This research-oriented presentation summarizes current best practices in grading, emphasizes why these practices are essential (especially for ELLs), and provides recommendations for teachers to help them avoid common pitfalls in grading while adopting policies and procedures that will increase motivation and encourage academic success in their ELLs.

1. A? B? C?
Assigning
Meaningful
Grades for ELLs
Terry Waldspurger
TESOL Convention
Philadelphia, PA
March 30, 2012
twaldspurger@kent.k12.md.us

2. Grades are Here to Stay
 “There is no doubt that our
society believes in grades. We
look for four-star movies, five-
star restaurants, top-10 colleges,
and even Grade A eggs.”
– (Scherer, 2011, p. 7)

3. The Culture of Grades
 Organizations expect teachers to
evaluate multiple areas of a
student’s learning and performance
and fairly synthesize them into one
meaningful, understandable value for
a report card
 Over 90% of US schools use some
kind of A-F grading scale
 Only 1% do not use grades at all
 Grades are taken seriously by
parents, administrators, colleges

4. The Culture of Grades
 Grades carry consequences and
expectations
 Poor grades can have lasting
negative effects
– Promotion and retention
– G/T, STEM, AP, honors
– Sports and extracurricular activities
– College admissions and placement

5. Grading is Often Inconsistent
 Despite importance of grades,
inconsistencies cause inequity and
failure for many, including ELLs
 Grading is one of the last bastions of
teacher power and control
– Teachers determine what and how they
grade, often including the grading scale
– Studies show that even teachers in the
same buildings interpret/assign grades
differently despite school grading policy
– (Reeves, 2008, Seeley, 1994)

6. Teachers are Conflicted
 Teachers need to enforce rigor of
content standards
 Teachers need to ensure that their
students are passing state tests
 Teachers need to assign grades
 How can teachers assess and grade
ELLs and still be able to hold them to
the same learning standards as
other students?

7. Grading is Frustrating
 “I just hate grades. They are very
discouraging to our children. The
ones who get A’s, get A’s. Some
kids come to school every day –
in our community that’s really
wonderful – yet they get F’s. I
give them F’s, because that’s
what they earn, I guess. That’s
the system.”
– (Seeley, 1994, p. 5)

8. Teachers are Busy
 Teachers have a myriad of
responsibilities built into their days --
how can they also accommodate all
their special populations?
 How can teachers find the time to
create and grade multiple
assessments that allow ELLs to
show mastery of content despite
lower English proficiency levels?

9. Teachers and Time
 “I’m sure I’m not the only one…but 9
of my ELLs are placed in a class of
23 native speakers and 4 of my ELLs
are in a class of 28 native speakers.
Most of my ELLs are at a Level 2,
but I do have some Level 1 students
as well. Our 40-minute classes leave
me with little time to deal with the
issues of the native speakers, let
alone to work on special
assessments for my ELLs.”
– (Pawan and Craig, 2011, p. 306)

10. Teachers are Confused
 Teachers are often unaware of (or
disregard) organizational grading
policies
 Teachers receive little if any
professional development in
converting classroom assessments
into grades
 Teachers who effectively
differentiate instruction/assessment
do not know how to assign grades
based on these “adapted” scores

11. Where Do ELLs Fit In?
 Many educators believe that report
card grades should measure only
one aspect: mastery of grade-level,
content standards
– (Marzano, 2000, Reeves, 2008)
 What do teachers do, then, when an
ELL can’t demonstrate grade-level
“mastery” based on her English
proficiency level?

12. The Many Facets of Grades
 Teachers enjoy special relationships
with their students and see more
than just numbers
– Attitude, motivation, effort, participation
– Special circumstances (poverty,
proficiency level, disability)
 It is often difficult for teachers to
separate “product” from “process”
 Grades often reflect “justice
tempered with mercy”
– (Seeley, 1994, p. 5)

13. Research on Grades
 Reeves, 2008: The single most
important change that would
immediately reduce student failures
in a school is to change the grading
policy
 The difference between failure and
honor roll can often be attributed to
the way a teacher grades

14. Toxic Grading Practices
 Assigning zero’s for missing/late
work (especially on a 100 pt. scale)
– Averages tumble
– Work remains undone (so student has
no chance to learn)
– ELLs often can’t complete assignments
accurately or in a timely manner
 The appropriate response for
missing work is to complete it!
– Use recess, lunch, before/after school

15. Toxic Grading Practices
 Using grades as either motivation or
punishment
– High grades do not motivate students to
work harder (often the opposite is true)
 Extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation
 Teachers should foster intrinsic motivation
– Low grades do not motivate failing
students to try harder
 Students see no point in working hard if
they are doomed to failure

16. Toxic Grading Practices
 Averaging all scores equally
throughout a marking period
– Allow more recent grades to replace
(not average with) older grades
– Students who begin at different levels
can all eventually earn the same final
(and high) grade
– This would benefit ELLs, who are also
struggling with language and need to
be measured over time

17. Toxic Grading Practices
 Too many small, insignificant grades
(busy work, homework, group work)
pull down summative averages
(leading to grade inflation or failure)
 Some believe that homework should
never be graded (feedback only)
 Too few summative grades can ruin
a final grade
– No single assessment can be perfectly
valid/reliable; effective accountability
requires multiple measures

18. Grading Research
 A report card grade should consist
only of summative, individual,
performance-based work that is
standards-based
 Grades should never be based on
personal or behavioral factors
 A benefit of more valid, reliable
grading: students develop a higher
motivation to learn
– (McTighe & O’Connor, 2005)

19. Grading ELLs
 “If they (ELLs) are not proficient in
English, all the types of assessment
in the world are not going to put
them on equal footing with native
speakers. This seems like a no-win
situation for the students.”
– (Pawan & Craig, 2011, p. 305)
 This is often a “no-win” for teachers
as well

