How to Grade for Learning by Using 15 Fixes for Broken Grades EARCOS @ ISM

1. How to Grade for Learning by Using 15 Fixes for Broken Grades EARCOS @ ISM October 19th and 20th, 2013 Presented by Ken O’Connor Assess for Success Consulting kenoc@aol.com www.oconnorgrading.com

2. O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition. Corwin, 2009, 31. From Anne Davies, 2000. Originally developed by Michael Burger 6

3. The Essential Question • How confident are you that the grades • students get in your school are: •  accurate •  consistent •  meaningful, and •  supportive of learning? • If grades do not meet these four • conditions of quality they are • “broken,” i.e., ineffective. 8

4. Fixes for ingredients that distort achievement • Don’t include student behaviors (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc.) in grades; include only achievement. 2. Don’t reduce marks on ‘work’ submitted late; provide support for the learner. • 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. 4. Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement. 5. Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately. 6. Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence. 44

5. Fixes for low quality or poorly organized evidence 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. 8. Don’t assign grades using inappropriate or unclear performance standards; provide clear descriptions of achievement expectations. 9. Don’t assign grades based on student’s achievement compared to other students; compare each student’s performance to preset standards. 10. Don’t rely on evidence gathered from assessments that fail to meet standards of quality; rely only on quality assessments. 45

6. Fixes for inappropriate number crunching 11. Don’t rely on the mean; consider other measures of central tendency and use professional judgment. 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. 46

7. Fixes to support the learning process 13. Don’t use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summative evidence. 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. 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. 47

8. Fix #1 Don’t include student behavior (effort, participation, adherence to class rules, etc.) in grades; include only achievement. 49

9. Fix #2 Don’t reduce marks on “work” submitted late; provide support for the learner. 58

10. Fix #2 Dealing with Late Work 1. Support not penalties 2. Behaviors/Learning Skills 3. Clarity/Communication 4. Consequences 62

11. 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. 63

12. Fix #3 – Bonus Points • inappropriately inflate student achievement; • mathematical distortion, e.g., 115 out of 100; • bonus questions usually conceptual, higher order thinking questions. 66

13. Fix #4 Don’t punish academic dishonesty with reduced grades; apply other consequences and reassess to determine actual level of achievement. 67

14. Fix #5 Don’t consider attendance in grade determination; report absences separately. 74

15. Fix #5 “Excused and unexcused absences are not relevant to an achievement grade. There is no legitimate purpose for distinguishing between excused and unexcused absences. For educational purposes, therefore, there need only to be recorded absences.” Gathercoal, F., Judicious Discipline, Caddo Gap Press, San Francisco, 1997, 151 75

16. Fix #6 Don’t include group scores in grades; use only individual achievement evidence. 77

17. 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. 82

18. Fix#7 Pilot Certification Course Student A% Student B % Tests 95 95 PA 85 85 PC 90 90 Overall 90 90 84

19. Fix#7 Pilot Certification Course Student A% Student B % Takeoffs 95 100 In the air 85 100 Landings 90 60 Navigation 90 100 85

20. Fix #8 Don’t assign grades using inappropriate or unclear performance standards; provide clear descriptions of achievement expectations. 101

21. Fix #8 O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Third Edition, Corwin, 2002, 712 103

22. Fix #8 Wow! Got it! Nearly there! Oh no! Oops! 113

24. Fix #9 Don’t assign grades based on student’s achievement compared to other students; compare each student’s performance to preset standards. 122

25. Fix #9 What do you think would happen if you did an outstanding job, all the students in your class did an outstanding job, and all the students received a grade of 90% or higher? 123

26. Fix #10 Don’t rely on evidence from assessments that fail to meet standards of quality; rely only on quality assessments. 125

27. Right Method -Target-Method Match Good Strong Strong Fix #10 SR WR PA PC Knowledge Good Strong Partial Strong Reasoning Partial Skills Partial Poor Strong Partial Poor Products Poor Poor Strong Chappuis, J. et al. 2012. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Second Edition. Pearson, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 94 127

28. Fix # 11 Don’t rely on the mean; consider other measures of central tendency and use professional judgment. 134

29. Fix #11 89 89 89 Mean or Average = 75.2 20 89 89 Median = 89 89 20 89 89 Total 752 140

30. Fix #11 First attempt Second attempt Third attempt Fourth attempt Fifth attempt Sixth attempt 142 Source: Richard Brown, Alberta high school teacher

31. Fix #12 Don’t include zeros in grade determination when evidence is missing or as punishment; use alternatives, such as reassessing to determine real level of achievement or use “I” for Incomplete or Insufficient evidence. 149

32. Fix #12 The Effect of Zeros • 5 pt scale101 point scale • 4 (A) 90-100 11 95 95 • 3 (B) 80-89 10 85 85 • 2 (C) 70-79 10 75 75 • 1 (D) 60-69 10 65 65 • 0 (F) <60 60 050 • 2 (C) 64 (D) 74 (C) 151 O’Connor, K., A Repair Kit for Grading, Second Edition. PearsonATI, 2011. 98

33. Fixes #11 & 12 Think about this… “We have to see grading not as simply a numerical, mechanical exercise, but as primarily an exercise in professional judgment. It calls for teachers to demonstrate two key aspects of professional behavior - the application of craft knowledge of sound assessment practice, and the willingness and ability to make and defend one’s professional judgment.” O’Connor, K., A Repair Kit for Grading, Second Edition, Pearson, 2011, 92 158

34. Fix #13 Don’t use information from formative assessments and practice to determine grades; use only summative evidence. 159

35. Fix #13 Kinds of feedback From a presentation by Dylan Wiliam - “Inside the Black Box” • 264 low and high ability year 7 pupils in 12 classes in 4 schools; analysis of 132 students at top and bottom of each class • Same teaching, same aims, same teachers, same class work • Three kinds of feedback: marks, comments, marks+comments Feedback Gain marks none comments 30% both none 168 Butler, R. Br. J. Educ. Psychol. 1988, 58 1-14

36. 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. 177

37. Fix #14 183 O’Connor, K., A Repair Kit for Grading, PearsonATI, 2011, 123

38. 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. 186

39. For grades that are: Accurate Fixes 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 11 12 14 Consistent Fix 8 Meaningful Fix 7 Supportive of learning Fixes 13 14 15 192

40. Enduring Understandings There are no right grades only justifiable grades. 2. Nothing really changes till the grade book and the report card both change. 204