Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning

Thomas R. Guskey, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Chicago's renowned Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistical Analysis (MESA) program, he began his career in education as a middle school teacher, served as an administrator in the Chicago Public Schools, and was the first Director of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning, a national educational research center. He is the author/editor of twenty-seven books and over three hundred articles published in prominent research journals as well as Educational Leadership, Kappan, and The School Administrator. Dr. Guskey served on the Policy Research Team of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, and on the task force to develop the National Standards for Professional Development. He was named a Fellow in the American Educational Research Association and was awarded the Association's prestigious Relating Research to Practice Award. He was also awarded Learning Forward's Outstanding Contribution to the Field Award and Phi Delta Kappan's Distinguished Educator Award. Perhaps most unique, in the 158-year history of his undergraduate institution, Thiel College, he is one of only three graduates to receive the Outstanding Alumnus Award and be inducted into the Thiel College Athletic Hall of Fame. His most recent books include Implementing Mastery Learning (2023), Instructional Feedback: The Power, the Promise, the Practice (with Smith & Lipnevich, 2023); Get Set, Go! Creating Successful Grading and Reporting Systems (2020), What We Know About Grading (with Brookhart, 2019), and On Your Mark: Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting (2015). He may be contacted by email at guskey@uky.edu, Twitter at @tguskey, or at www.tguskey.com. Jane Bailey grew up in Chelsea, Michigan, earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at Michigan State University, and embarked on her career in public education teaching English and reading at Petoskey High School in Petoskey, Michigan. She went on to serve as high school principal in Alanson and Harbor Springs, Michigan; as staff development coordinator at the Char-Em Intermediate School District in Charlevoix, Michigan; and as director for curriculum and staff development for the Petoskey Public Schools, from which she retired in 2008. She was a nationally known education consultant, a gifted presenter, and co-author of three books on education. Bailey was admired by many as a role model and served as a mentor to numerous young educators. She was a dedicated wife, a proud mother, and the very best of friends. Her kindness, charm, keen sense of humor, and irrepressible spirit inspired everyone who knew her. She left the world a better place because of her passion for life, her dedication to public education, and her commitment to excellence in teaching.

Introduction Defining the Impetus for Change Exploring the History of Grading and Reporting Laying a Foundation for Change Building a Grading and Reporting System Grading and Reporting Methods I Letter Grades, Percentage Grades and Other Categorical Grading Grading and Reporting Methods II Standards-Based, Pass/Fail, Mastery Grading and Narratives Grading and Reporting for Students with Special Needs Special Problems in Grading and Reporting Model Reporting Forms Guidelines for Developing Effective Reporting Systems