20. ELLs can not be compared
with non-ELLs
 “Traditional grading does not work for
assessing the academic learning of
Limited English Proficient students.”
– Solis, 2005
 “Fairness does not exist when
assessment is uniform, standardized,
impersonal, and absolute. Rather, it
exists when assessment is
appropriate…”
– Indiana Department of Education, 2005

21. Equality vs. Equity
 Equality:
– Absolute
– Normed (on the curve)
– Standardized
– Same for all
 Equitable
– Fair opportunities for all
– Accommodating/modified
– Individualized

22. What is Not Equitable
 Assigning lower grades based solely
on English proficiency level
 Giving low grades to punish/motivate
lower performing students
 Using grades to rank and/or
differentiate student abilities
 Grading on the curve
 Continuing flawed policies because
“we’ve always done it this way”

23. A Quandary for Teachers
 Assigning a low or even failing grade
to an ELL for not mastering course
content based on a lower language
proficiency level is inherently unfair.
 However, if ELLs cannot
demonstrate mastery as well as a
native speaker, teachers often feel
they can’t assign them an equally
high grade

24. Where is the Balance?
 “I asked an administrator one time if I
should flunk all of my ESL students
because they did not meet the
requirements of the 10th grade
curriculum, and he told me, ‘You
must judge them on what they CAN
do.’”
– (Pawan & Craig, 2011, p. 305)

25. Finding the Balance
 How do teachers find the balance
between fairness and validity?
 We can’t assign low grades based
on proficiency level
 However, neither can we “pass” a
student who has not met content
standards
 We must provide access to same
content while supporting instruction
at the ELL’s current proficiency level

26. Lussi, 2010, p. 4
 Giving an ELL an “A” for completing
a graphic organizer while the native
speakers are writing essays is fair!
 “Fair means giving the student what
he/she needs so they will have the
same opportunity as any other
student to succeed…although the
assignment may be perceived as
‘easier,’ the ELL student is already
doing double the work” (learning
both content and language)

27. Grading Tips for ELLs
 Assess in a variety of modalities
based on student strengths
– (listening, speaking, reading, writing)
 Utilize rubrics and performance-
based assessments
 Do not grade language
– Ignore/forgive spelling, grammar,
vocabulary gaps
 Allow more time, grade recouping
– No zero’s for late/missing work

28. Grading Tips for ELLs
 Give ELLs choices in what they can
do to demonstrate learning
 Provide timely, specific,
understandable feedback that an
ELL can use to improve
 Allow assessment in native language
if possible, appropriate
 Explain passing criteria in advance
and show examples of excellent and
weak work

29. ELL Grading Systems
 No grade given -- for newly arrived
students who know no English
 Narrative assessments only
 (P)ass, (F)ail, (HP) High Pass
– Includes effort, language growth, and
content standard mastery measured at
the level of language proficiency
– Students can fail if they make no effort
to do any work, do not cooperate, do
not ask for help

30. Grading Systems
 Tomlinson, 2001: For ELLs, a
superscript appears next to each
“traditional” grade
– 1 – above grade level
– 2 – at grade level
– 3 – below grade level
– For example, A3 indicates student is
earning an A in progress, etc., but is not
yet on grade level

31. Grading Systems
 Assign multiple grades per class
 Tomlinson, 2001: Two grades
– Traditional, standards-based (e.g. D)
– Personal, effort, progress, growth in
linguistic and content goals (e.g. B)
 Jung & Guskey, 2010: Three grades
– Product (standards-based)
– Process (effort/motivation/participation)
– Progress (improvement over time)
– Multiple grades are easier for teachers

32. ELL Grading Sytems
 Students in an ELL program who are
receiving instructional support and/or
accommodations have a comment or
notation on their report cards
indicating such:
– “Student enrolled in ESL, no grade
given (narrative only)”
– “ESL Adapted Instruction”
– “ESOL Student receiving instructional
and/or assessment accommodations”

33. Jung & Guskey, 2010
 For each ELL, determine the
following:
– Is content mastery achievable without
accommodations or modifications?
 If yes, no grading changes or notations are
necessary
– Is content mastery only achievable with
accommodations or modifications?

34. Jung & Guskey, 2010
 Accommodations only
– (extra time, read aloud, bilingual
dictionary, responding orally, etc.)
 Attempting to “level the playing field”
– Standards remain the same but the
method(s) for demonstrating mastery is
adjusted
– Provide accommodations but no
change in grading process necessary
– Possible report card notation noting
accommdations

35. Jung & Guskey, 2010
 Modifications – content standards
are changed, adapted, simplified
based on linguistic level and/or
content gaps
 New 7th grade ELL with no English being
taught 4th-5th grade science vocabulary
 If modifications needed, determine
appropriate adapted standards
 E.g., 4th grade science for 7th grader
 Teach/assess student and report
grades on modified standards only

36. Jung & Guskey, 2010
 For any reporting changes made,
always communicate grades’
meaning to parents and other
stakeholders
 Add notation to grade or report card
 For example, a footnote stating,
“Grade(s) based on modified
standards”
 Narrative could be attached

37. A Note on Legality
 According to USDE’s Office of Civil
Rights (2008)
 It is legal to report ELL status and/or
accommodation/modification
adaptations on a report card, but not
on transcripts
 If grade-level standards are
fundamentally modified, these can
be legally noted on transcripts

38. Some Final Thoughts
 Whatever grading system is used:
– It needs to be based on clearly
articulated and accepted policies
– It needs to be adopted and used by all
teachers
– It needs to be explained to all
stakeholders
 ELLs should be graded on growth
and progress as well as mastery of
standards