GRADUATE SCHOOL

Doctor of Philosophy major in Educational Management

Name: MARY JOY P. PAGTAKHAN

Mobile No.:09298410585
E-mail Address: pagtakhan_maryjoy@yahoo.com
Course Title: Philippine Basic Education New Normal Assessment and Grading
System
Credit: 3 units
Faculty: Don M. Magpantay, PhD, DPA, EdD, SPBE

DepEd Order No. 31, s. 2020

1. In its commitment to ensuring teaching and learning continuity while

looking after the health, safety, and wellbeing of its learners, teachers, and

personnel, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued DepEd Order No.

012, s. 2020 titled Adoption of the Basic Education Learning Continuity

Plan

{BE-LCP) for School Year (SY) 2020- 2021 in light of the COVID-19

Pandemic.

2. To supplement the said DO, the DepEd issues the Interim Policy

Guidelines for Assessment and Grading in light of the Basic education

Learning Continuity Pan to provide guidance on the assessment of

student learning and on the grading scheme to be adopted this school

year.

3. As DepEd pursues learning continuity, schools must take stock of

assessment and grading practices that will most meaningfully support

learner development and respond to varied contexts at this time.

1. The policy is grounded on the following principles:

a. Assessment should be holistic and authentic in capturing the

 attainment of the most essential learning competencies;

b. Assessment is integral for understanding student learning

and development;

c. A variety of assessment strategies is necessary, with formative

assessment taking priority to inform teaching and promote

growth and mastery;

d. Assessment and feedback should be a shared

responsibility among teachers, learners, and their families;

and

e. Assessment and grading should have a positive impact on

learning.

4. This policy shall be implemented in all public elementary and secondary

schools nationwide for SY 2020-2021. While DO No. 8, s. 2015 titled Policy

Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education

Program is still in effect, provisions inconsistent with these new guidelines are

suspended for this school year.

I. Rationale

1. The continuing threat of COVID-19 in the country and the world

brings about unprecedented challenges to basic education. As

schools prepare for SY 2020– 2021, teachers and parents must

adapt to alternative learning modalities to ensure that learners

achieve essential curricular goals. This will require creative and

innovative ways of designing optimal learning experiences and

assessing learning progress effectively under adverse

 circumstances.

2. As stated in DepEd Order (DO) No. 8, s. 2015, the Policy

Guidelines in Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic

 Education Program, assessment should be used to inform and

improve classroom practices and promote learning outcomes.

However, in distance or blended learning environments, it is

necessary to utilize alternative tools and strategies for

assessing and supporting learning, while avoiding creating

undue pressure on the teachers, learners, and their families.

II. Procedures

1. Distance learning poses challenges for teachers and learners in

the conduct of assessment, including limitations on giving

immediate feedback, and the need to account for different

contexts in designing, implementing, and grading assessment

tasks.

2. To address these challenges, learners, teachers, and

parents/guardians each have significant roles and

responsibilities:

a. Teachers. For this school year, particular focus will be

given to the following:

i. Designing the assessment to allow for flexibility in

multiple modalities;

ii. Communicating to learners and parents/guardians the

design and standards for grading the assessment;

iii. Setting up mechanisms to monitor and record progress

remotely;
iv. Giving timely, constructive, and relevant feedback; and

Facilitating remediation for learners who need further

 guidance.

b. Learners. Learners are expected to be proactive in updating

the teacher of their situation, progress, and challenges

encountered. A non-mandatory Self-Monitoring Tool (see

Annex E) may be accomplished independently or with the

assistance of their parent/guardian, if necessary. It is NOT

required to accomplish the self-monitoring tool, but its usage

is highly recommended to keep track of learners’ academic

progress.

c. Parents and guardians. DepEd aims to develop

independent learners who can study and work on the

assessments on their own. However, in this school year’s

implementation of distance learning modalities, parents and

guardians will play a crucial role in guiding their children in

adapting to the changes in distance learning processes.

