pet6516_effective_grading_in_physical_education

EFFECTIVE GRADING

EFFECTIVE GRADING IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Effective Teaching and Classroom Management in Physical Education

PURPOSE FOR GRADING & GRADE REPORTING

Students use grades as an indicator of their level of achievement.

Report achievement of a student to others.

Grades as incentives can be used to reward effort and compliance with rules.

Provide an incentive to students and encourage them to learn.

Can be indicators of program’s effectiveness.

Grades can be used to sort students.

DEVELOPING A MEANINGFUL GRADING SYSTEM

Grades should indicate the proportion of learning targets students have mastered (Guskey 1996).

Grades should be based on students’ achievement.

Some are advocating elimination of grades.

Building assessment to improve performance requires that grades and reports reflect values and provide apt feedback (Wiggins 1998a).

PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONAL GRADING PRACTICES

When teachers try to factor managerial concerns, effort, improvement, attitudes and behaviors, and a host of other variables into a grade, the meaning of the grade becomes distorted and confusing (Wiggins 1998a).

GRADING ON MANAGERIAL CONCERNS

Grading on attendance, dress for class, and participation lowers the learning expectation in exchange for student compliance.

The importance of physical education is diminished.

Does not represent students’ learning.

EFFORT

Effort is very difficult to judge or measure.

Unless teachers use heart rate monitors to measure output, measuring effort is not possible.

• Low-fit students are often not perceived as giving much effort.

Set goals that require effort to achieve.

Let effort manifest itself when students work hard to reach criterion levels of performance.

INCLUDING BEHAVIOR IN A GRADE

EXPECTATIONS

STANDARDS

Do not include behavior in a grading system without defining your expectations.

Should not be used to calculate grades unless it is linked to standards.

COMMUNICATION

BIAS

Poor behavior needs to be dealt with by talking to students, parents, or administrators.

Teacher bias may determine final outcome.

IMPROVEMENT

Grading on improvement has problems.

Grading on improvement requires an assessment before the unit and at the conclusion.

The novice shows the most gains.

Can lead to undependable gain scores (sandbagging).

Students may improve but not achieve unit objectives.

GRADE FORMATS IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Letter grades are the most commonly used form of grading at the secondary level (Hensley et al. 1987).

• The disparity of how grades are calculated diminishes the information that the letter grade represents.

Some districts have adopted standards-based report cards.

Letter Grades

People are more accustomed to and less critical of letter grades.

Of all the grading forms used, letter grades are probably the most easily misinterpreted (Guskey 1996).

Letter grades involve a lack of stable and clear points of reference (Wiggins 1998a).

Give parents and students rubrics to explain what a letter grade represents.

STANDARD-BASED REPORTING SYSTEM

Report learning in terms of content area standards.

Beneficial for teachers in measuring students’ learning in terms of standards.

Parent education must accompany the use of a standards-based report card.

• Confusion can arise because the same content standards are used for every grade level.
• Teachers need to include the benchmarks to explain grade level expectations.
• Post benchmarks on a webpage because inclusion on the report card would take up too much space.

MASTERY GRADING REPORTING SYSTEMS

MASTERY

OPPORTUNITIES

Students are allowed multiple chances to learn the content.

All students are expected to master the content.

GRADING

ACCOUNTABILITY

Use an A-to-F grade reporting system.

Students are not be allowed to get by with an unsatisfactory score (e.g., a D or F).

ACHIEVEMENT

Grades reflect students’ achievement for the grading period.

EFFECTIVE GRADING IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Clark Hetherington’s four areas of physical education.

EFFECTIVE GRADING IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Items and areas used to calculate grades are dependent on goals and objectives.

Grades should be based on predetermined criteria.

Decide what will contribute to a grade at the beginning of the marking period and determine assessments to use.

Do not add assessments as the unit proceeds.

CHALLENGES IN EFFECTIVE GRADING PRACTICE PART 1

VALIDITY

RELIABILITY

DEPENDENCE ON OTHER STUDENTS

When grades are based on measures other than achievement, the grade is not a valid indicator of whether goals were met.

Teachers must be consistent when using assessments for grading. Plus-and-minus grading systems can distort grades.

Be sure skills of other students don’t influence another student’s grade. Provide prior response to provide consistency and good setup.

Challenges in effective grading practice part 2

Students with prior experience should score higher on assessments.

If standards are too high, low-skilled students feel achievement is unattainable.

If standards are too low, high-skilled students remain unchallenged.

Select a variety of units within a grading period.

Grades should represent a balance of psychomotor competence, cognitive learning, and affective-domain outcomes.

GRADING PRACTICES FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS PART 1

Students with disabilities

ESL (English as a second language) students

• IEP documents should be used as the basis for the grade.
• Include a narrative with the grade to provide an explanation of achievement to parents.
• Modify assessments used for grades.

• Select assessments that are appropriate.
• The assessment should assess learning, not language skills.

GRADING PRACTICES FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS PART 2

Low-fit students present grading challenges in physical education.

Safety may also be an issue.

Less likely to have the endurance and strength to participate with peers.

May need different assessments to measure the degree to which they have met learning outcomes.

By using achievement of standards for low-fit students, grades can be fair and valid.

SUGGESTIONS FOR MORE EFFECTICE GRADING PRACTICES PART 1

Achievement

Teaching

• Use learning as a basis for grades.
• Look at achievement through a variety of lenses.
• Avoid the use of extra credit.

• Use assessments for multiple purposes.
• The most important use of assessment is to increase student learning.
• Formative assessments don’t contribute to a grade.

SUGGESTIONS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE GRADING PRACTICES PART 2

Fairness

• Avoid averaging scores to arrive at a student grade.
• Use an absolute grading scale.
• Develop a policy for students with borderline grades.
• Grading on a curve is not compatible with criterion reference grading.

• Show the assessment plan early in the instructional unit.
• Avoid hidden agendas in the grading system.
• Allow students multiple opportunities for success.
• Allow extra practice time for lesser-skilled students.
• Never give low grades to motivate students to try harder

SUGGESTIONS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE GRADING PRACTICES PART 3

Don’t give lower grades to motivate students to try harder.

Don’t use zeros when calculating grades.

Seek additional information when grading borderline students.

Grade on a curve.

Give extra credit for extra learning, not just doing extra work.

Minimize the subjectivity on assessments leading to a grade.

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