differentiation & grading: can they co-exist?caroltomlinson.com/presentations/grading_di.pdf ·...

Copyright 2010 Carol Tomlinson 1

Differentiation & Grading:

Can They Co-exist?

Qikiqtani Teachers’ Conference

Iqaluit, Nunavut

February 24, 2010

Carol Tomlinson

William Clay Parrish, Jr. Professor

University of Virginia

<[email protected]>

What is a Grade????“…a grade (is)…an inadequate report

of an imprecise judgmentof a biased and variable judgeof the extent to whicha student has attainedan undefined level of masteryof an unknown proportionon an indefinite amountof materials.

Paul Dressell,Michigan State University


To Untangle the Grading Knot

We need to consider two elements:

1) Grading issues of particular concern in a differentiated

classroom

2) Best practices in assessment

and grading

3) Whether or not best practices in

assessment & grading would

adequately address the issues

related to grading &

differentiation.

Unless we understand both the issues related to academically diverse classrooms and best practices in assessment & grading (and their interrelationship) we’ll stay tied in a knot! And unless the former leads us to solve the latter, we have a problem as well.


All learners need

a balanced success

to effort ratio

Struggling

Learners:

Heavy Effort

Little Success


Advanced

Learners:

Great Success,

Little Effort

The Unspoken Effect of Grades

For some students, the certainty of praise

and success in school has become a drug;

they continually need more.

For many other students, year upon year of

“not good enough” has eroded their

intellectual self-confidence and resulted in

a kind of mind-numbing malaise.

Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, p. 15.


If the question is, “Do rewards

motivate students?”

the answer is,

“Absolutely! They motivate students

to get rewards.”

Zen And The Art of Public School Teaching by John Perricone • Publish America • p. 68

In grading, as in all other teaching decisions, we need to

claim a share of the Hippocratic Oath…

Grading practices should support student learning.

They certainly should not undermine it—nor harm student

development as learners.


Essential Question: To what degree would adhering to the key principles of

effective grading address the differentiation-related concerns about grading

while eliminating error and communicating clearly to students & parents?

We should seek to ensure that grades:

1)Keep the Success to Effort Ratio in Balance

That is, grades (in conjunction with school

tasks/experiences) contribute to the student’s

sense that when they work hard, something

good generally comes of it.

2) Ensure that students develop a growth mindset

That is, grades (in conjunction with school

tasks/experiences) contribute to student trust

that sustained effort and hard work make

most things possible.


We should seek to ensure that grades:

1)Communicate Clearly

That is, a parent can trust that the grade is a

very accurate representation of just what a

student knows, understands, and can do in a

given subject, at a given time, based on clearly

understood criteria.

2) Support the parent in supporting learning

That is, grades guide parents in what to do

next to encourage student growth.

We should seek to ensure that grades are:

1)RELIABLE—

That is, that if we were to use the same

measure a couple of days, weeks, or months

later, the results would be relatively the same

for a given student.

2) VALID—

That is, we actually measured what we meant

to measure.

3) TRUE SCORE—

That is, the grade really represents what a

student knows, understands, and can do.


X = T + E

The Observed Score = the True Score + Error

The Grade We Give Really Indicates What the Student

Knows, Understands, and Can Do + Extraneous Factors

that Get in the Way of Indicating Precisely What the

Student Knows, Understands and Can Do.

For Grades to Be Valid, We Have to Do All We Can Do

to Eliminate Error.

That’s the Game Plan for Grading: To Ensure that Our

Grades are as Close as Possible to the Student’s

“True Score”—to eliminate “error.”

Let’s examine six key principles

of best-practice grading

to see if they would

help us address concerns that

arise in regard to grading &

differentiation, balance the

success to effort ratio, help

develop a growth mindset, communicate

clearly, and eliminate error.


Principles of Effective Grading & Reporting

Principle #1

• It’s unwise to

over-grade

student work



Principle #2

Grades should be

based on clearly

specified learning

goals


Principle #3

Grades should be

criterion-based,

not norm-based


Principles of Effective Grading and

Reporting

Principle # 4

Data used for grading

must be valid (measure

what we intend to measure).

