Grading Basics

2018 ◽  
pp. 165-178
Author(s):  
Brian P. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Communicative Function ◽  
Standards Based Grading ◽  
Assignment Completion ◽  
Grading Policies

This chapter will provide music educators with a deeper understanding of the grading process. Some elements of grades and grading are immediately apparent, while others lurk powerfully below the surface. Grades are to function as communication about student achievement. However, the often-arbitrary nature of grading policies and calculations means that their communicative function is less effective. Grades can facilitate learning in addition to their reporting function. Standards-Based Grading is an approach that emphasizes student achievement in grades, and the exclusion of nonacademic information such as timely assignment completion, attendance, and effort. Various grading procedures are discussed.

scholarly journals Rural High School Principals and the Challenge of Standards-Based Grading

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-102
Author(s):  
Tom Buckmiller ◽  
Matt Townsley ◽  
Robyn Cooper
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High Schools ◽  
High School Principals ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Rural High Schools ◽  
Lead Teachers ◽  
Standards Based Grading ◽  
Grading Policies

The purpose of this study was to better understand how principals in rural schools are thinking about assessment and grading practices and if they anticipate implementing policy changes in the near future that may require increased support. Principals of schools in rural areas often face challenges that are significantly different from those of their urban and suburban counterparts. The researchers used a mixed-method survey to better understand if progressive grading policies were a part of the vision for principals of rural high schools, if they possessed conceptual underpinnings of such practices, and if they believed they had the capacity within their districts to lead teachers toward more effective grading policies. A high frequency of high school principals in rural schools said standards-based grading (SBG) was a part of their 5-year vision. These principals also showed relatively high mean scores of standards-based assessment literacy, and moderately high percentages believed they have the resources and capacity to support SBG. The researchers thus conclude that there is a high likelihood that many rural high schools will be implementing some form of SBG within the next 5 years.

scholarly journals Standards-Based Grading in a Thermodynamics Course

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L Post
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Learning Objective ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Standards Based Grading ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Implementation Of Standards

Standards based grading is a formal assessment mechanism that tests for student achievement of specified learning objectives, or standards. Standards-Based-Grading has been gaining in popularity in K-12 education, and also has been seeing increased use in higher education, though it has only recently been used in engineering education. This paper describes how Standards-Based Grading was implemented in a second-semester Thermodynamics course. A total of eleven learning objectives were specified for the course. In this implementation of Standards-Based Grading, all assessments are done on a pass-fail basis. That is to say, there is no partial credit given. Once a student passes an assessment, usually given in the form of a quiz, on a given learning objective, it is assumed the student has mastered that concept and is not tested on it again. Students are allowed to re-test on particular objectives if they do not pass them on the first try. The final exam serves as a last chance for students to pass any objectives they did not complete earlier in the semester. The learning objectives can be mapped to student outcomes such as those required for accreditation without having to generate a separate set of data outside the normal course grading.

Standards-Based Grading Practices Among Practicing Music Educators

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-37
Author(s):  
Nathan A. St. Pierre ◽  
Brian C. Wuttke
Keyword(s):  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Grading Practices ◽  
Standards Based Grading ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Do So ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

This study sought to describe the prevalence of Standards-based grading (SBG) among practicing music teachers and report the rationale teachers provided for or against its use. Participants were music educators ( N = 96) responsible for grading students. Most participants (52.08%, n = 50) indicated that they were not familiar with SBG. Many participants (46.86%, n = 45) reported familiarity and reported using SBG completely or partially in practice. These participants provided definitions of SBG to validate their self-reports. Definitions were scored using a 4-point rubric. Some of the participants ( n = 7) who said they were using SBG in their teaching provided definitions demonstrating no understanding of SBG. Therefore, these results indicate that 39.58% ( n = 38) of the total participants ( N = 96) were using SBG. Overwhelmingly, when asked to provide the reason(s) why they did not use SBG, teachers described lack of knowledge about SBG as the reason. The most prevalent rationale the teachers gave for using SBG was that teachers were required to do so.

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