What Is Ineffective Grading Practice

Reeves, D.B. (2008). Leading to change/effective grading practices. Educational Leadership, Vol. 65 No. 5, pg. 85-87. This article discusses ineffective grading, the high stakes of grading, and the steps in could take to change those practices. There were three areas that were discussed about ineffective grading that involved the concept of giving zeros, averaging all scores throughout the semester, and using the semester kill project, paper, test, or lab. All of these things do not prove what students have learned but rather show what they learned right now or are trying to make one thing more important than everything else. With the giving of zeros in a gradebook you are just validating that the student does need the knowledge. The high stakes of grading were about the cost of failure and the positive impact that grading change can have on a school system. Finally, the author outlines a 4 steps that can lead to better grading practices which are creating a sense of urgency, identifying teacher leaders who are improving grading policies, getting the facts, and reassuring stakeholders that certain

A am not sure that schools understand the impact of inconsistent grading practices on the school and the students. As a teacher, I would not have understood but as an administrator I can see benefits to student learn by adding consistency into the equation. The key is to do the research and involve the stakeholders to developing the consistent grading methods to help student achievement. The author does suggest finding teachers in the building that have come up with creative ways to supplant the zero and the who have created meaningful feedback opportunities. This would be key because then the teachers would be able to see the impact on their students rather than bringing in sources from outside the school. This would also allow the principal to lean on teachers as