1 grading malpractice bdonegan

8/8/2019 1 Grading Malpractice BDonegan

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GRADING MALPRACTICE:

Why We MUST Align Assessment Practice with Assessment ResearchBillie Donegan,, The Center for Secondary School Redesign, www.cssr.us

As American secondary school leaders take on the challenge of preparing students for a challenging world,they must take on the challenge of guiding their teachers to embrace the state-of-the art research that willaccomplish that goal. One of the quickest and most criticalways to stimulate positive change in the classroomis by tackling our current traditional grading practice and replacing it with proven bestpractice in grading andassessment. It is virtually impossible to maximize student achievement if we fail to redesign how we grade.There is a preponderance of evidence on assessment and grading that shows how traditional practices notonly produce low yields, but frequently inhibit motivation and academic growth. This session will provideinstructional leaders with research and tools that will allow them to explode the myth of the zero, address the

tyranny of averaging, and lead their faculty to standards-based gradingfor learning. Participants will also leave with informative assessment tools that will increase learning and buildstudent ownership in their own progress. This session provides frequent opportunities for self-assessing andinteracting as we share ways to meet this challenge.

Handouts in this packet include:1-2. A Preponderance of Evidence

3. The Assessment Experience, Stiggins

4. Ken OConnors 15 Fixes for Broken Grades

5. An Innocent E-mail and an Averaging Quiz

6-7. The Homework Dilemma8. Charting Progress Example

9-10. Self-Analysis of Assessment Examples

11-12. Developing a Departmental Policy That Aligns with Best Practice

Other handouts will be referred to during the session and available through e-mail request.

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Grade Reflects Take Small Steps to Shift More Toward Right Grade ReflectsBehavior Learning

Quantity Quality

Journey Destination

Individual Preference Common Agreement

Short-Term Compliance Long-Term Retention

Teacher Involvement Student Involvement

Arbitrary Assignments Authentic Experiences


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Building a Knowledge Base on the Link between

Assessment, Grading, Homework and LEARNING

150 Ways to Increase Motivation in the Classroom, Raffini

Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning, Reeves-Stiggins-DuFour-Guskey, et al

Activating the Desire to Learn, Sullo

Assessing and Reporting on Habits of the Mind, Costa

Assessment Manifesto, Stiggins

Boosting Achievement with Messages that Motivate, Dweck

Building Teachers Capacity for Success: A Collaborative Approach for Coaches and School Leaders, Hall and Simeral

The Case Against Homework, Bennett

Clarity in the Classroom: Building Learning-Focused Relationships, Absolum

Classroom Assessment and Grading that Work, Marzano

Coaching Reluctant Learners, Donegan and Green

Common Formative Assessment: Connecting to Standards-Based Instruction, Ainsworth

The Competent Classroom: A Creative Guide to Aligning High School Curriculum, Standards, and Assessment, Zmuda

Effective Grading Practice: How Small Decisions Make a Big Difference in Achievement and Motivation, Reeves

Effort and Excellence in Urban Classrooms: Expecting and Getting Success with All Students, Corbett, Wilson and Williams

Enhancing Student Achievement: A Framework for School Improvement, Danielson

Fair Isnt Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, Wormeli

Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students, Cushman

The Game of School: Why We All Play It, How It Hurts Kids and What It Will Take to Change It, Fried

Getting to Got It: Helping Struggling Students Learn How to Learn, Garner

Grading Practices that Work Against Standards and How to Fix Them, Guskey

The Homework Myth, Kohn

How to Grade for Learning, OConnor

How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader, Gabriel

Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time, Pollock

The Kids Left Behind, Barr

The Learner-Centered Classroom, McCombs

The Learning Leader: How to Focus School Improvement for Better Results , Reeves

Making Classroom Assessment Work, Davies

Motivating Students in an Era of Standards, Sagor

Never Work Harder than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching, Jackson

The Passionate Teacher: A Practical Guide, Fried

Personalizing the High School Experience for Each Student, DiMartino and Clarke

Practical Solutions for Serious Problems in Grading, Guskey

The Quality School Teacher, Glasser

A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades, OConnor

The Standards-Based Teaching to Learning Cycle, Benson

Test Better-Teach Better: The Instructional Role of Assessment, Popham

Tranformative Assessment, Popham

Transforming Classroom Grading, Marzano

Why Didnt I Learn This in College?, Rutherford


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WHY WE MUST MAKE THE SHIFT!