That is, the data must be free

of “Grade Fog.”

Common Sources of Bias and Distortion

Problems that can occur with the student

Lack of reading skill/language

Emotional upset

Poor health

Lack of testwiseness

Evaluation anxiety

Problems that can occur with the setting

Physical conditions – light, heat, noise, etc.

Problems that can occur with the assessment itself

Directions lacking or unclear

Poorly worded questions/prompts

Insufficient time

Misaligned with goals and/or instruction

Based on the ideas of Rick Stiggins


Grades are broken when zeros are used:

Zeros distort the actual achievement record

and can decrease student motivation to

learn.

There are, however, many fixes in the form of grading alternatives.

Schools/districts develop policies regarding these alternatives, then indicate to

their teachers which alternative(s) they can or should use in their classrooms.

A zero has an underserved and devastating influence so much so that

no matter what the student does, the grade distorts the final grade as a

true indicator of mastery. Mathematically and ethically this is

unacceptable. Wormeli, 2006, pp. 137-138

A Repair Kit for Grading by Ken O’Connor • Educational Testing Service, • p. 91-92

Zeros Cause Grade Fog

Whenever I hear statistics being quoted, I am

reminded of the statistician who drowned

while wading across a river with an average

depth of three feet.(McMann, 2003, np)

The mean can be very well named -- it is truly “mean” to students because it

overemphasizes outlier scores, which are most often low outliners. As we see

in the following case, the calculation of the mean can distort the final grade.

Ten assessments have been converted to percentage scores to calculate a final

grade:

91, 91, 91, 91. 91. 91. 91. 70. 91. 91

Total; = 889. Mean = 88/9. Final grade = B

This student performed at an A level, 9 times out of 10 and the 70 is clearly an

anomaly. But the grade as calculated in most schools would be a B.

A Repair Kit for Grading by Ken O’Connor • Educational Testing Service • p. 81-82

Assigning a Mean Can Cause Grade Fog



Reporting

Principle # 5

Grade later in the

learning cycle

rather than

earlier.

Some Possible Solutions

What About Report Cards?



Reporting

Principle # 6

When it’s time for

report cards,

practice 3-P

grading.

Achievement

on clearly

delineated

content goals

Habits of

mind and

work

Growth in

achievement

on clearly

delineated

content goals


1. Attach an explanatory checklist with the 3 Ps

2. Talk with parents during conferences about

the 3 Ps.

3. Send an e-mail or a note with a report on the 3 Ps.

4. Have students keep records of their 3 Ps and

write a summary to parents.

5. Work to change the report card.

In any case, talk with your students consistently about the 3 Ps, their importance

in student development, and their interrelationships. Give 3P feedback!

What Might My Grade Book

Look Like?


Remember:

the learning

goals

typically

don’t change

when a

task is

differentiated.

It’s the

support

system,

route of

access,

mode of

expression,

personal

connection,

etc. that

generally

constitutes

differentiation

Curriculum Assessment Instruction Reporting

What is the target? (KUDs)

Who’s with me as we make the journey toward the KUDs?

(Pre-and Formative Assessment)

What do I do along the way to ensure that each student masters

--&, if possible, moves beyond the KUDs?

(Differentiation—and best practice assessment)

How do I communicate the student’s status

relative to the KUDs?

(Grading/Reporting)


Grade Inflation: Sense and

NonsenseTeachers should set criteria for grades and determine

what should set criteria for grades and determine

what achievement level equals mastery.

The number of students who get A’s should equal the

number who master the criteria set

for an A. If our instruction (i.e. treatment)

is effective, that number should be high!!

Phi Delta Kappan – Thomas F. Kelly – May 2009 – p. 696

Too often, educational tests, grades, and report cards are treated by teachers as autopsies when they should be viewed as physicals.

(Reeves 2000, p. 10)

differentiation & grading: can they co-exist?caroltomlinson.com/presentations/grading_di.pdf ·...

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