Here are some of the key points from Grading Guru Rick Wormelli on solid grading practices as we continue to transition our thinking on grading and grading practices - (below is Rick's entire power point and an article which will be utilized during PD)
10 Practices to Avoid in a Differentiated Classroom (They Dilute a Grade's Validity and Effectiveness)
- Penalizing students' multiple attempts at mastery
- Grading practice (daily homework) as students come to know concepts (Feedback, not grading, is needed on practice work)
- Withholding assistance (not scaffolding or differentiating) in the learning when it is needed
- Giving Group Grades
- Incorporating non-academic factors (behavior, attendance, effort etc.)
- Assessing students in ways that do not accurately indicate students' mastery (student responses are hindered by the assessment format)
- Grading on a curve
- Allowing extra credit (extra credit inflates the actual grade)
- Defining supposedly criterion-based grades in terms of norm-referenced descriptions ("above average", "average", etc. are not clear descriptors of learning outcomes)
- Recording zeroes on the 100.0 scale for work not done (the range for a zero is given WAY too much weight on a traditional 100 point scale)
- Rick Wormelli, 2019
