery of learning objectives supporting student growth and academic achievement while traditional grading standards focus on behavior, effort, and participation that research suggests hinders student growth. The below chart help clarify the differences.

Please fill out the below entry ticket:

How can grading Impact student motivation?

How can grading policies be improved?

Clear and consistant grading standards: Teacher should define learning criteria and communicate effectively (Boleslavsky & Cotton 2015)
Emphaze improvement and growth over letter grades: Encouraging reassessments can help develop mastery (Guskey & Brookhart, 2019).
Reducing the impact of zero: Student growth can negatively be affect by zeros, missing assignments, curve grading, and ranking systems (Brookhart, 2017).
Separate behavior for academics: Effort and participation should be assessed separately from mastery of content (Brookhart, 2017)
Consider FAST grading strategies: Include the strategies for Fair, Accurate, Specific, and Timely grading, shifting focus from crippling measures to proactive feedback, engaging students in their education (Reeves, 2006).

Test your knowledge

Summary

Grading policies should foster student growth, not demoralize it. Traditional methods can affect a students motivation and attitutde toward their grades negatively. Research based grading policy like FAST and SBG can promote motivation and engagement creating an environment where student want to learn. How will your grading policies engage students in a positive environment to promote academic achievement?

How I used AI

ChatGPT
Canva
invideoAI
Quizmaker

I used ChatGpt to help with my writing and ideas. I also used invideo AI to help create an interactive video with a prompt, the prompt I used was "a high school student who struggles with test anxiety. In a traditional grading system, one poor test score lowers her entire average, leaving her discouraged. The same high school student under SBG, receives feedback and is given opportunities to improve through reassessments. Her motivation increases as she sees her progress over time." I also used Quizmaker to create the quizz, generated from my lesson essay and clarified by ChatGpt. Canva helped me create a chart to compare different grading policies. AI helped me organize my thoughts and ideas into an easier format. I think AI helped my writing and provide structure creating a better understanding of the lesson topic. Overall AI enhanced my lesson between the organizatin, the creative charts, interactive quiz, and AI generated video providing an enhanced lesson.

References

Boleslavsky, R., & Cotton, C. (2015). Grading standards and student motivation. Journal of Educational Research, 108(4), 278-292.

Brookhart, S. M. (2017). How to use grading to improve learning. ASCD.

Guskey, T. R., & Brookhart, S. M. (2019). What we know about grading: What works, what doesn’t, and what’s next. ASCD.

Huey, M. G., et al. (2022). A comparative analysis of traditional and standards-based grading in secondary mathematics. Educational Review, 74(2), 189-205.

Reeves, D. B. (2006). Elements of grading: A guide to effective practice. Solution Tree Press.

Page updated

Report abuse