Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning

by Thomas R. Guskey, Jane M. Bailey

Teachers, parents, students, administrators, and community members all agree that we need better grading and reporting systems. Often, these systems are inadequate because they are part of a tradition that can go unexamined and unquestioned for years. Here is the first serious look at the issue, written to provide all those involved — especially teachers — with a coherent and thoughtful framework.

Guskey and Bailey offer four pillars of successful grading and reporting

Communication is the primary goal of grading and reporting Grading and reporting are integral parts of the instructional process Good reporting is based on good evidence Creating change in grading and reporting requires creating a multi-faceted reporting system Written to help readers develop a deeper and more reflective understanding of the various aspects of the subject, Thomas Guskey and Jane Bailey′s work brings organization and clarity to a murky and disagreement-filled topic.

Here is a practical and essential guide for teachers, administrators or anyone concerned with understanding and implementing best practices in grading and reporting systems.

Genres: Education, Teaching

Kindle Edition

First published October 17, 2000

Reviews

[Corinne Herlihy · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book has some helpful framing devices for grading, it can’t combat the fact that it was published in 2000. It discusses emails and online grading as new tools for teachers, which they were 25 year ago, but ANY profession has changed drastically with the internet. This leaves the book as nothing more than antiquated and sometimes even lacking nuance in the wake of the COVID outbreak. I can’t believe a summer course would assign this aged tome.

[Maia Goodman Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a four star book for literary merit (obviously), rather it's a meta-analysis that challenges some of our general conceptions of grading. Like many of my education-related books, I bought this beauty for grad school and then never read it. However, this year I finally got fed up with having the "how many points do I need to get (an A/a B/a C/etc)," I broke down an read the book. Not nearly as titillating as most summer reading, but very helpful in formulating grading procedures.

[Brianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a teacher, you should probably read this. It challenges you (in good ways) to think about the whys and ways you report information about a student's progress/assign grades. I feel the self-reflection piece of this book has made me more effective in working with my students and their parents. Now I just need to get the rest of society to buy into it! :)

[Christin Edge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most pleasant read, but was insightful about how students are graded in the classroom. The ideas presented in this book seem workable but not feasible. The entire American grading system would have to be transformed. With this in mind, I felt like I was wasting my time reading a theoretical book!