Grading Information

An 8th grade student turns in a science assignment several days late.  Many 7th grade students do not turn in a math assignment.  Several sixth grade students who do not turn in a reading assignment are assigned a zero for the missing assignment.  A class of 5th graders are assigned extra credit points if they complete a task that is not required for social studies.  These scenarios are commonly encountered by teachers and students when it comes to the reality of grades and grading practices.  

When students receive a lower grade due to missing work or not turning work in at all, does the grade truly reflect what s/he knows?  Does parent support affect his/her grade?  Does a student’s unwillingness or non-compliant behavior to complete an assignment impact his/her grade?  The aforementioned questions are encountered by many schools across the state of Iowa and across the country as school districts have been addressing their grading practices in recent years.

Carroll Middle School is revisiting its current grading practices, recognizing that we too have students whose grades do not often reflect what s/he knows because of other factors such as behavior, home support, etc. We also realize that many of our current grading practices lean toward traditional practices.  

Since the start of this school year, teachers have been encouraged to experiment with his/her classroom grading practices. The questions below is a sample of questions that were posed to teachers to reflect on current thinking centered around grading:

1. What if we allowed redos?
2. What if we only grade summative tests?
3. What if we didn’t grade every assignment?
4. What if we didn’t reduce a student’s grade due to late assignments?
5. What if we used the word learning in our every day language?
6. What if our conversations with parents centered more to what their child learned and not what they earned?

A Grading Reform Team comprised of seven staff members have been formed to further our learning around research on best practices in grading.  Researchers such as Rick Wormeli and Douglas Reeves along with others in the field of grading practices will assist us in this work.  

We recognize this work will not be easy, but is necessary as we continue to strive to do what is best for students and their learning.  Our hope is that we can further educate ourselves on research-based grading practices that will better communicate what students know.  

As we adventure into this work, the Grading Reform Team, as well as school staff, also will discuss how to report out to students and parents what students do and do not know, which will hopefully provide more detailed information on student learning.

Again, we encounter this work knowing that it will improve upon what we already do for our students. We will keep you updated as we progress in this endeavor.