Repair Kit for Grading, A: Fifteen Fixes for Broken Grades with DVD, 2nd edition

       

Table of Contents

 

            Preface

     

            Chapter 1   Setting the Stage

Key Definitions

                Purpose(s) for Grades

Underpinning Issues

                Fairness

          Motivation

          Objectivity and Professional Judgment

Student Involvement

                The 15 Fixes

                  

Chapter 2   Fixes for Practices That Distort Achievement

Fix 1  Don’t include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc.) in grades; include only achievement.

          Student Involvement

          Summary

Fix 2  Don’t reduce marks on “work” submitted late; provide support for the learner.

          Student Involvement

          Summary

Fix 3  Don’t give points for extra credit or use bonus points; seek only evidence that more work has resulted in a higher level of achievement.

          Student Involvement

          Summary

Fix 4  Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement.

          Student Involvement

          Summary

Fix 5  Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately.

          Summary

Fix 6  Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence.

          Summary

 

Chapter 3   Fixes for Low-Quality or Poorly Organized Evidence

Fix 7  Don’t organize information in grading records by assessment methods or simply summarize into a single grade; organize and report evidence by standards/learning goals.

          Summary

Fix 8  Don’t assign grades using inappropriate or unclear performance standards; provide clear descriptions of achievement expectations.

          Student Involvement

          Summary

Fix 9  Don’t assign grades based on a student’s achievement compared to other students; compare each student’s performance to preset standards.

          Summary

Fix 10         Don’t rely on evidence gathered using assessments that fail to meet standards of quality; rely only on quality assessments.

          Summary

 

            Chapter 4   Fixes for Inappropriate Grade Calculation

Fix 11         Don’t rely only on the mean; consider other measures of central tendency and use professional judgment.

          Summary

Fix 12         Don’t include zeros in grade determination when evidence is missing or as punishment; use alternatives, such as reassessing to determine real achievement, or use “I” for Incomplete or Insufficient Evidence.

          Student Involvement

          Summary

 

            Chapter 5   Fixes to Support Learning

Fix 13         Don’t use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summative evidence.

          Student Involvement

          Summary

Fix 14         Don’t summarize evidence accumulated over time when learning is developmental and will grow with time and repeated opportunities; in those instances, emphasize more recent achievement.

          Summary

Fix 15         Don’t leave students out of the grading process. Involve students; they can—and should—play key roles in assessment and grading that promote achievement.

          Summary

                 

            Chapter 6   Summary

 

            Appendix: Discussion Guide

 

            References