Solution Tree On Your Mark: Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting (A book for K-12 assessment policies and practices)

by Thomas Guskey

Create and sustain a learning environment where students thrive and stakeholders are accurately informed of student progress. Clarify the purpose of grades, craft a vision statement aligned with this purpose, and discover research-based strategies to implement effective grading and reporting practices. Identify policies and practices that render grading inaccurate, and understand the role grades play in students' future success and opportunities. K-12 teachers and administrators
Chapter 1: Define the Purpose of Grades
Chapter 2: Challenge the Use of Percentage Grades
Chapter 3: Challenge Plus and Minus and Half-Grade Increments
Chapter 4: Challenge Bell-Shaped Grade Distributions
Chapter 5: Challenge the Computation of Class Rank
Chapter 6: Challenge the Use of a Single Grade
Chapter 7: Challenge the Use of Mathematical Algorithms
Chapter 8: Challenge Practices That Confound the Meaning of Grades
Final Thoughts

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Professional Development, School, Leadership, Adult

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 20, 2014

Reviews

[Wesley Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 5 stars, not because it is perfect and has all the answers, but because it brings up ideas that everyone should be thinking about. There are so many issues with the way we grade. It is the most important outcome for most students, and yet most teachers have received little to no training on grades.

We use computers to calculate exact percentages, but this gives a false illusion of accuracy. When you compare the way different teachers grade the same student's work, we are likely to get consistency only if there are about 5 different categories. Yet we have 12 levels of grades (F, D-,...A-,A), and we calculate a student's GPA to the third decimal place. This GPA combines classes of all different difficulties, fails to show growth over time, and incentivizes students to take as few classes as possible. Then we use this GPA to determine school awards, college acceptance, and scholarship eligibility.

As Guskey explains, we need to define clearly what the purpose of grades is. Is it to communicate a student's learning to parents and colleges, to help students self-evaluate and be motivated to improve, to stratify and select the top students, to assess the quality of teaching, and/or to punish low-achieving students? Grades are used for all of those purposes, which is inappropriate if that's not what the teacher is designing them for. I like Guskey's idea of having multiple grades in a class, to show learning for each standard and for other desired outcomes like punctuality and behavior.

That being said, Guskey does not answer a lot of the questions this book poses. How can we change our grading software and transcripts to report multiple grades? What should be communicated to colleges and parents? If we stop grading certain things, how do teachers motivate students to complete all their work on time? How do we combat grade inflation, which he does not see as a problem?

I don't think he could possibly answer all of these questions, but this was a great start for anyone interested in the topic. I'll have to read more specific work on standards-based grading to see how I can implement more of this in my class, but hopefully all teachers and students can be more critical of the purpose and process of determining grades.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for solutions to outdated grading policies, this book is not it. What this book does is make you think about each grading practice and why it is outdated and some possible solutions. Each chapter could even be used as an individual study of a specific grade policy.

This is the perfect book to start your journey on changing your grading practices. Highly recommend. Also, it's short.

[Gable Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an eye opening book. Who knew that there were so many problems with the traditional grading system? He presents a lot of good ideas but the best thing about it is that he is not pushing a particular system to replace what we currently have. He gives a lot of good ideas but then encourages people and schools to do some research and figure out which system will work best for them. However, eventually I think the whole system needs to be reformed to some standard that we can all agree on.

[Stacey Spanier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of great thoughts but nothing new to me at this point. Still, nice to feel confirmed that the grading shifts I’ve made are moving in the right direction.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m late to this book, but it would be a great tool to foster discussions about the purpose of grading and how school values shape what students’ learning experiences look like. What do grades look like? What contributes to students’ grades? What does a zero mean and what can be done about them, etc.?

[Cristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This makes the same few points again and again. I agree with the main ideas but there is little depth to the argument and the proposal for alternatives is severely lacking. If someone were really stuck in an old way of thinking about grades maybe this could be a game changer but without a roadmap I don’t know how it could offer solutions.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked and agreed with a lot of the ideas in the book. I’m a huge fan of the Canadian report card method because it seems more in depth. I also agree with the fact that a lot of teachers assign grades for stuff that has nothing to do with achievement or learning.

I didn’t like how he kept quoting himself. This is rather shallow and should only be done minimally- not through out an entire book. I eventually started ignoring when he quoted himself, if you wrote it, you don’t need to quote yourself- it’s not plagiarism if you repeat what you wrote in another book.

I still have a significant problem, however, with his solution to the giving zeroes for incomplete work. It’s funny, he seems to quote all this research on grading and motivation etc, but when it comes to his suggestion of “holding students accountable” he has zero research- probably because there is no legitimate solution to this problem.