These Authors Know Just How Important It Is

The antiquated grading

system in use today haslittle or no research to

support its continuation

and is highly ineffective.

A complete shift in our

practice is needed if we

are ever to maximize

student performance.

What we now know

about effective classroomassessment and grading is

vastly different practice fromthe norm.

When teachers make this shift

the impact on subsequent

student success is substantial:

improved performance in

grade-equivalent scores of

as much as three or four grade

levels, which translates on

standardized test scores

to improvement of almost

15 percentile points.

And from Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning:Courage is required. Those who implement changes in assessment, grading, and the professional practicessurrounding it, risk not only confrontation, but also unpopularity, social isolation, and public humiliation.

Research results for

GOAL SETTING:percentile gains of 16 - 21 %.


TRACKING PROGRESS:*every 3 weeks +13.5%

*every week +24.5%


FEEDBACK:percentile gains of 10 - 37 %.

Involving students in actively

monitoring their progress on

specific learning targets:

builds ownership of learning

and responsibility in theclassroom

increases the likelihood

students will avail themselves

of support opportunities

helps students set goals and

devise action plans to

increase their performance

motivates students to stay

engaged in the learning

process

And from Transformative Assessment:Any time an author predicts that a book can help bring abouta fundamental transformation in anything;youre likely dealing with someone in need of therapy. So why do I claim classroom assessment can trigger

such a transformation in someones teaching? I do it because I know the claim to be stone-cold true.


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The Assessment ExperienceExcerpt from Assessment Through Students Eyes, by Rick Stiggins, 2007

ETS Assessment Training Institute helps K-12 educators improve student achievement byintegrating student-involved classroom assessment with day-to-day instruction.

www.assessmentinst.com

FORSTUDENTS ON WINNING STREAKS FORSTUDENTS ON LOSING STREAKSAssessment results provide

Continual evidence of success Continual evidence of failure

The student feels

Hopeful and optimistic Hopeless

Empowered to take productive action Initially panicked, giving way to resignation

The student thinks

Its all good. Im doing fine. This hurts. Im not safe here.

See the trend? I succeed as usual. I just cant do this . . . again.I want more success. Im confused. I dont like this help!

School focuses on what I do well. Why is it always about what I cant do?

I know what to do next. Nothing I try seems to work.

Feedback helps me. Feedback is criticism. It hurts.

Public success feels good. Public failure is embarrassing.

The student becomes more likely to

Seek challenges. Seek whats easy.

Seek exciting new ideas. Avoid new concepts and approaches.

Practice with gusto. Become confused about what to practice.

Take initiative. Avoid initiative.

Persist in the face of setbacks. Give up when things become challenging.

Take risks and stretch go for it! Retreat and escape trying is too dangerous!

These actions lead to

Self-enhancement Self-defeat, self-destruction

Positive self-fulfilling prophecy Negative self-fulfilling prophecy

Acceptance of responsibility Denial of responsibility

Manageable stress High stress

Feeling that success is its own reward No feelings of success, no reward

Curiosity, enthusiasm Boredom, frustration, fear, anger

Continuous adaptation Inability to adapt

Resilience Yielding quickly to defeat

Strong foundations for future success Failure to master prerequisites for future success


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Our current grading practices often not only fail to meet our objectives but also wind up doing the oppositeof what we intend. OConnor does a great job of setting the stage for the underpinning issues of fairness, motivation, andobjectivity - as well as the importance of student involvement - as we examine and improve grading practices. He

provides excellent research and rationale, plenty of examples, and ways to involve students for each fix.

Fixes for Practices that Distort Achievement

1. Dont include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc.) in grades; include onlyachievement.

2. Dont reduce marks on work submitted late; provide alternate deterrents and provide support for the learner.3. Dont give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in a higher

level of achievement.