Thus, only when necessary, parents/guardians are

requested to assist in the assessment process by:

i. Communicating with the teacher to give updates on

their child’s situation, progress, and challenges

encountered; and

ii. Guiding their children in accomplishing the

assessment tasks and/or monitoring tools designed

by their teacher.
III. Planning the Assessment

1. Teachers need to be creative and flexible in assessing student

learning, while still adhering to the principles of quality assessment

practice. With safety, health, and well-being foremost in mind,

assessment decisions must be made in the best interest of all

learners, ensuring that all assessment activities:

a. align with the most essential learning competencies;

b. are reliable, valid, and transparent;

c. are fair, inclusive, and equitable;

d. are practical and manageable for both learners and

teachers;

e. give learners a range of ways to demonstrate their learning;

and

f. provide timely and accurate information as a basis for

feedback.

In distance learning modalities, teachers shall design assessments

bearing the assumption that the learners will asynchronously take

them and have open access to various sources.

g. When deciding on which assessment methods to use, it

is important to consider the following questions:

a. What is the purpose of the assessment?

b. What will be assessed?

c. Which method would best allow learners

to demonstrate what they have learned,

considering their learning modality?

 d. Which method would make it easy to

gather evidence of learners’ progress over

time?

e. Will, the assessment be completed individually or in

groups?

f. Will the assessment be taken at the

same time or submitted within a specific

period?

g. How will class size affect the way the assessment will

be conducted?

h. How can technology help?

h. To inform teaching and promote growth and

mastery, formative assessment strategies should:

a. establish clear learning targets and success criteria;

b. elicit useful evidence of learning;

c. provide timely and effective feedback;

d. engage learners in assessing and improving each

other’s work; and

e. increase ownership of their learning

(adapted from Wiliam & Leahy, 2015).

i. Formative assessment is about getting better, so it should

be specific, frequent, repetitive, and free from the

restrictions of grading (Christodolou, 2016). It should target

skills that are necessary to the attainment of learning

competencies as measured in summative assessments.

j. To evaluate student learning at particular points in each quarter,

summative assessments shall continue in the form of written

 works and performance tasks.

a. Written works shall be administered to assess

essential knowledge and understandings through

quizzes and long/unit tests. Items should be

distributed across the Cognitive Process

Dimensions (DepEd, 2015,p. 4) using a

combination of selected-response and

constructed- response formats so that all are

adequately covered.

Performance tasks refer to assessment tasks that “allow learners

to show what they know and can do in diverse ways. They may:
a. Create or innovate products or do performance-

based tasks [including] skill demonstrations, group

presentations, oral work, multimedia presentations, and

research projects. It is important to note that written

outputs may also be considered as performance

tasks” (DepEd, 2015, pp. 7–8). Annex B provides a

list of sample summative assessments that fall under

performance tasks for this policy.

k. Performance tasks must be designed to provide

opportunities for learners to apply what they are learning

to real-life situations. In addition, teachers should take into

consideration the following:

a. Each task must be accompanied by clear directions

and appropriate scoring tools (i.e. checklists, rubrics,

rating scales, etc.) to help learners demonstrate their

 learning (see Annex C for sample scoring tools).

b. Teachers are advised to collaboratively design and

implement performance tasks that integrate two or

more competencies within or across subject areas.

Complex tasks may be broken down into shorter tasks

to be completed over longer periods (see Annex D for

sample integrative assessment tasks).

c. Learners must be given flexibility in the

accomplishment of the performance

tasks to consider t he time and

resources available to them.

Nonetheless, all learners within a class should be assessed

on the same competencies using the same scoring tool.

d. Teachers must exercise their professional judgment

in carrying out summative assessments, providing

enough opportunities for learners to practice and to

redo their work whenever necessary so that they can

reach their learning targets with the least amount of

pressure.

l. Teachers should set realistic expectations and use

their professional judgment to find a good balance

between what is effective and what is feasible to

accomplish remotely.
IV. Conducting Assessment Remotely

Communicating the assessment task. In communicating the

assessment task, teachers must ensure that the following details

are explained:

a. Objectives of the assessment task

b. Roles of learners and parents/guardians

c. Procedure and expected timeline

d. Standards and rubrics

The teacher must consult the learners and, when

necessary, parents/guardians, to allow room for

adjustments/flexibilities needed, if any.

