Exploring Grading Practices

One of the objectives of the Teaching and Learning Community this year is to talk about clarity. One element of increasing clarity is communication between students and teachers (and really all stakeholders). And what is one of the main tools we use for communication of academic progress?

That’s right...grades!

Last year several teachers from RMHS spent a day learning about standards-based grading. At that conference, we did an activity that involved the whole group looking at some student work and then assigning it a grade. The first time we did the activity, the grading rubric had four levels. When we discussed what we had all graded the imaginary student, the conclusion was pretty unanimous. We then were asked to evaluate the same student work on a rubric with more levels (around 10). When we discussed the student work again, we there was a lot more discrepancy amongst us. The objective was for us to see that once we needed to qualify grades with a much more expansive rubric, students’ progress could be evaluated very differently on the same assignment by different teachers.

This activity got Lee Ann Haralambakis thinking about her own grading practices. Lee Ann is a self proclaimed grade hater. She feels that knows when they know something and they know when they know something and really they just need a way to identify where they are in the learning process. As a result of this reflection, Lee Ann year she started to implement a four point grading scale as seen pictured below.

Her goal with this rubric is to cut grading down to the basics and allow it to truly reflect student growth and achievement. Lee Ann has been using this rubric this year and so far thinks that it has helped her classes and that her students’ grades are showing what they should be showing.

What kind of grading rubrics do you use in class? Do you like them? Share them with us!

This blog post will have a follow up that highlights how Lee Ann uses this rubric to increase the growth mindset.

Is there a topic you’d like to see on the blog? Give us some ideas and let’s get the conversation started!