Are you satisfied with your current and traditional grading system? Does it accurately reflect your students’ learning and progress? Can it be gamed? Does it lead to grade-grubbing and friction with your students?The authors of this book – two professors of mathematics with input from colleagues across disciplines and institutions – offer readers a fundamentally more effective and authentic approach to grading that they have implemented for over a decade. Recognizing that traditional grading penalizes students in the learning process by depriving them of the formative feedback that is fundamental to improvement, the authors offer alternative strategies that encourage revision and growth.Alternative grading is concerned with students’ eventual level of understanding. This leads to big changes: Students take time to review past failures and learn from them. Conversations shift from “why did I lose a point for this” to productive discussions of content and process.Alternative grading can be used successfully at any level, in any situation, and any discipline, in classes that range from seminars to large multi-section lectures.This book offers a comprehensive introduction to alternative grading, beginning with a framework and rationale for implementation and evidence of its effectiveness. The heart of the book includes detailed examples – including variations on Standards-Based Grading, Specifications Grading, and ungrading -- of how alternative grading practices are used in all kinds of classroom environments, disciplines and institutions with a focus on first-hand accounts by faculty who share their practices and experience. The book includes a workbook chapter that takes readers through a step-by-step process for building a prototype of their own alternatively graded class and ends with concrete, practical, time-tested advice for new practitioners.The underlying principles of alternative grading involve·Evaluating student work using clearly defined and context-appropriate content standards.·Giving students helpful, actionable feedback.·Summarizing the feedback with marks that indicate progress rather than arbitrary numbers.·Allowing students to revise without penalty, using the feedback they receive, until the standards are met or exceeded.This book is intended for faculty interested in exploring alternative forms of learning assessment as well as those currently using alternative grading systems who are looking for ideas and options to refine practice.

Are you satisfied with your current and traditional grading system? Does it accurately reflect your students' learning and progress? Can it be gamed? Does it lead to grade-grubbing and friction with your students?The authors of this book - two professors of mathematics with input from colleagues across disciplines and institutions - offer readers a fundamentally more effective and authentic approach to grading that they have implemented for over a decade. Recognizing that traditional grading penalizes students in the learning process by depriving them of the formative feedback that is fundamental to improvement, the authors offer alternative strategies that encourage revision and growth.Alternative grading is concerned with students' eventual level of understanding. This leads to big changes: Students take time to review past failures and learn from them. Conversations shift from why did I lose a point for this to productive discussions of content and process.Alternative grading can be used successfully at any level, in any situation, and any discipline, in classes that range from seminars to large multi-section lectures.This book offers a comprehensive introduction to alternative grading, beginning with a framework and rationale for implementation and evidence of its effectiveness. The heart of the book includes detailed examples - including variations on Standards-Based Grading, Specifications Grading, and ungrading -- of how alternative grading practices are used in all kinds of classroom environments, disciplines and institutions with a focus on first-hand accounts by faculty who share their practices and experience. The book includes a workbook chapter that takes readers through a step-by-step process for building a prototype of their own alternatively graded class and ends with concrete, practical, time-tested advice for new practitioners.The underlying principles of alternative grading involveEvaluating student work using clearly defined and context-appropriate content standards.Giving students helpful, actionable feedback.Summarizing the feedback with marks that indicate progress rather than arbitrary numbers.Allowing students to revise without penalty, using the feedback they receive, until the standards are met or exceeded.This book is intended for faculty interested in exploring alternative forms of learning assessment as well as those currently using alternative grading systems who are looking for ideas and options to refine practice.

Many educators agree that the 100-point grading model is not always a reliable way to evaluate student learning. But is there another way to more accurately and equitably grade students and provide high-quality information to parents while fostering student learning? If so, why haven't school districts across the country changed their practices? In Changing the Grade, author and educator Jonathan Cornue presents a detailed model for developing a more reliable, standards-based grading system—including 30 steps to guide you through the process. In addition to identifying and addressing the barriers to change—such as concerns about how colleges and employers will interpret an alternative grading model—Cornue offers a concrete structure for changing the grading system, providing guidance on: Thinking in a new way about why grades are given and the purpose of a report card grade; Identifying what needs to be changed and what actions must be taken to facilitate the change; Building a team of stakeholders—including teachers, principals, and guidance counselors—to lead the change process; Developing the new standards-based grading structure; Designing standards-based assignments and assessments that align with a new grading structure Avoiding grade inflation; and Getting buy-in from teachers and other staff members, principals, administrators, the board of education, and the community by demonstrating that the change process is intentional, research-based, student-focused, and permanent. The book also includes helpful samples of standards-based gradebooks, homework assignments, rubrics, and report cards. If you are interested in making a systemic and systematic shift to a high-quality grading structure that is far less subjective than many commonly found in schools, consider Changing the Grade.