4. Dont punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determineactual level of achievement.5. Dont consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately.6. Dont include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence.

Fixes for Low-Quality or Poorly Organized Evidence

7. Dont organize information in grading reports by assessment methods (quizzes, tests, homework, etc.) or simplysummarize into a single grade; organize and report evidence by standards/learning goals.

8. Dont assign grades using inappropriate or unclear performance standards; provide clear descriptions ofachievement expectations.

9. Dont assign grades based on students achievement compared to other students; compare each studentsperformance to preset standards.

10.Dont rely on evidence gathered using assessments that fail to meet standards of quality; rely only on qualityassessments.

Fixes for Inappropriate Grade Calculation

11.Dont rely only on the mean; consider other measures of central tendency and use professional judgment.12.Dont include zeros in grade determination when evidence is missing or as punishment; use alternative deterrents

and use alternative grading such as reassessing to determine real achievement or use I for Incomplete orInsufficient Evidence.

Fixes to Support Learning

13.Dont use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summativeevidence.

14.Dont summarize evidence accumulated over time when learning is developmental and will grow with time andrepeated opportunities; in those instances, emphasize more recent achievement.

15.Dont leave students out of the grading process. Involve students; they can and should play key roles inassessment and grading that promotes achievement.

Date: Thurs, 11 Nov 2007 21:12 (PDT)From: Linda Anderson

From A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades by Ken OConnor

Educational Testing Service, 2007 ISBN 0-88685-387-7

www.assessmentinst.com


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Subject: Thank you for contacting us!To: Dear Ms. Shurmann,

Jeff's father and I both appreciate that you let us know about the failing grade he is making in German. We are sorry hehas not been living up to his potential, and we will have a family meeting/talking to this weekend to make certain the Jeffbegins to take his education responsibilities more seriously from this point on. We assure you it will include groundinguntil his grade comes up.

If possible, can you provide us with some more information and ammunition for this conversation? What are somebehaviors, assignments, or skills that are lacking? What assignments or behaviors do you need to see from him so hecan begin passing? And if he can turn himself around and we assure you he WILL what is the highest projected gradehe can reach by the time report cards come out?

Thank you again for taking the time to notify us. If for any reason, you don't see a change in Jeff's performance, pleaselet us know and we will see to it he makes the most of your class.

Sincerely,Linda and Kenneth Anderson642-1314---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2007 11:09 (PDT)

From: Subject: RE: Thank you for contacting us!To: [email protected]

Dear Mrs. Anderson,Thank you for your support. I am sure that working together we can help Jeff pass. As you know, Jeffs current averageis 44.31% which is significantly below what he is capable of. As of today, he is missing 13 homework assignments. Forsix of those assignments, he is beyond the window of opportunity to turn those in late and will receive a zero for thoseassignments. Four of those assignments are still within that late window, and if he will turn them in by the end of nextweek I can allow him to receive a 50 on each of those. I am willing to accept the final three assignments by the end ofnext week for full credit. You can look in Jeffs notebook at the homework assignment list and it is also posted on ourGerman II webpage on the school website.

We have one remaining chapter left before the final. If Jeff will complete those seven assignments, continue to participatein class, and stay at the same level on tests, he has the ability to receive a projected potential grade of 72.1% by reportcard time. Jeffs main problem is he believes he is above doing the homework. His attitude has been of concern on thistopic and he is perfectly capable of completing them on his own. His test and quiz average so far this semester is96.67%. If he had completed the required homework, his scores could have been in the high A level. Once again, Iappreciate your interest and your support. I look forward to working this out for Jeffs behalf,

Doris SchurmannXXX High School, 642-2001

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CLASS GRADING POLICY Susans Grades Resulted In Kyles Unit 3 Quizzes/Test

Class Participation = 15% Class Participation = 7% 1 Quiz 1: 88

Homework = 15% Homework = 12% 3 Quiz 2: 78

In-Class Assignments = 20% In-Class Assignments = 18% 4 Quiz 3: 0Tests and Quizes = 30% Tests and Quizzes = 23% 2 Quiz 4: 91

Final Project = 10% Final Project = 10% 4 Unit Test: 87 (x4)

Final Exam = 10% Final Exam = 9% 4

100% Total Points Possible What grade should Susan get? What grade should Kyle get?


