A ‘grade’ is a summative expression of performance in a
task or examination taken at a particular time.
Grades can be expressed as letters (A, B, C), numbers (6, 5, 4), grade
descriptors (excellent, good, satisfactory) or sometimes as percentages which
correspond to particular marks or grades.
Attaining a particular grade in an exam, for example, should not be
confused with measuring progress or being an indication of progress over time because
a grade given for a piece of work or for an exam performance is just a
reflection of that particular performance and nothing else. Examination grades are not only an
approximation of a particular achievement as the same student on the same exam
paper can produce different outcomes on different days. Grades also depend on types of questions set,
mark schemes and the quality of markers, including the reliability of the whole
process of quality assurance. Parents
and policy makers would like to believe in the exact reliability of examination
grades, however, this is not the case because, for many reasons, there is an element of error in any test.
In case of public examinations, grades are moderated and standardized
to ensure, as far as possible, grade validity and reliability so certain
comparisons can be made, and to warrant confidence in the system. Ensuring comparability of examinations in
different subjects, has been more controversial and harder to achieve in order
to reflect a different level of difficulty of different subjects. Although statistical models are applied to
analysis, for example, GCSE grades for different subjects with different
degrees of difficulty, an absolute inter-subject reliability is not easy to
achieve because not only some subjects are harder than others, but there are
gender difference in relation to achievement across subjects and there are
differences in attainment between top grades and lower grades, where on average
differences between the highest grades are twice as big as those between the
bottom grades. In England in 2004, about
600,000 candidates’ GCSE scripts were analyzed[1] in order to construct
greater grade reliability between different subjects.
Samples on the scale of 600,000 candidates are very large
indeed and not applicable at school level, where students’ work is routinely
graded in the course of their studies. Therefore
it can be quite difficult to establish a degree of certainty of what the actual
grades mean and how they translate from achievement in one subject into
another. This grade consistency can be
even difficult to achieve within one subject, unless a robust moderation system
is in place.
On a practical level, I am often asked what attaining a
“6” or “64%”, for example, in a test
means. What this means is exactly what
it says: that a particular student’s performance was judged as “6” or “64%”
attainment in this particular test. This
grade or score does not give any other information and, as mentioned above, is
only an approximation of a student’s performance. It is a summative judgement of a performance
in a particular task. It is a
performance at a given time and it is not a predictor of any future performance
which can change with effort, task and many other variables. Similarly, assigning a student to a
particular set (where schools have different ability sets in some subjects),
reflects the best-fit ability position at the time and should not be in any way
a predictor or an indication of where the student may end up with further
learning and effort. In other words,
these are positions in a given time and should not be viewed as fixed positions
as this could be counter-productive to future learning and student effort.
When I asked students what type of feedback was helpful
to their learning and whether they understood grades/marks in different
subjects, these were some of the typical answers:
“Corrected work and told us how to be done right.”
“It is different in different subjects and I don’t really
understand what the grades mean.”
“I understand grades and marks some of the time.”
“It is useful when teachers tell us what we’ve done well
and how to improve.”
“It helps when it shows were you could’ve done better. I
don’t really know what is a B in history and what it is in science.”
It seems that students are rather confused regarding what
their grades mean and make frequent references to guidance on improvement,
which is what they seem to value as helpful feedback to future learning.
There is another risk of too much focus on grading:
students may see themselves as being a certain grade performer, e.g. a C-grader
or even and A-grader without putting further effort as they can be satisfied
from the grades already attained. This
attitude puts a ceiling on learning, even at the higher end, where students may
stop trying their best through continued effort and develop a ‘fixed mindset’
(satisfaction from own ends).
Parents, who have their best intentions at heart, may
contribute to this type of mindset as they often put too much emphasis on
grades and can praise ability as a form of encouragement, which is
counter-productive to effort and learning development, and results in students’
setbacks because they are reluctant to try in case they fail and may become
defensive, blaming outside factors for their lack of achievement (Dweck[2]).
The meaning of grades can be even more confusing, when
looking at the grading of transfer tests/examinations, where different
institutions set their own grade criteria and boundaries. The examples of such
tests, where there is no moderation and no grade standardization, are transfer
tests to different or senior schools, for instance ISEB Common Entrance examination.
Confused about the meaning of grades in these
situations?
I am.
We should be questioning the validity of such
examinations as they can have a negative impact on learning and render grades
quite meaningless, to be frank. They
also contribute nothing in terms of performance/data analysis because of the
lack of any standardization. The only
purpose they serve is selection to particular institutions according to their
own criteria.
Therefore, if we are really concerned with learning and
individual progress, we should be questioning the meaning of the status quo
regarding reporting educational progress in the form of grades or levels, where
level descriptors inhibit the overall performance and undermine learning[3], and grades can be
ambiguous and can put a ceiling on learning.
To serve students well, we need to have high expectations
and involve them in their learning to a greater extent, where we value their
voice and guide them to their next steps of learning through formative
feedback, and the grades will take care of themselves...
Dr Joanna Goodman
[2]
Dweck, C. (2000). Essays in Social Psychology. Self-theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality,
and Development. Hove: Brunner/Mazel.