"Joe Feldman shows us how we can use grading to help students become the leaders of their own learning and lift the veil on how to succeed. . . . This must-have book will help teachers learn to implement improved, equity-focused grading for impact." —Zaretta Hammond, Author of Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain Crack open the grading conversation Here at last—and none too soon—is a resource that delivers the research base, tools, and courage to tackle one of the most challenging and emotionally charged conversations in today’s schools: our inconsistent grading practices and the ways they can inadvertently perpetuate the achievement and opportunity gaps among our students. With Grading for Equity, Joe Feldman cuts to the core of the conversation, revealing how grading practices that are accurate, bias-resistant, and motivational will improve learning, minimize grade inflation, reduce failure rates, and become a lever for creating stronger teacher-student relationships and more caring classrooms. Essential reading for schoolwide and individual book study or for student advocates, Grading for Equity provides A critical historical backdrop, describing how our inherited system of grading was originally set up as a sorting mechanism to provide or deny opportunity, control students, and endorse a "fixed mindset" about students’ academic potential—practices that are still in place a century later A summary of the research on motivation and equitable teaching and learning, establishing a rock-solid foundation and a "true north" orientation toward equitable grading practices Specific grading practices that are more equitable, along with teacher examples, strategies to solve common hiccups and concerns, and evidence of effectiveness Reflection tools for facilitating individual or group engagement and understanding As Joe writes, "Grading practices are a mirror not just for students, but for us as their teachers." Each one of us should start by asking, "What do my grading practices say about who I am and what I believe?" Then, let’s make the choice to do things differently . . . with Grading for Equity as a dog-eared reference.

"An exploration of moving away from traditional letter or number grades as an assessment and as a result producing more thoughtful students whose learning is more authentic"--

Many educators agree that the 100-point grading model is not always a reliable way to evaluate student learning. But is there another way to more accurately and equitably grade students and provide high-quality information to parents while fostering student learning? If so, why haven’t school districts across the country changed their practices? In Changing the Grade, author and educator Jonathan Cornue presents a detailed model for developing a more reliable, standards-based grading system—including 30 steps to guide you through the process. In addition to identifying and addressing the barriers to change—such as concerns about how colleges and employers will interpret an alternative grading model—Cornue offers a concrete structure for changing the grading system, providing guidance on: • Thinking in a new way about why grades are given and the purpose of a report card grade; • Identifying what needs to be changed and what actions must be taken to facilitate the change; • Building a team of stakeholders—including teachers, principals, and guidance counselors—to lead the change process; • Developing the new standards-based grading structure; • Designing standards-based assignments and assessments that align with a new grading structure; • Avoiding grade inflation; and • Getting buy-in from teachers and other staff members, principals, administrators, the board of education, and the community by demonstrating that the change process is intentional, research-based, student-focused, and permanent. The book also includes helpful samples of standards-based gradebooks, homework assignments, rubrics, and report cards. If you are interested in making a systemic and systematic shift to a high-quality grading structure that is far less subjective than many commonly found in schools, consider Changing the Grade.

No matter the content area or grade level, proficiency-based grading puts student growth at the heart of the classroom. Designed for content-area teachers and administrators, Proficiency-Based Grading in the Content Areas details how to implement evidence-based grading and maintain its effectiveness over time. This book equips any educator -- from technical to fine arts -- with the tools to make this shift. Use proficiency-based grading (also known as evidence-based grading) to drive student success: Become familiar with the basic concepts and essential decisions of evidence-based grading that apply to all content areas. Study individual-level and institutional-level grading decisions and how they differ from each other. Become familiar with the steps, paradigm shifts, and pedagogy necessary to implement proficiency-based grading in a particular content area. Study the ways proficiency-based grading differs from content area to content area and the unique benefits it offers to each. Follow a structure that mirrors flow psychology and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's five stages of creativity. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Implementing Proficiency-Based Grading With Core Belief Fidelity Chapter 2: Implementing Evidence-Based Reporting in Career and Technical Education Chapter 3: Implementing Evidence-Based Grading in English Language Arts Chapter 4: Implementing Evidence-Based Grading in Fine Arts Chapter 5: Implementing Evidence-Based Grading in Mathematics Chapter 6: Implementing Evidence-Based Grading in Physical Education and Health Chapter 7: Implementing Evidence-Based Grading in Sciences Chapter 8: Implementing Evidence-Based Grading in Social Sciences Chapter 9: Implementing Evidence-Based Grading in World Languages Epilogue: Creating Self-Reliant Learners References and Resources Index