School grades provide an easily understandable metric to measure the performance of a school. Parents and the general public can use the school grade and its associated components to understand how well each school is serving its students. The purpose of this technical guide is to provide a description of the procedures used to determine school…

Have teachers become too dependent on points? This article explores educators' dependency on their points systems, and the ways that points can distract teachers from really analyzing students' capabilities and achievements. Feldman argues that using a more subjective grading system can help illuminate crucial information about students and what…

As professors, we each have our own approach to grading which allows us to assess learning and provide useful feedback to our students, yet is not too onerous. This article explains one approach we have used that differs from standard grading scales we often hear about from our colleagues. Rather than being based on 100 points or 100% over the…

The purpose of the study is to have a relook at the ESL reading comprehension assessment system for Malaysian Year Five students. Traditionally, the ESL teachers have been assessing and reporting on their primary year's students by merely giving a composite grade with some vague remarks. This process has been used and is still being employed in…

School grades were introduced in Florida in 1999, the first such A-F model for reporting on school accountability in the nation. The purpose of school grades was to make it easy for parents and citizens to understand and compare how schools were performing academically, and to compel low-performing schools to improve. Since then, the A-F grades…

Student engagement is vital in enhancing the student experience and encouraging deeper learning. Involving students in the design of assessment criteria is one way in which to increase student engagement. In 2011, a marking matrix was used at Aston University (UK) for logbook assessment (Group One) in a project-based learning module. The next…

The design, delivery and assessment of a complete educational scheme, such as a degree programme or a professional qualification course, is a complex matter. Maintaining alignment between the stated aims of the curriculum and the scoring of student achievement is an overarching concern. The potential for drift across individual aspects of an…

This paper addresses likely error rates for measuring teacher and school performance in the upper elementary grades using value-added models applied to student test score gain data. Using realistic performance measurement system schemes based on hypothesis testing, we develop error rate formulas based on OLS and Empirical Bayes estimators.…

Suggestions to English teachers for evaluating students' work in English composition. (MB)

The article reviews current estimation techniques and their resultant effects on the learning disability classroom's composition. An alternate estimation methodology, using z-score conversions, is presented. (Author/SBH)

Examines empirically the efficacy of utilizing Olympic diving and gymnastic scoring systems for grading graduate students' English compositions. Results indicated that such scoring rules do not produce ratings different in reliability or in level from conventional letter grades. (ED)

The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act and subsequent regulations have challenged state education agencies (SEAs) in many ways and ensuring the appropriate inclusion of students with disabilities has been a unique challenge. The recent publication of regulations on alternate assessments with alternate achievement standards (34 CFR Part 200)…

The paper examines two general methods of scoring oral reading inventories employing textual passages. Either the total number of oral alterations can be used as an index to reading ability, or only those alterations that disrupt the semantic structure of the text can be used. (Author)

This module describes a method for weighting various measures of student achievement, such as examinations and home assignments, in order to combine these measures into a final grade. Standard deviation methods receive extensive attention. (TJH)

The significant aspects of tests administered to entering freshmen of the University of Wisconsin--Madison are summarized. Information is proved on 11 instruments which appear on the University of Wisconsin--Madison New Freshmen Profile, 1972 form. The test forms, time limits, number of items, scoring formulas, types of scores, and item content…