My main problem is this: if you shouldn’t give zeroes to students who do nothing, than what should you do? The author keeps repeating the same line -students should be held accountable: so they should be given an incomplete and then made to stay after school or attend a special makeup session during school hours to make up the assignment. The problem is- this doesn’t work. Anyone who has ever been a teacher in middle or high school knows this. Imagine for a moment- I follow Guskey’s advice- I have a student who doesn’t turn anything in, receives an Incomplete (instead of a zero) and then is told they must attend a mandatory extra help/in school support session. This will invite the following scenario:

Student does no work, teacher assigns a non-numerical Incomplete (instead of a zero or an F) and the student is told that they must come for extrahelp/stay after school/go to in school help session to make up the incomplete. Student never shows up (students who aren’t motivated to do the assignment in the first place, surprisingly aren’t motivated to stay for extra help). Keeps the incomplete. Next assignment, same result. This goes on for weeks. Parents are called, they never answer. End of the marking period arrives, student has no grade because they never did any assignments. Student is told for the 40th time that they are held accountable for their grade. Student doesn’t care because there is no real consequence. Repeat this process for all marking periods.

The student learns to game the system. If an incomplete has no numerical value and does not affect the average (like a zero or an F does), then they can literally skip every single assignment, do just one assignment well, and get an A without having done almost anything for the entire grading period. Not a good outcome. This will happen because students that aren’t responsible enough to do their assignments in the first place, aren’t responsible enough to stay after school or go to mandatory extra help sessions. Guskey is extremely naïve about this, which is odd because he claims to be a teacher. He says students must be held accountable for their actions, and I agree, but how? I can’t force a student to go for extra help. And in my experience, they won’t. Why? Because it extends their school day. If you make me give them a no-value symbol like an incomplete instead of a zero or an F, they are even MORE motivated to never complete it; especially if it doesn’t affect their grade. I agree grades shouldn’t be used as punishment. In fact any punishment is not a good motivator, but giving a mediocre consequence isn’t a consequence. Many Kids learn risk vs reward fairly early in life and apply it to their grades constantly.

Maybe Guskey’s working on a real solution to this problem for yet another book.

[Stephen Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book challenges the way teachers grade students. In fact, almost every chapter starts with "challenge" something. His main point is that grades are supposed to do something, but if a school or even a teacher doesn't have a clear purpose in mind, then the process of grading loses its meaning. He then argues that grading should reflect students' abilities to master the work/skills that the class is supposed to teach. This "standards-based grading" means that if a student can write an outstanding essay at the end of the semester, he should get an A regardless of how he did the rest of the semester because he has mastered that skill. He argues against muddying grades by taking off for punctuality or behavioral issues. He would like to put that in a separate grade for compliance rather than mastery. This part of the argument is compelling for classes that focus on skill-building.

Guskey challenges several other aspects of grading, such as the use of percentage grades, arguing instead on a 1-5 system because that allows clear cut offs and accurate grading. He argues against +/- systems because it is harder to have 11 clear differentiations than it is 4. I understood his argument, but was not completely convinced. He seems to be saying that it easier to be consistent if we give graders a wide margin for error. Reducing that margin of error reduces consistency. I'm going to have to think about that one.

He also argues against grade curving, class ranking and valedictorians. These arguments aren't radical, but face the problem of "that's how we've always done things" as well as what colleges want.

This book is organized well, but the writing comes across as arrogant and condescending (it was almost like reading the label of an Arrogant Bastard Ale), which was difficult to overcome at first. But once you get past that style, it is thought-provoking and will doubtless have an impact on my teaching. I suppose that it is ironic that I am giving it four stars when, according to Guskey, I should break my rating into five stars for content and three stars for writing.

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter's English teacher raved about this book at Open House. In order to better understand the teacher's grading practices, I decided to read it for myself. Guskey presents a set of challenges for educators to consider. Challenges include percentage grades, using plus and minus grades, grading on a curve, class rank, and procedures used to select valedictorians. Guskey encourages educators to engage all stakeholders in a discussion about the purpose of grades and grading and then consider a reporting system (not one device) that would work based on what research tells us about grades and grading. Three types of grades are identified - product, process, and progress grades. Guskey says that grading should always be in reference to specific learning criteria and not attached to behaviors. Guskey asks educators to consider whether they are "selecting talent" or "developing talent." Because your reason for teaching will determine your purpose in grading. I would like to see educators striving to develop talent.

[Andrew Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent resource to help educators think critically about their assessment practices. Guskey covers the pros and (mostly) cons of every major assessment technique, from percentage grading to "mastery-based" assessment, delving into how often times disagreements about grading stem from philosophical differences about its essential purpose. Guskey also makes sure to cite his research in case readers want to continue investigating and exploring various approaches to assessment.

The biggest problem is that Guskey does such a thorough job dismantling most traditional notions about grades, he leaves a question hanging: Would school be better without any grades at all? He never offers an idea of what assessment-without-grades might look like, or how it might work in a school system that still insists on final course grades. Granted, the book was published in 2015, and gradeless teaching seems to be a more recent trend, but I'd be curious to know Guskey's thoughts.

