Communicating Student Achievement Through Standards-Based Assessment And Grading

The research question addressed in this project was: which method of grading is the most effective way to communicate a student's progress and growth through the course of a school year to students, parents, and future teachers? The motivating factor for this project was one teacher’s concern regarding the traditional grading system and the correlation between the grades given to students and what they were actually learning and retaining. This capstone details positives and negatives when implementing standards-based assessment and grading practices. This project was influenced heavily by the work of Dr. Robert Marzano and Rick Wormeli, although differing in several logistical opinions, are both advocates of standards-based methods. The author documents and describes both success and struggles in implementing the standards- based assessments and grading scales. She concludes that: standards-based grading is a more effective way to communicate a student's progress and growth through the course of a school year to students, parents, and future teachers than traditional, percentage-based grading systems.