WELCOME!!!

WHAT’S IN A GRADE?
Principles and Guidelines for Grading and Evaluation

Willy C Cardoso
Introduction

Are teachers able to

What should capture
grades the totality of
reflect?
students’ competence through formal tests?
Circle the correct answer. You have 2 minutes to complete this examination!

1. polygene
a. the first stratum of lower-order protozoa containing multiple genes
b. a combination of two or more plastics to produce a highly durable material
c. one of a set of cooperating genes, each producing a small quantitative effect
d. any of a number of multicellular chromosomes

2. cynosure
a. an object that serves as a focal point of attention and admiration; a center of interest or
attention
b. a narrow opening caused by a break or fault in limestone caves
c. the cleavage in rock caused by glacial activity
d. one of a group of electrical Impulses capable of passing through metals

3. gudgeon
a. a jail for commoners during the Middle Ages, located in the villages of Germany and France
b. a strip of metal used to reinforce beams and girders in building construction
c. a tool used by Alaskan Indians to carve totem poles
d. a small Eurasian freshwater fish

4. reglet
a. a narrow, flat molding
b. a musical composition of regular beat and harmonic intonation
c. an Australian bird of the eagle family
d. a short sleeve found on women's dresses in Victorian England
Why do we assess students’ learning?

1. To compare students with each other.

2. To see if students meet a particular standard.

3. To help the students’ learning.

4. To check if the teaching program is doing its job.

Philosophy of Grading

Base grades on student achievement, and achievement only.

Grades should represent the extent to which the intended learning
outcomes were achieved by students. They should not be
contaminated by student effort, tardiness, misbehavior, and other
extraneous factors. . . . If they are permitted to become part of the
grade, the meaning of the grade as an indicator of achievement is
lost.
Gronlund (1998) (pp. 174-175)
Philosophy of Grading

Look at the items below and choose the ones that should be considered (however greatly or
minimally) in a set of criteria for determining a final grade in a course.

_____ a. language performance of the student as formally demonstrated on tests, quizzes,

and
other explicitly scored procedures
_____ b. your intuitive, informal observation of the student’s language performance
_____ c. oral participation in class
_____ d. improvement (over the entire course period)
_____ e. behavior in class - being cooperative, polite, disruptive, etc.
_____ f. effort
_____ g. motivation
_____ h. punctuality and attendance
☺ i. how many times the student brings you chocolate chip cookies

Now look back at the items you chose, and in the blank next to those items only, write in a
percentage that represents the weight that you would assign to each circled item. Make sure
your total percentages add up to 100.
Evaluate your evaluation

VALIDITY RELIABILITY

Construct Administration

Content Rater

Face Test

PRACTICALITY WASHBACK AUTHENTICITY

Triangulation Summative X Formative

Principles

• Grading is not necessarily based on a universally accepted

scale.

• Grading is sometimes subjective and context-dependant.

• Grades may not “mean” the same thing to all people.

• Alternatives to letter or numerical grades are highly desirable as additional

indicators of achievement.
Guideline
s
1. Develop an informed, comprehensive personal philosophy of grading that is
consistent with your philosophy of teaching and evaluation.

2. Design tests that conform to appropriate institutional and cultural expectations of

the difficulty that students should experience.

3. Select appropriate criteria for grading and their relative weighting in calculating
grades.

4. Communicate criteria for grading to students at the beginning of the course and at
subsequent grading periods (mid-term, final)

5. Triangulate formal graded evaluations with alternatives that are more formative
and that give more washback.
Assessment
More food for thought

There is really only one question that can assess a learner:

Do you feel you have improved?

If the learner (honestly) thinks he/she is better, and the teacher

doesn’t, who is right?

If the learner (honestly) thinks he/she is no better, but the teacher

disagrees, who is right?
Conclusion

The traditional testing system puts no responsibility on the student. The

student is accustomed to the teacher saying if he/she is good or bad. Many
students approach tests hoping that, this time, they will be lucky. For many
students assessment is something that teachers do to them, rather than
something teachers do with them.

However, if we see evaluation as part of the teaching process, we can use

assessment to help students learn their strengths and weaknesses and plan
their learning better. We can encourage them to become self-critical and to
take more responsibility.

This can be done quite easily with a bit of planning.

(Baxter 1997)
Reference

Evaluating your Students

Andy Baxter
(Richmond)

Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners

J. Michael O’Malley and Lorraine Valdez Pierce
(Longman)

Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices

H. Douglas Brown
(Longman)
 THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test)

Fridays 11:30 – 13:00

Aug 7th to Nov 27th
4x R$160,00
www.cambridgeesol.org/tkt

CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in
English)
Fridays 14:00 – 16:00
Aug 7th to Nov 27th
4x R$212,50
www.cambridgeesol.org/cpe
Willy C Cardoso
teachers@englishintheoffice.com.br
AuthenticTeaching.wordpress.com
English in the Office
www.englishintheoffice.com.br
11 5044.3859