Chapter 13: Assessing Student Learning Cases to Consider

Read this Case to Consider, then voice your opinion on this topic area and see where you stand compared to others. .

Making the Grade
Written by Gordon E. Greenwood, University of Florida

Rachel Greenberg is a beginning social studies teacher in a large urban high school. In preparation for a social studies department meeting, she talks with Toni Sue Garrick in the teachers' lounge.

Rachel: Toni, do you have a minute to tell me about the school's grading policy?

Toni Sue: Sure. Where do you want to begin?

Rachel: Well, we do have a policy, I assume?

Toni Sue: I guess you could say so. If you look on the report cards, you'll notice that 94 to 100 is an A, 88 to 94 is a B, and so forth. Anything below 70 is failing.

Rachel: What if no one gets in the 94 to 100 range?

Toni Sue: Then either you don't give any A's, if you think the test was fair, or you adjust the scale by adding on points to every student's score. There's no rigid policy, but if you give too many A's and B's, that could become a problem.

Rachel: How many are too many?

Toni Sue: Well, certainly there should be more B's than A's and more C's than either A's or B's. You try to approximate the normal bell-shaped curve in a general, flexible way. It all depends on the students' ability level. In an advanced placement history course, I seldom give D's or F's. In the sophomore-level world history course, however, the number of D's and F's fairly closely approximates the number of A's and B's.

Rachel: What if a teacher puts a mastery learning plan into effect, and it works so well that everyone achieves at practically 100 percent? What happens to the bell-shaped curve then?

Toni Sue: Well, that happened a few years back. One young teacher did give almost all A's and B's. It came to light when the students began comparing grades at report card time. Some other teachers and parents were quite upset. The administration smoothed things over with the parents and other teachers. As for the young teacher, he's at another school now. I hear he's doing a fine job.

Rachel: Oh. Well, another question: In my history classes I plan to emphasize individual and small-group projects. I am interested in cooperative learning approaches with mixed-ability groups.

Toni Sue: Group projects are nice, but grading them can be very subjective and hard to defend. I'd go easy on that.

Rachel: So you'd recommend objective tests, not essay tests?

Toni Sue: Right. Good objective tests are hard to write, but they're worth it because students and parents have a hard time arguing grading bias, favoritism, or subjectivity when you give objective tests. Also, I figure that objective tests help prepare the kids to succeed on standardized achievement tests.

Rachel: I see what you mean, but I try to keep outcomes in mind-overall objectives like verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, and so on. But teaching for those outcomes may not always leave time for teaching to objective tests. What if some of my students get D's and F's? I'm a little afraid of some of the parents.

Toni Sue: I think communication is the key. If the students-and their parents-think you're fair, you'll have few problems. Spell out very clearly what you expect and what the grading procedures are. After all, our society was founded on competition. Our kids have to learn how to deal with failure as well as success. And parents should understand that too.

Rachel: Thanks, Toni Sue! I don't know if I altogether agree with you about the value of failure, but I really appreciate your support.

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