New Year – New Page
As a teacher, I love a new page in the grade book or blank workbook on a spreadsheet. The new semester is a fresh start for students. It was a symbol of hope for everyone who wanted a fresh start. The teacher’s grading practices can either encourage or discourage students eager to start a semester with a clean page in the gradebook.
When my math-phobic daughter took Algebra II, her teacher gave a pop quiz on the second day of class. Andrea was distraught over a grade of 20 out of 100 points on the quiz. I assured her that the teacher would not record the grade, as she hadn’t practiced math skills in some time. The school was on an accelerated block schedule. Since geometry followed Algebra I in the school’s math sequence, she hadn’t practiced algebra for 1 ½ years. Her teacher was trying to figure out what the students knew. Using teacher language, I assumed this was a formative assessment to inform instructional practices.
I was wrong. The teacher recorded the grade as a major test grade. So much for having a fresh page in the gradebook! The unfortunate students, like my daughter, who did not immediately recall previous math skills had to struggle the entire grading period in an attempt to make up for the low grade. One problem with the numerical grading scale is that a grade of zero or below 50 disproportionately lowers the overall average. Mathematically, the numerical 0-100 scale is unfair. A student that makes an F, B, B, A has an average of B-. A student with similar numerical grades, such as 0, 80, 80, 95 has an average of 64, which is failing in many school districts.
When I asked Andrea’s teacher about her grade, she assured me Andrea would be okay. If she didn’t ask to leave the class to go the restroom the entire grading period, she would drop the lowest grade in the gradebook. I couldn’t believe my ears. What did going to the restroom have to do with how well students learned math?
As a school improvement and curriculum specialist, I’ve worked with many teachers, schools, ad districts clinging to the numerical system and defend it as if it is a hallowed practice. The American school system adopted the numerical grading system as public school populations exploded during the baby boom, as a way to manage grades for large numbers of students. It was what teachers knew to do at the time, but may have outlived its original purpose. Some teachers are loyal to practices they experienced as students or practices they learned in their early years of teaching. Often, they have not examined why they adopted a numerical system. Some assign grades as a method of keeping students under control. Grading practices should reflect content mastery rather than student compliance or controlling student behavior.
What are your experiences with fair or unfair grading practices?
This is almost embarrassing to write about because I was guilty of doing this… giving extra credit for canned goods. What teacher hasn’t been involved in collecting canned goods for needy families or for the community closet? Homerooms were lured into an obsessive competition with the promise of a pizza party or monetary reward to fund another good cause… Project Adoption. Unfortunately, teachers (including myself) started rewarding students with extra credit for bringing in canned goods. Once our central administrators heard about this practice from disgruntled parents, it was shut down. Looking back, yes, it was actually buying bonus points, which is not only unethical, but ridiculous. How did I allow myself to become involved in something unethical? The reason many teenagers use with their parents… everyone else is doing it. Again, another ridiculous excuse. Thankfully, the practice was banned; however, the canned food drive never collected the huge amounts it once had. Who was hurt? The needy families, but the buying of bonus points is no longer.
Dana, Thank you for your honesty in this post. Most of us did similar things. I know I have given bonus points trying to encourage certain behaviors. Unethical is a strong word. While many of our grading practices might be technically unethical, I believe we did so because we didn’t examine our beliefs about grades. We simply did what was modeled to us without giving the practices much thought. I know I gave my fair share of zeros without realizing that the 0-100 scale unfairly skewed grades lower. No doubt, my practices discouraged some struggling students.
There are many students who are not motivated by grades. They would rather take a zero than have to do the work.
I agree that everyone else is doing it isn’t a good excuse. But really – we never really thought. But someone pointing out the practices that are unfair or demotivate students is a good reason to examine what we are doing and make a positive change. I am so glad you are a teacher-leader and can help others examine their practices and help us all think of better ways of encouraging students.