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res what we usually try

Experience This approach worked for me as a student.

This approach works successfully for some students I teach now.

Logic and Reason Youre in high school now, you need to learn to be responsible.

Homework will help you learn more and make better grades.

You need to learn to do homework now, so youll be prepared to

do homework in college.

Consequences Your grades will suffer if you dont do homework.

If you dont do homework, youll be in trouble with

me parents front office college screwed up for life.

Take a deep breath and let go!


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Sothen what CAN improve their

application of homework so thattheir learning CAN improve????

SOME GIVENS: Assessment is the process of gathering evidence to inform instructional decisions.

It is rarely used that way. Shift!

Homework- when designed and used correctly - can be a key instructional tool and assessment

tool. It is rarely designed and used for maximum effectiveness. Shift!

One size can not fit all. Personalized performance assessment works best to increase learning and

to measure learning. Homework is almost never used this way. Shift!

SOME STRATEGIES THAT HAVE A PROVEN TRACK RECORD: Community-Based, Problem-Based, Performance-Based, and Service-Based Assignments

Student Voice in Homework Design

Differentiation as Part of Homework Design

Interesting and Integral Use of Homework Application in Class

Study Teams

Use of Homework in Action Research classroom or individual

Students Involved in Monitoring Progress through Assessments FOR Learning.

Personalized Negotiation

Proactive Parent Outreach on Front End

Frequent, Positive, and Purposeful Intervention with Student

Frequent, Positive, and Purposeful Communication with Parents

Celebration and Intrinsic Rewarding of Progress on Homework

Interdisciplinary Extension and Enrichment


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METACOGNITION: The Importance of Charting Progress

Traditional progress reports rarely show progress. Students and teachers both benefit from seeing visual and period

in micro-feedback loops. When students take a moment to chart their own progress you are automatically buildintheir own learning and their own results. You could do it weekly as in the chart below, but you need to at least do i

Metacognition in this context means we teach students to make connections between their actions and their result

actions and behaviors that created the result. Teachers may need to help them see those relationships in the beginnistudy with a partner? Did they turn in homework? Did they forget to do make-up work? Were they absent three d

In a traditional classroom, students are competing against every other student for a grade. Where you stand in rel

personalized classroom, students are competing against themselves. Where they stand this week compared to wherStudents see the teacher and fellow students as part of team that provides support for everyone elses personal impr

Creating the first measurement as a baseline score allows you to start from a neutral position and recognize effort

that work works. Because it is a neutral scoring system, it can be posted for teams within a period and/or in pericompetition between one class and another.

End of Week: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

+36

+33

+30

+27

+24

+21

+18

+15

*12

+9

+6

+3

Baseline Growth:up 2

Growth:up 4

Growth:down 9

Growth:up 12

Growth:up 9

Growth:

Growth:-3

-6

-9

-12

-15


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Biology Success Tracker: UNDERSTANDING ECOSYSTEM

MUST KnowsUnit Test

Question #Questions

RightWhat I want to learn and do before final rubric

Able to describe how energybecomes available within the

ecosystem

Able to describe what

happens to energy as it flowsand to matter as it cyclesthrough the ecosystem

Able to identify and describe

the relationship between

living and non-living factorsin an ecosystem

Able to identify trends

Able to create graph

Able to use graphs to identify

and analyze problems

Able to make predictions

about environmental changes

Recall, interpret, and use the

twelve key vocabulary related

to ecosystem


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________________________________

World History Period ______

LEARNING JOURNEY:_______________________________________________________________

SKILLCONCEPT

TERM

Im under water!!Glub-Glub

Id float with alife jacket.

Treading wateron my own

Swimming toShore

Land Ho!

==================================

Test Analysis on

Q#missed

IN YOUR OWN WORDS (short),what was this question asking?

What do we need to teach/do/learnto get it right when you see it again?

By when??


