On Your Mark: Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting

Create and sustain a learning environment where students thrive and stakeholders are accurately informed of student progress. Clarify the purpose of grades, craft a vision statement aligned with this purpose, and discover research-based strategies to implement effective grading and reporting practices. Identify policies and practices that render grading inaccurate, and understand the role grades play in students' future success and opportunities.

Benefits

• Question traditional grading and reporting practices, and seek more accurate practices.
• Identify the purpose of grading, and ensure school and classroom visions, practices, and policies support it.
• Implement research-based grading and reporting practices that promote accurate, useful accounts of student learning.
• Understand why traditional practices, such as grading on the curve and offering plus or minus grades, don't fully report student academic performance.
• Examine grading and reporting policies, and make sure they support students, parents, and other stakeholders.