[Emi Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an insightful book!!!! Stole this from my dad’s collection of books, and found it to be super interesting, especially as someone who hadn’t previously given much thought to the percentage grading system. Guskey brings up several great points — that educators and schools need to come to a consensus on the purpose of grading; that grading should be based on learning standards rather than normative grading in which students compete against one another; that education systems should implement a four-point scale rather than a percentage grading system in order to grade more reliably and honestly across teachers and schools (more categories = less reliability); that students who would be given a zero are instead given an “I” grade for “incomplete” and are subsequently required to attend a study session(s) in which the assignment is completed, given that funding allows for this; and so on… Truly an amazing book. Now I want to read more books about grading and education!

[Tyler Shafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A succinct, yet relatively comprehensive overview of the flawed grading and reporting habits common in American education. Many educators undervalue the impact of grading practices on the classroom, failing to recognize how they impact all aspects of teaching, especially establishing learning objectives and designing quality assessments. Guskey clearly understands the importance of his topic. He presents a powerful argument against the perniciousness of the “we’ve always done it this way” paradigm in education. He successful argues that many of the practices he describes, many of which are quite common, actually are harmful for students. Those looking for a thorough description of best practices will be disappointed, but Guskey does provide a nice blueprint for educators to find their own answers.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guskey's book provides a useful starting point for my project of re-envisioning my grading policy. In some cases, he provides very clear answers for how this should be done--fewer measurement categories leads to greater accuracy; zeros on a 100% scale distort overall scores--and at times he asks questions that don't have easy answers--What is the purpose of a grade? How do our grades reflect what most matters in our practice? Some of his suggestions require larger systemic power I don't have--grade reports providing multiple marks in all the various categories, or providing descriptive grades instead of scores, but at least these are good conversation starters with those who do hold that power.

[Hillary Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this as a staff at Washougal High School to open up a Pandora's box regarding grading practices. I think it was a thoughtful and fruitful book study. But, change in our school is going to take a lot of time. But, I am hopeful that doors of opportunity to looking at grading practices have been opened. I am proud of our administration for taking the risk and requiring this book study in lieu of our staff meetings. Well done Hansen, Clark, Castle and McGarvey.

[Elizabeth Shoemaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has complete changed my grading practices. I now grade in a way that aligns my teaching goals, my student needs, and my eithics. I have reasons backed by research and logic for all of my practices. Are you willing to question everything about how you teach? Then you are the right audience for this book. If you don't want to question what you do when you teach, then...you will not get anything from this book.

[Tomas Nilsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes you think about grading. It is a book that all people should read who had anything to do with grading students. The author does an excellent job identifying the many problems with our grading system. I don’t think the solutions the author propose are silver bullets (by a long shot), but it doesn’t start a conversation around how we grade students and what is missing from the equation.

[Claire Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book as intro to grading reform. I think it provided a lot of great arguments against some antiquated practices. I wish it provided more solutions that could be done on a smaller scale. I also felt it got a little repetitive in the arguments against multiple things. Overall I think it was a useful read that I would recommend to someone just starting to learn about improving grading practices.

[Charnae LaLuzerne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers what progressive educators already know: assigning letter and percentage grades to students does them a disservice. That kind of grade students does not represent their learning. This is a good read if you feel you want support in changing systematic grading scales or if you want more information behind the philosophy of grading.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a teacher reevaluating grading in my classroom, there was a lot this book that was not really relevant to me, such as the sections of why we shouldn’t evaluate class ranks.

But I found the section on not including plus and minus grade marks convincing.

If you are re-evaluating grades in your classroom this is not a bad book to read, but it wouldn’t be my first recommendation.

[Whitney]

There was so much in this book that made me think about my own grading practices. There are some things I completely agree with, and we need to change how learning is "graded." There were also some things I wanted more information on, and I didn't exactly jump on board.

My team is looking at revamping our grading systems next year, and this was a great introduction to much of his research.

[Adam Hallihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that will cause educators to think about the choices they make regarding grading practices. We should be doing what research proves to be he most effective for student learning. Too often we choose what we know versus what is effective.

[Jill Dater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well... it was about grading. Yes, it dealt with most of the issues that we face as teachers and have to grade things. Did it offer great solutions? Well..... Mostly it felt like a list of the wrong ways to grade. A short book that opens up the issues... now go solve them.

[Casey Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standards-based grading is such an important step forward in education. Students should not be punished for falling off the bike as they learn. They should be rewarded for the mastery of riding at the end. Purposeful practice should not be punished - yes!!!

[David Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succinct review of a range of problematic aspects of grading and reporting, with some excellent advice for how to go about resolving these issues.
Provides a good roadmap for anyone trying to improve assessment in their school

[Thomas Ellenwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the critical examination that we needed to have about how we go about grading and reporting in the educational system. Highly recommend as a way to open your mind about the traditional educational system and start to think about changes that need to be made.

[Megan Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book to spend some time with. I don’t know if there was anything in here that was totally new to me (I’ve been doing some work on grading equity for a while now) but the book did give me a common language to discuss with my colleagues. Worth a read.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting review of researching on grading and how it does and doesn't impact learning. I'm doing lots of things wrong right now. Figuring out what to change first.

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every teacher should read!

[Heather Carreiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent synthesis of current research on grading practices. Thought-provoking and practical.

[Courtenay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging and thought-provoking. A must read for every teacher.