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Developing Departmental Assessment and Grading Practices

Remember:

*What works for one department may not work for another department. For example, in a course such as

speech, foreign language, or music, participation may need to be very specific, serve a very critical role inlearning, and thus be given larger weight than it would in mathematics. Likewise, practice at home may bemore potent and prevalent for some courses than for others, etc.

*Let some departments move more quickly than others. Another contributing factor is departmental culture some departments may be more willing and ready to embrace best practice than others, and thus their firstyear work surrounding effective grading and assessment practice may be ahead of other departments. That isokay, as long as each department is beginning to take steps to align their current practice with proven best

practice.============================================================================Our current practices are not only strongly rooted in tradition, they are strongly rooted in a belief it is the right

thing to do. Like urban myths, many of our strongly held beliefs have actually been clearly shown to beuntrue. The following beliefs, however, have been shown to be true. If you dont agree with at leastthe first

three statements (that are verified by overwhelming evidence), then it will be virtually impossible to developassessment and grading practices that maximize student learning and motivation.

1) Human beings make significant changes in their lives only when they are in an environment where theyfeel genuinely cared about.

2) The threat of a low grade is much more likely to motivate high achieving students than low achievingstudents.

3) There is little or no evidence that repeated failure makes people more responsible.4) One of the easiest ways for human beings to avoid the responsibility of failure is to quit trying.5) There is a major difference between making it difficult for students to failand making it easy to get

passing grades without much work and rework.


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To wind up with the highest quality outcome, follow these seven steps:

1st: ASSESSMENT LITERACY There is a preponderance of clear evidence about what works and what

doesnt; what is good for student motivation and learning, and what is detrimental. Any discussion or decision

about grading and assessment practices must not take place until at least a foundational understanding ofproven best practice is clearly communicated and understood within a department. Department Chair canexpose (or revisit) a few key articles with their teachers through jigsaw reading, joint reading, or their ownsynthesis of the research and practice about what we know works best to both increase learning, and increase

motivation and responsibility.

2nd

: ASSESSMENT PHILOSOPY Department Chair should work with their teachers to develop adepartmental philosophy surrounding the Integrity of the Grade, by answering the following questions:

Why do we grade? Which of those reasons is most important? (rank order) What do we want a grade to represent about what a student has mastered in our content area and

will remember and be able to use later? Are we confident we have a quality over quantity approach? (no more than 6-7 top notch assignments

per unit.) Have we bundled where possible and appropriate? Are we proud of our assignments and assessments? (proficient or above, engaging, personalized)

Have we compared and analyzed? When, how, and how much do we want to work on those together? Are we using homework as assessments FOR learning adequately?

Can we ethically and concretely show others that we haveparity in gradingand equity of service?To what extent are we willing to do so?

How do we want to communicate our philosophy to students and parents? How do we want to communicate progress to students and parents? Where on the philosophical continuum are we willing to be this year on the key issues that increase

student learning and motivation? Is this lip service or will it become a deeply held departmental belief and our professional practice?

How can we support each other to live up to this philosophy?

3rd

: ASSESSMENTS OF LEARNING

4th

: ASSESSMENTS FOR LEARNING

5th: PERSONALIZED PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS6

th: SUPPORT SYSTEMATIZED & NONINVITATIONAL

Then...7th:GRADING PROTOCOLS

Determine how assignments and grades will match up with powerful standards. Determine which items are formative and which are summative. Determine the number of authentic assessment experiences to be expected each term. Determine appropriate weight for key components of our content learning design. Develop appropriate rubric or description of basic, proficient, above proficient, and exceeds

expectations (or A,B,C, F or 4,3,2,1 etc.).

Develop our practice regarding Insufficient evidence versus opting out. Establish appropriate grade determination practices versus averaging. Determine how best to give specific feedback on 21stCentury Skills. Determine how we want our grade books to look.

For more information, contact Billie Donegan or Joe DiMartino at 401-828-0077 [email protected].

There are a whole set of top-notch practicesthat yield high results in these four categories.

It is helpful, but not mandatory, for these to bedeveloped before #7, as long as you intend to

begin developing and addressing themASAP.

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