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Five Obstacles To Grading Reform Analysis

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Five Obstacles to Grading Reform

Furman Blue
Notre Dame of Maryland University

In "Five Obstacles to Grading Reform" by Thomas R. Guskey, the author argues that education improvement efforts over the past two decades have focused on articulating standards for student learning and how educators must combat five traditional obstacle to changing those standards.

Education improvement efforts over the past two decades have focused primarily on articulating standards for student learning, refining the way we assess students' proficiency on those standards, and tying results to accountability. The one element still unaligned with these reforms is grading and reporting. Student report cards today look much as if they looked a …show more content…

Computerized grading programs help teachers apply different weights to each of these categories (Guskey, 2002a) that then are combined in idiosyncratic ways (see McMillan, 2001; McMillan, Myran, & Workman, 2002). The result is a "hodgepodge grade" that is just as confounded and impossible to interpret as a "physical condition" grade that combined height, weight, diet, and exercise would be (Brookhart & Nitko, 2008; Cross & Frary, …show more content…

The only logical way to comprehend how a student learns is to use a combination of teaching methodologies that will allow a teacher to develop a system that will enhance a computerized grading process. The computerized system we use in Charles County does allow a teacher the freedom to explore various ways to assess successful learning outcomes for our students.
Reflecting on the current grading system for Charles County schools it is important to realize grades are defining factors to student achievement. If teachers want students to be better learners then various teaching methodologies will be the standard measure of student achievement in the future.
My perspective is that school boards, state testing coordinators and federal regulation should allow schools to develop grading modules that will allow a true reflection of student learning. The current grading system will not measure if a student is learning academic content through standardized test. Practical application and theory is the best measurement for school districts to realistically, measure if student achievement. Teachers and administrators must create a mindset that will allow growth and academic motivation to empower students for a

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