Grading Practices

Douglas Reeves, Ph.D.

Deland Middle School

2008-2009
Sample Action Research Project
Research Question
 How do differences in grading policy (and not differences
in student performance) influence student failure rates?
Method
 Faculty will examine identical student academic
performance and provide a grade.
Analysis
 Similarities indicate consistency and fairness;
dissimilarities indicate differences based on faculty
decisions, not student performance.
 Complete Learning Activity
Calculate the Final Grade for this Student

C, C, MA (Missing Assignment), D, C, B, MA,

MA, B, A

Group 1: A=100, B=90, C=80, D=70

Group 2: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1

Group 3: Choose your own system but you

must have a letter grade
2008 Research on Effective Grading
Practices
International sample of more than 1000
teachers and administrators
Significant differences in attitudes and
beliefs about grading practices
For copies of the latest research, go to
www.LeadandLearn.com, click on
Support, then click on Douglas Reeves’
presentations
Grading
Grades = Feedback to Improve Performance!
 If you have high levels of success and low failure rates, your policy is
sound and should be left alone.
 If you have low levels of success and high failure rates, what you are
doing is not working.
 The “Real World” is not “You have one chance at it and you’re done”.
 We seldom use “average” for anything else except grades.
 Grades must never be used as punishment. It doesn’t work!
 Rewards for work done daily are far greater than punishment for work
done late.
 The Driver’s License Test example – chance to “re-do/re-take”
Academic Corporal Punishment

Corporal Punishment - “We liked it!”

American Pediatric Society ruled it was
ineffective and doesn’t work in 1961.

Academic Corporal Punishment – “We like it!”

Should we respond, “That’s your opinion
and we’ll let you do it!”
Toxic (Ineffective) Grading Policies
The use of “zeroes” for missing work.
Consequence should be to complete the work!
The practice of using the “average” of all scores
during the grading period, a formula that
presumes that the learning early in the semester
is as important as learning at the end of the
semester. (Marzano 2000; O’Connor, 2007)
The use of the “grading period killer” – the single
project, test, lab, paper, or other assignment that
will make or break students.
Toxic Grading Practices and Alternatives

Toxic Alternative
“Zeroes” for missing  “Get ‘Er Done, Just Do It”,
work complete/submit missing
Average/Mean work
 Best representation of
Grading Period Killer:
work (Re-do, Re-submit)
One Test or Project
 Resilience, Personal
Responsibility (Don’t let
them off the hook!)
The Power of Zeroes Rick Wormeli, Middle Ground

Convert “zeroes” to “50s”

Conversion necessary so that any “calculating”
is mathematically justified.
Not using “zeroes” is a more accurate picture of
the students’ ability.
“Zero” has an undeserved and devastating effect
on students and their grades – so much that no
matter what student does, the “zero” distorts the
final grade as a true indicator of mastery.
Mathematically and ethically – unacceptable!
Negative Impact of “Zero” on a 100-Point
Grading Scale
 0, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 = 83% = B
 50, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 = 92% = A

 Should we use an “F” grade near the top of the “F” range, such as 50 in this
case, or should we use the bottom, most hurtful and distorting of “F” grades –
a “zero” - as the indicator of failure?
 What purpose does it serve to use a “zero” to indicate a student failed to
demonstrate mastery?
 Should a string of perfect papers for a grading period combined with one
paper not submitted equate to a lower grade? (NCLB-AYP)
 What would happen if we did not count the lowest grade?
 “Consider trying to find the average temperature over 5 days and recording
85, 82, 83, 86, then forgetting a day and recording “zero”. The average
temperature would be 67, a figure that does not accurately show the weather
from that week.
Using the 4.0 Grading Scale
(Not Recommended)

4.0 grading scale is an inaccuracy.

Using a “zero” in the previous example would
also distort the final grade.
You must use 1.0 in place of “zero” as the failing
and/or unscorable level on a 4.0 scale.
Using 1.0 as the bottom score will result in not
distorting a student’s grade average based on
one incomplete assignment or failed test.
High Expectations Todd Whitaker

 Great Teachers – high expectations for students and even higher

for themselves. If students are not passing, they ask what they
themselves can do differently.
 Poor Teachers – high expectations for students and much lower
expectations for themselves. Also, unrealistically high
expectations for everyone else (principal to be perfect, parents to
be flawless, students to be perfect, and peers to hold them in
incredibly high regard).

