Sample Grading Practices for a Nine-Week Grading Period

Sample 1
Graded Work Weekly Points Total Points Bobs Scores
Homework 25 points/week (5
points each
assignment, 5
assignments/week)
225
End of Unit Test 100 (bi-weekly, 3
unit tests in 9
weeks)
300
Quizzes 10 points/week (1
quiz/week)
90
Group Competition 35 35
Bonus Questions 5 points/week (1
quiz/week)
45
Teach-backs 20 (bi-weekly, 3
teach-backs in 9
weeks)
60
End of Chapter
Problems
5 (end of unit bi-
weekly)
15


Group Competition 25 25
Remember
Calculator
2 (9 quizzes + 3
unit tests + 3 teach-
backs)
30
Attendance 1 (45 class
sessions)
45
Participation 2 (45 class
sessions)
90
Project 50 50 Possible Total
Score: 1110

Sample 2
Graded Work Weekly Points Total Points Bobs Scores
Homework 25 points/week (5
points each
assignment, 5
assignments/week)
225
End of Unit Test 100 (bi-weekly, 3
unit tests in 9
weeks)
300
Quizzes 10 points/week (1
quiz/week)
90
Project 50 50
Participation 1 45 classes 45 Possible Total: 710
For starters, developing a list of elements that could be incorporated in the
grading process proved to be extremely difficult. It was a real eye-opener to
separate the wheat from the tare so to speak. It lead to a lot of self-questioning:
what really matters when it comes to final grades? How many mistakes have I made
as an educator in getting students acclimated to a type of assessment that wont
even measure their mastery of the content?
In my first sample, I have listed under my graded work column the twelve
items that my partner and I had come up with to include in what would receive
points in a math class. Some things included in this sample were a group
competition, attendance, and remembering a calculator. All of these things share one
thing in common: they have no relevance to the process of mastery! If assessment is
supposed to be a tool to measure how much a student knows, how do miniscule
things such as remembering to bring your own calculator factor into proving a
students level of comprehension?
Marzano makes a powerful statement that grades are so imprecise that they
are almost meaningless; and these charts above prove just that. This was not only
example of a single teacher modifying what is to be counted for points. This was a
painted picture of how a staff meeting would look like if all educators throughout
the building were asked to bring a layout of how his/her students are assessed.
There would be some elements that everyone agrees are important. On the other
hand, there are elements that one educator would value over others. Because there
is no standard set, because there is no right or wrong answer, letter grades are
simply an irrelevant factor in measuring how much a student knows and how much
more an educator needs to teach.