Chapter 8 Abstract and Synthesis

Abstract (Ted):
Chapter 8 of Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction was about grading and reporting achievement. Grading serves two primary roles in our classroom: simplifying students’ work into a single summarizing letter and letting parents, students, and administrators know how students are doing in the classroom. The chapter contends that for grades to be useful, they must meet 6 guiding principles for effective grading and reporting:

• Grades need to be based on learning goals and performance standards
  
• Evidence used for grading should only measure the goals and standards being targeted, so avoid relying on extraneous variables
  
• Grading should be based on an established criteria, ruling out grading on bell curves or mandatory grade assignments.
  
• Grading and assessment should not be confused – while everything should be assessed for learning, not everything needs to be graded
  
• Grading based on averages is a poor indicator of student learning
  
• Achievement is the main item to report, so keep it separate from unrelated items in grading
  

The chapter goes on to say that differentiating instruction is very important, so grading two different types of learning can be difficult. Therefore, it becomes important to report standards and differentiation rather than one or the other. The three items that the book suggests reporting are achievement of goals, progress towards goals, and work habits. The reporting systems the book endorses are ones that capture these three traits, although it concedes that many districts require report cards and more traditional practices.
Synthesis:
The entire class seemed to agree on the three items that the book suggests reporting: achievement of goals, progress towards those goals, and, to some degree, work habits. We were all focused on the student reactions to grades and trying to downplay the importance of grades relative to learning in our classrooms, which is one of the things that the chapter supports. I found a website that mentions these same topics – downplaying the importance of grades in students’ eyes – along with offering valuable information on other practical elements of grading in our classrooms. It offers yet another six functions of grading, mostly ones that hadn’t been discussed in great detail in the chapter.
The reporting of grades to students and parents was another topic we worried about when it came to our own classrooms. We mostly all supported the standards-based grading and reporting rather than mere activity-based grading. It’s clear that the rest of the country, at least outside the field of education, is on the fence about standards-based grading. I found a page from an Iowa administrator resource site about a shift to standards-based grading encouraging administrators to have faith in the new system, reminding them that research will continue to support standards-based grading.