V. Record of progress. The collection and recording of evidence of

learning are integral for monitoring student learning and

development. Listed below are some sample strategies for this

purpose:

a. Self-Monitoring Tool (see Annex E; consider the needs of

learners per key stage, e.g. early grades need assistance from

parents, while older learners are expected to accomplish self-

reflection tools on their own.)

b. Check-ins of a teacher with the learner

(during assessment period)

c. Evidence of learning in the student's learning portfolio

VI. Feedback and Remediation

1. To benefit student learning, both formative and summative

assessments must be accompanied by timely,

constructive, and meaningful feedback based on the

learner’s record of progress. In giving feedback, teachers

need to maximize available communication options (e.g.

writing feedback on the output, texting feedback via SMS,

and using online channels, among others). Annex F

provides a guide to help frame decisions on appropriate

feedback to learners.

2. Consistent with DO No. 8, s. 2015, “teachers should ensure

that learners receive remediation when they earn raw

scores which are consistently below expectation” in

summative assessments “by the fifth week of any quarter.

This will prevent a student from failing in any learning area

at the end of the year.”

VII. Grading and Promotion

The challenges brought to light by the coronavirus

pandemic, specifically the implementation of different

distance learning delivery modalities, have sparked a

larger conversation about the role grades plays in student

learning, prompting education sectors to rethink

traditional grading schemes. The grading system

implemented in this interim policy provides reasonable

leniency to learners who are put to a larger disadvantage

 by the pandemic, but at the same does not compromise

the integrity and principles of assessment and grading.

Written works and performance tasks shall be

administered to assess the content and performance

standards that describe the knowledge, abilities, and

skills that learners are expected to demonstrate. These

tasks could be designed to include the following:

a. Student's Learning Portfolio that documents all the evidence

of learning within the grading period including self-reflections,

self-evaluations of performance tasks guided by rubrics, and

self-selected best outputs in learning modules.

b. Minimum of four (4) written works and four (4)

performance tasks within the quarter, preferably

one in two weeks integrating two or more

competencies.

All competencies should be covered by the performance tasks

(e.g. A performance task can be used to assess Science, Math,

and English altogether for certain topics).

For the current school year, quarterly assessments shall not

be administered. However, days allotted for quarterly

assessments in DepEd Order 7, s. 2020 or the School

Calendar and Activities for School Year 2020-2021, may be

used for the presentation of major performance for the

quarter that addresses the performance standard.

Quarterly Examinations were given a weight of 20% constantly

 in DO No. 8, s. 2015. Since it will no longer be a part of the

grading system for this school year, its previously determined

weight was distributed equally into Written Works and

Performance Tasks, allotting an additional 10% to each

component. This maintains an emphasis on Performance

Tasks for some learning areas.

DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015

In line with the implementation of the Enhanced Basic

Education Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10533), the

Department of Education is adopting the enclosed

Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K

to 12 Basic Education Program. Classroom

Assessment is an integral part of curriculum

implementation. It allows the teachers to track and

measure learners' progress and to adjust instruction

accordingly. Classroom assessment informs the

learners, as well as their parents and guardians, of their

progress.
Classroom Assessment

Assessment is a process that is used to keep track

of learners' progress in relation to learning

standards and the development of 21st-century

skills; to promote self-reflection and personal

accountability among students about their learning,

and to provide bases for the profiling of student

performance on the learning competencies and

standards of the curriculum. Various kinds of

assessments shall be used appropriately for

different learners who come from diverse contexts,

such as cultural background and life experiences.

Classroom Assessment is an ongoing process of

identifying, gathering, organizing, and interpreting

quantitative and qualitative information about what

learners know and can do.

Teachers should employ classroom assessment

methods that are consistent with curriculum standards.

It is important for teachers to always inform learners

about the objectives of the lesson so that the latter will

aim to meet or even exceed the

 standards. The teacher provides immediate feedback

to students about their learning progress. Classroom

assessment also measures the achievement of

competencies by the learners(DepEd Order No. 8, s.