 Is accepting/allowing a student to earn a failing grade (F) and/or

not completing the work an example of “high expectations”?
 Absolutely not! It is the “lowest expectation” you can have for
your students and must be unacceptable!
Expectations
Behavior Academic
 Students expected to  Students expected to
behave complete/submit work?
 Students expected to  Students expected to
follow/obey rules follow directions of the
 Students expected to assignment?
follow procedures  Students expected to
 Zero tolerance pass?
 Misbehaving is not an  Zero Tolerance?
option!  Failing is not an option!
Accurate Grading Policies Rick Stiggins

Determine grades using the median

(middle grade) – not the mean/average.
Look for the most consistent level of
performance, not all performances.
We should not hold a student’s earlier
digressions in the grading period or year
against them.
Effective Grading Practices
-Douglas B. Reeves, Ph.D.

To reduce failure rate, schools don’t need a new

curriculum, a new administration, new teachers,
or new technology. They just need a better
grading system.
Grading seems to be regarded as the last
frontier of individual teacher/school discretion.
The same school leaders and community
members who would be indignant if referees,
judges, etc. were inconsistent in their rulings
continue to tolerate inconsistencies that have
devastating effects on student achievement.
F (Fail) vs. I (Incomplete)

Goal – Student to complete the work.

WOO (Window of Opportunity) to

complete missing assignments, re-test, re-
submit, re-do etc.

Re -Do! Re-Take! Re-Test! Re-

Submit!
Did You Know………..

 Two common causes of course failures – 1)missing

homework; 2)poor performance on a single major
assignment. Adjusting your policy would have a huge
impact on student failures. (Reeves)
 Assessments are used to provide the ladder for the
student to crawl from his/her hole. Whether it is due to
immaturity, behavior or cognitive readiness level, great
teachers still provide the ladder. (Wormeli)
 Distorted and inaccurate grades are little more than
harsh punishment. Students want to throw down the ball
and go home. They see no reason to play. Grades that
reduce the negative effects of an imperfect grading
system keep students in the game. (Marzano)
Better Students, Better School, Better
Climate! Douglas B. Reeves, Ph.D

When grading policies improve, discipline and

morale always improves!
When student failures decrease, student
behavior improves, faculty morale is better,
resources allocated to remedial courses and
course repetitions are reduced, and resources
invested in enrichment and other meaningful
opportunities increase.
When was the last time a single change in a
school accomplished all of that?
 Students with Disabilities

ESE students are experts at:

Disruptions
Avoiding tasks
Performing below expectations

Wouldn’t you disrupt, avoid tasks, and

perform below expectations if the
grading policy was slanted against you?
“Everyone who has a need to know about
a student’s performance in school
certainly can be told that she or he is “a
nice student who tries hard,” but they also
have a right to know the specific level of
her or his knowledge in a particular
subject at a given point in time.”
-----Ken O’Connor
 The Grade Book
Concepts NOT assignments!
“Page 87” tells us nothing!
If concepts are listed in the grade book:
Teachers can easily tell parents, students, and
administrators what concepts are mastered.
IEP goals and objectives are easily written.
Incomplete grades can be given to individual
concepts- helping to identify areas that need more
instruction.
 The ESE Teacher’s Grade Book
Grade books will list specific
objectives/concepts

Grade books will NOT list individual

homework/class work assignments

Grade books will NOT include entries for effort,

behavior, attendance or attitude.
 What should NOT be included in a
grade?

Effort
Participation
Attitude
Behavior
Homework
Group work
What is the point of homework?
 Zero and the ESE Student

Are you saying that the ESE student

retained zero percent of your instruction?
Are you grading effort and participation or
mastery of a concept?
There has to be alternate methods to
demonstrate mastery!
Can you achieve mastery by doing “page
87 numbers 1-24 even?”
Re-Do, Re-Take, Re-Test, Re-Submit!

“The consequence for a student who

fails to meet a standard is not a low
grade but rather the opportunity—
indeed, the requirement—to resubmit his
or her work. “

-- Douglas Reeves
 Re-Teaching and Re-Testing

In Class re-teaching/retesting

After School re-teaching & Extra Help
Lunch/Recess re-teaching & Extra Help
Student Accountability
Builds Positive Relationships with
Parents/Students
“What information provides the most accurate depiction
of students’ learning at this time? In nearly all cases, the
answer is ‘the most current information’.

If students demonstrate that past assessment

information no longer accurately reflects their learning,
that information must be dropped and replaced by the
new information.”

--Guskey
 Final Exams

Final Exam organized and graded by

concept (all concepts for the quarter)
Final Exam serves as last retest
opportunity
Scores on Final Exam, if higher, will
replace previously recorded scores
Overall Final Exam score entered in grade
book as a single entry (as if it were a concept)
 Accommodations

If the idea is concept mastery, why do we

assign timed tasks?
Why do we require 25 correct
demonstrations of the required task?
Wouldn’t it make sense to chunk the work
into parts and re-teach after each part?
When the student demonstrates mastery,
assess the concept formally.
“The use of an ‘I’ or ‘Incomplete’ grade is
an alternative to assigning zeros that is
both educationally sound and potentially
quite effective.”

