What influences grades?

1. Reeves, D. (2016). Elements of grading: A guide to effective practice (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

2. Accuracy

2.1. "The grade reflects the actual performance of the student" (Reeves, 2016, p. xvi).

3. Fairness

3.1. "Two students with the same performance receive the same grade" (Reeves, 2016, p. xvi).

4. Grading vs. Feedback (Which influences student performance more?

4.1. Students want to be successful, but does grading, just one type of feedback, support this? (Reeves, 2016)

4.2. Teachers want their students to excel, but does grading, just one type of feedback, support this? (Reeves 2016)

4.3. "Guskey and Bailey (2001) argue that feedback other than grading is actually more influential on student learning" (Reeves, 2016, p. 5).

5. Experience vs. Evidence (Is grading serving its purpose?)

5.1. "We are all victims of experience and context, often believing that personal experience is superior to evidence" (Reeves, p. 5).

5.2. An experience that may be validated in one circumstance becomes generalized to all without supporting evidence.

5.3. Some professions demand a body of evidence related to effective evaluation... what about education?

5.4. "It seems people prefer the comfort of the familiar [ways of grading] over the discomfort of the new, even if evidence supports the latter" (Reeves, p. 6).

6. What should influence grades?

7. Specificity

7.1. "Students and parents know exactly what is required for students improve" (Reeves, 2016, p. xvi).

8. Timeliness

8.1. "Students and parents receive information on student performance in sufficient time to make improvements" (Reeves, 2016, p. xvi).

9. Relative Performance vs. Standards Based Performance (What do students really know?)

9.1. Grading with a bell curve

9.1.1. This compares one student's performance to another in order to determine rank.

9.1.2. Using a bell curve indicates some must fail regardless of acquired knowledge.

9.1.3. The bell curve does not necessarily help to determine the achievement level of a student in regards to content knowledge.

9.2. Standards Based Grading

9.2.1. This compares a student to a set of indicators that determines achievement.

9.2.2. Some critics believe this predetermines learning and confines it to the required standards (Reeves, 2016).

9.2.3. Using a standards-based grading system does present a clearer picture of what students know.