When teachers use assessment strategies that help students learn the standards, they find that the traditional grading system is often in conflict with those goals. Marzano (2000) states there are three problem areas around classroom grading practices “(1) teachers consider many factors other than academic achievement when they assign grades, (2) teachers weigh assessments differently, and (3) teachers misinterpret single scores on classroom assessments.” If the primary purpose of grades is to communicate information about student learning, then in a standards based system, grades should reflect learning standards and not other variables.
For grading and reporting systems to meet this goal districts, schools, and classroom teachers must understand the systemic changes needed at the district, school, and classroom levels. Changing grading practice means changing the way teachers determine and record grades in grade books.
Source: Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association Chicago, IL April 2003, by Nancy McMunn, Patricia Schenck, &Wendy McColskey
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