When it comes to grading, does 鈥渢ough love鈥� work?
The disparity between students鈥� grades and their performance on standardized tests has resurfaced the age-old question about whether students鈥� grades accurately reflect what they鈥檝e learned. Furthermore, new questions are emerging about what grading practices are most equitable.
In 2020, EdWeek covered a report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute contending that students perform better on end-of-year standardized tests when their teachers are tough graders. The piece was recently resurfaced on social media, which prompted teachers to share their grading opinions. Educators discussed grading鈥檚 validity and relevance to learning, as well as their thoughts on grading practices as a whole.
The following is a collection of the most popular sentiments from those conversations.
In short ... hear, hear!
鈥淎驳谤别别!鈥�
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鈥淕ee, shocking.鈥�
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鈥淚 do hope this is not shocking.鈥�
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鈥凄耻丑.鈥�
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Should test scores be the end goal?
鈥溾�橠oing better on tests鈥� means absolutely NOTHING.鈥�
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鈥淲ith 20 years of data on standardized testing, I鈥檝e yet to see someone use it to prove that standardized testing is working, or helpful to students at all, let alone worth the financial investment. Prepping students for a standardized test is NOT teaching.鈥�
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鈥淸I] had a teacher who told us the answers. We thought we were smart, but we were memorizing the information required.鈥�
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Keep grading standards by the book
鈥淪o it鈥檚 simple. C is average. Most kids are there. B is above average, and A is extraordinary. Very few kids earn an A. But teachers just give them because it makes life easier. Then kids take tests and they are average ... Effort grades are different! Kids can work really hard and still be average, but their effort is outstanding. The difference matters a LOT!鈥�
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鈥淚t is hard to get an A in my classes, but not because I purposefully make it difficult, but because to get an A, I require exceptional work. Doing the required work is expected, so if you do it all, you get a C. To get the A ... you have to go 鈥榳ell above the average鈥� in all skills ...鈥�
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鈥淚 had hell to pay when my grades were lower than the lackadaisical previous teacher[鈥榮].鈥�
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Tough grades can be a wakeup call
鈥淚 think tough grades are fine if students have options to learn from their mistakes and not be penalized for them. There has to be a way to do this while still holding students accountable for best efforts.鈥�
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鈥淕iven the research that shows that grades themselves are not actually causally related to improving learning, I wonder if this study would also hold for: When teachers are demanding of quality work and offer time for students to respond to feedback, students learn more.鈥�
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Progress鈥攁nd the support of it鈥攁re key
鈥淲hat if high expectations and support at the beginning and middle happened so grades didn鈥檛 have to be the wake-up call? Grades aren鈥檛 the answer. Supporting teachers who then have the power to support students is key. Bringing families in on the learning is the third leg to a balanced equation.鈥�
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鈥淚鈥檝e become a big fan of the four-point scale. 4 is above. 3 is on level. 2 is below, but progressing. 1 is well below. It gives parents a MUCH more accurate sense of what their kid is accomplishing.鈥�
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鈥淭his might鈥檝e been true when kids cared about grades and parents were engaged in parenting enough to hold their kids accountable.鈥�
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