Chapter 11: Six Burning Grading Issues

When recording a grade for something that was not turned in, teachers often put down a zero, but the effects of a zero on an overall grade can be catastrophic, and there for not reflect a student’s true mastery, so a sixty should be recorded instead. Gifted students in advanced classes should be graded on the advanced scale, but gifted students in regular classes should be graded based on the scale of they class they are enrolled in. Students in differentiated classrooms always have as many tools as necessary to aid achievement, which results in weighted grades. When it comes to automaticity verses concept attainment, teachers need teach all students advanced concepts, even if they haven’t quite mastered the basics yet. Lower grades for late work do not reflect actual mastery, but if it is necessary to lower a grade, do so by a few points, not a whole letter grade. It is imperative that regular education and special education teachers work together to form a clear philosophy to help grade students in inclusion classes, or the students can get disheartened. I really feel like all of these issues are major problems out in the field, but I think the author’s solutions to all of them seem to be the best I’ve encountered yet. I will follow his advice in my practices as I grow to understand my own solutions to these “burning grading issues.”