Whether you're new to standards-based grading, or are looking for additional perspectives and ideas, chances are there's a book for you. Nearly every book listed is appropriate for the K-12 spectrum, including all content areas. I recommend How to Grade for Learning, by Ken O'Connor or Grading by Susan Brookhart as good places to start.
Click here to jump down to newspaper and magazine articles about standards-based grading. There are examples for both K-12 and college/university. All are great conversation starters with others, or just for your own reflective practice. The Indian River School District has a site devoted to standards-based grading with many articles and resources available.
Do you have books about grading, reporting, or data that should be added to the list? Let me know.
Grading and Reporting
- Developing Grading and Reporting Systems by Thomas Guskey and Jane M. Bailey
- A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades by Ken O'Connor
- Practical Solutions for Serious Problems in Standards-based Grading by Thomas Guskey
- Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work (Chapter 1 available free) and Transforming Classroom Grading (Power Law Chapter available free) by Robert Marzano
- Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing and Grading in a Differentiated Classroom by Rick Wormeli
- Overcoming Student Failure by Martin Covington
Data Management and Use
- Drowning in Data?: How to Collect, Organize, and Document Student Performance by Mary Shea, Rosemary Murray, and Rebecca Harlin
- Data Wise and Data Wise in Action by Kathryn Parker Boudett; Elizabeth A. City; Richard J. Murnane
K-12
- A Sissonville, WV student sued her district when the penalty for a late project negatively impacted her GPA. She later lost, but the philosophical question remains: If you can show learning, does it matter if you do it a day late?
- "If schools don’t offer information that is simple, they will end up creating more barriers, especially in cities like Hartford where many of the students come from families where English is not the first language." writes Maura Casey in "So, Is That Like an 'A'?" in the New York Times. Is your reporting system useful for all stakeholders?
- When you move to a standards-based grading system, do grade levels still make sense? A school district in Colorado is attempting to group students by proficiency, rather than grade levels, and lets kids be pacesetters.
- "Parents and students in a growing number of Washington area schools can track fluctuations in a grade-point average from the nearest computer in real time, a ritual that can become as addictive as watching political polls or a stock-market index." Does online access to grades for parents eliminate professional judgment for teachers when evaluating student performance? Read more at Online Grading Systems Mean No Changing Ds to Bs from the Washington Post and I Know What You Did Last Math Class from the New York Times.
- In 2008, Fairfax, VA schools started their journey toward standards-based grading. You can follow the events which involved all stakeholders through this series: Schools to Study Grading Practices In Grading Levels the Playing Field Is Often Uneven, Grading Bar Too High, Opponents Show Up in Force, Fairfax to Ease Grading Policy, Fairfax Board Leans Toward New Grading Scale, and Enthusiasm for Grade Policy Change. What stage of the process is your school or district in? Which lessons learned from Fairfax might apply?
College and University
- Should students who know the material complete busy work? What will colleges think when a high school student with low grades, but incredible test scores makes an application? Take a look at this letter from a parent in the Washington Post. What would you advise?
- As many high schools eliminate ranking systems for students, they also eliminate some scholarship opportunities for graduates. Should mastery learning lead to financial penalties as High School Rank Loses Luster?
- What happens when a university posts the median grades of courses? Students choose Easy A's on the Internet.
- Perhaps it's time to Imagine College Without Grades. Will this increase rigor in coursework...on penalties on colleges during the accreditation process?
- Stanford Law School Dropped Letter Grades, as did other high-profile law schools. Is this type of "fluffy grading" only the province of name brand schools---does student rank mean more for lower tier schools?
- And, for your amusement, a definitive study showing the relationship between dead grandmothers and exams.