From Assessments to Grading: A Comprehensive Guide to Measuring Student Progress
What’s one word that can send shivers down the spines of every student in the world?
Tests.
Test anxiety is no joke. An estimated 40-60% of students ranging from kindergarten through college experience it and have test scores that are impacted by it.
Cortisol levels, a physiological indicator of stress, rise by an average of 15% for students with a high-stakes assessment on the horizon.
This begs the question: if tests are so terrible (they don’t have to be but we’ll get to that later), why do teachers assess?
Beneath all of this test-taking stress lies an incredibly valuable set of data that teachers can use for more effective teaching and therefore, more effective learning for students.
It is one of the biggest components of every teacher preparation program and a core part of teaching.
In short- now that you’ve got your learning objectives, how will you measure whether or not they have been attained?
Why Assessments Matter
Without assessing your students and seeing how they would perform independently, there would be no way to know how they are doing, how they are feeling, and what potential gaps you might need to fill.
From the perspective of a learner, assessments may also help to motivate, give incentive, and keep them accountable.
Decoding Assessment Types
Not every type of assessment has to be anxiety-inducing and cortisol-level-raising.
1. Pre-Assessments
Sometimes known as “diagnostic assessments,” this first type is listed first because it is administered first.
Students will complete this before the teacher has taught them anything. This will help the teacher see what students know already, what some potential misconceptions might be, and what to teach later on.
2. Formative Assessments
These can vary a lot and allow for lots of creativity!
They happen throughout the unit and help teachers check on student progress.
This can be as simple as walking around to observe students while they work independently or discuss with a partner. It can be small slip of paper, sometimes called an exit ticket, given at the end of a lesson to check for understanding.
At the high school level, these might be quizzes. Homework can also be considered formative assessments.
They are relatively informal, but don’t underestimate formative assessments!
3. Summative Assessments
This is the one our brains go to first when we hear the word “assessment.”
You might remember a big (scary) test you took at school and had to study hours for.
Maybe it was a multiple-choice assessment (Scantrons, anyone?). Maybe it was an essay you had to write on the spot with 45 minutes on the clock. Either way, students might be given a study guide of sorts, followed by a silent chunk of time in the classroom for them to work independently and hand in.
Alternatively, summative assessments can look like projects or presentations.
Turning Data into Action
Another word you hear plenty of times at a school is data.
Data is ultimately how teachers learn about their students’ progress. Before the graded test is handed back to each student, what can we make of how they did? This is the most powerful part of the process!
The data that is collected should help to inform future lessons. Each observation made, quiz score, and presentation grade helps to drive instruction.
Communicating Results Effectively
Obviously, this looks very different in a 2nd grade classroom versus an 11th grade classroom, so it’s only fair to address this in parts.
For younger children whose “grades” are typically never looked at by colleges, it’s all about mastery and standards-based assessments.
The goal is to ultimately share what a student is good at, along with what he or she still needs to work on. It’s like feedback. There’s still time for them to focus on growth areas and develop their skills.
However, as students get older, things seem to take a turn. Priorities shift. The traditional grading system in American high schools looks like a series of letters, usually informed by a percentage grade.
These letter grades then impact their GPAs (Grade Point Average).
Which then impacts how colleges perceive and even filter out students.
Rethinking the Grade Game
In an article titled “Is It Time for a National Conversation About Eliminating Letter Grades?”, Joshua Eyler, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Mississippi, argues that rather than sticking to the traditional letter-grading system, standards-based or proficiency-based grading (that younger students use) should be how schools grade their students.
He attributes the difficulty of making this shift to the attitudes of parents and the fear they have that their children won’t be as motivated to achieve high marks.
To him, it all starts with a change in perception of the purpose behind why teachers assess students.
How can we change this perception?
By focusing on the science.
By slapping on a letter grade that many may consider an oversimplified representation of student progress (you get a B in History but what specific skills can be improved on to achieve an A?), we are penalizing students for failing to meet a standard rather than adjusting how we teach to help them meet the standard.
According to Eyler’s book How Humans Learn, failure is actually a fundamental part of the learning process that should be de-stigmatized. Our brains learn most when we encounter failure and overcome them by course-correcting. Failures are opportunities that should be welcomed!
You will only fail to learn if you do not learn from failing.
When a student sees a letter grade that they know will be frowned upon by their parents or is just lower than what they believe they need to get into a dream school, it not only prevents them from experiencing these valuable opportunities to learn, but it also discourages them from potentially taking risks and challenging themselves in the future.
Final Reflections
While test anxiety and traditional letter grades often overshadow their purpose, assessments are essential tools for enhancing learning.
By focusing on using assessment data to guide instruction rather than just assigning grades, educators can better support student growth.
Using diverse assessment methods can help to reduce stress, improve teaching, and lead to more effective learning outcomes.
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