--Guskey & Bailey

 Incompletes

“I” Contracts- for both individual concepts

and final grades.
Should clearly outline the desired learning
outcomes.
Should allow time for re-teaching.
Communication with parents, students,
and administration.
STUDENT CONTRACT FOR REMEDIATION OF FAILING GRADE
Grading Period 1 2 3 4

_____ I, ________________________________, understand that my current grade

for Reading Class is an F ( _____ % ), but will receive an “I” for Incomplete on
the report card.
_____ I understand that my teacher is giving me the opportunity to complete/retake
specific assignments for the expressed purpose of not making a failing grade.
_____ I understand that I have 3 weeks to improve my grade. All work, tests,
and/or assignments that my teacher gives me are due on
___________________________ at the beginning of the period.
_____ I understand it is my responsibility to complete this work at home.
_____ I understand I must complete the work to get a good grade on it. I must give
this work to my teacher to grade on or before the due date above.
_____ I understand at the end of the 3 weeks my teacher will change my grade on
the report card from an “I” to the appropriate grade after my work has been
graded.
 ESE Grading Policy
Grades will be based upon STUDENT
ACHIEVEMENT

Grades will be based upon MASTERY OF

CONCEPTS AND SKILLS

Students should have MULTIPLE

OPPORTUNITIES to demonstrate mastery
 Resources
 O’Connor, “A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes
for Broken Grades”

“How to Grade for Learning”

 Marzano, “Assessment and Grading that Works”

 Guskey, “Practical Solutions for Serious Problems in

Standards-Based Grading”
Discipline and Grading
Practices/Student
Achievement

Do you want to be right or do you

want to solve the problem?
-Dr. Phil
Research Based Findings
• (Gettinger, 1988) analyzed well-managed classrooms that
functioned smoothly with few disruptions and were well
organized.

• He then analyzed less effective classrooms that experienced

frequent disruptions due to a large amount of time spent on
discipline and transitions that were lengthy and chaotic.
• Gettinger expected to find that the teachers of the well-
managed classrooms would possess more effective
disciplinary techniques. Surprisingly, he found that both were
approximately equal in dealing with student misbehavior. The
variance was that the successful classroom managers were
more efficient at minimizing behavioral problems by
intervening before the misbehavior escalated.
Volusia County’s Approach To Classroom
Management
• CHAMPs assists classroom teachers to design (or fine tune) a proactive and positive
classroom management plan that will overtly teach students how to behave responsibly. Easy
implementation of the strategies in the CHAMPs will:
* Reduce classroom disruptions and office referrals
* Improve classroom climate
* Increase student on-task behavior
* Establish respectful and civil interactions
By following the effective, research-based practices outlined in CHAMPs, teachers develop
methods for clearly communicating their expectations on every classroom activity and
transition. Expectations to clarify are:
Conversation (Can students talk to each other during this activity?)
Help (How do students get the teacher’s attention and their questions answered?)
Activity (What is the task/objective? What is the end product?)
Movement (Can students move about during this activity?)
Participation (How do students show they are fully participating? What does work behavior
look/sound like?)
(Sprick, Garrison, and Howard 1998)
Our Teachers Deal with the Following
Behaviors in the Classroom
• Class or school rule violation
• Disruption or disturbance of a school activity (minor)
• Dress code violation
• False document
• Horseplay
• Minor disruption or disturbance of a school activity,
class or campus
• Tardiness
• All level one offenses in the student code of conduct
DeLand Middle School Improvement
Goal
2008-2009 - to decrease the percentage
of referrals for Male Students
One strategy - the implementation of an
“I” (Incomplete) vs. an “F” (Failure)
“I” (Incomplete) vs. “F” (Failure) and it’s
Impact on Discipline
• Teachers assign an “I” (incomplete) vs. an “F”
(failure)
• This positive approach to grading elevates
students self worth and gives the student a feeling
of success that many have never felt.
• Many behaviors are avoidance driven, and this
approach to grading eliminates many of the
behaviors students use to avoid looking inferior to
their peers, thereby decreasing classroom
misbehaviors and increasing student achievement
• This, along with effective classroom management
are key to a student’s success
 Comparison of Referrals at Deland
Middle
Total
referrals, Total
3000
2381
2500 referrals,
2000 Males 1741
Males only
1500 only, 1200 Males
1000 only, 750 Total referrals
500
fs to
lre
a

0
1 2
2007-2008 2008-2009
Percentage Change from 2007-2008 to
2008-2009 for the Target Group
 2007-2008 - Male students represented
73.3% of referrals written at DeLand
Middle School
 2008-2009 - Male students represented
62.5% of referrals written at DeLand
Middle School
 This represents a 10.8% decrease