2015)

Grading System

A grading system in education is a system that is used to assess the

educational performance of a child which is entirely based upon points alone. The

grading system does not provide an opportunity to make the child think out of the box

or freely develop the thinking about any inkling of an idea or get involved with any of

the intellectual speculation. But still, this method is widely regarded in many of the

schools across the world and is kept as a strong and viable medium to adjudge a

child’s grasping and reciprocating ability by grading them. The initial type of appraisal

was by the marks where the marks for all the questions were totaled to get total

marks (Chitra Reday,2020).

In essence, grading is an exercise in professional judgment on the part of

teachers. It involves the collection and evaluation of evidence on students'

achievement or performance over a specified period, such as nine weeks, an

academic semester, or an entire school year. Through this process, various types of

descriptive information and measures of students' performance are converted into

grades or marks that summarize students' accomplishments (Guskey and Pollio,

2017).
Importance of Grading System

The term grading practices refer to the process of assigning value to student

performance on the assessment tools” (Carlson, 2014). “Grading is not something

that is done merely at the end of an assignment or a course; rather, grading

should be woven into the classroom tapestry through the course” (Speck, 1998,

Yesbek, 2011 ) Grading has the important function of communicating information

about student progress and success (Cizek, 1996; Stiggins & Bridgeport, 1985,

Yesbek, 2011 ). Grades are important measures of student learning and

achievement (Cross & Frarry, 1996, Yesbek, 2011 ). Grades inform parents about

their child’s progress and inform learners’ potential. Stiggins, Frisbie, and Griswold

(1989, Yesbek, 2011 ) stated that

grades were very important to both students and teachers.

First, they influence student achievement, motivation, academic self-concept,

locus of control, and attitude, among other things. Second, they influence teachers’

objectives and expectations, activities, and perceptions of their success. Teachers’

grading practices take much of a teacher’s time and have a strong impact on

students (Stiggins, 1992, Yesbek, 2011 ). Existing research indicates that grades

might be used as tools to motivate, praise, or punish students. According to

McMillan and Nash (2000), five types of teacher beliefs and values exist philosophy

of teaching/learning; giving students the bestopportunity to be

successful; promoting student’s understanding; accommodating

individual differences, and student engagement and motivation. McMillan, et al.

(2000, Yesbek, 2011 ) interviewed 24 teachers on the issue of their grading practices

and the reasons for their assessment and grading decisions.

The most important internal factors affecting grading decisions tended to be

the teacher’s philosophy of learning and teaching, the value they placed on
student
grading, and their beliefs about helping students make progress (McMillan, et al.,

2000, Yesbek, 2011 . Brookhart (1998) cited in Yesbek, (2011) developed a

theoretical model to demonstrate how assessment and grading practices affect self-

efficacy, motivation, student effort, and student achievement. The model, which was

based on the social cognitive theories of motivation, provided a theoretical

framework for investigating the effects of classroom assessment on a student.

In Brookhart’s graphical model, instruction affected perceived task

characteristics; the functional significance of feedback affected perceived self-

efficacy; perceived task characteristics, and perceived self-efficacy, which

reciprocally influenced and affected student effort, and in turn affected student

achievement. Brookhart (1994) cited in Yesbek (2011) stated that classroom

assessment and grading practices had strong effects on students because they

informed student decisions on what and how to study, and influenced student

achievement, motivation, and emotional responses. According to Brookhart (1994)

cited in Yesbek (2011), the motor function, together with the management function of

classroom assessment, helps to motivate more productive student achievement and

behavior. Theories of motivation and volition were used to explain this phenomenon.

Mental processes have three categories: cognition, conation, and affection.

Motivation and volition comprise conation, which is the inclination, desire, or drive to

do something and the ability to carry out this will (Brookhart (1994, Yesbek, 2011).

To illustrate the motivation function of grading and classroom assessment,

Brookhart (2004) cited in Yebek (2011) reviewed the cognitive evaluation theory

which suggests that “events are intrinsically motivating to the extent that they (a)

facilitate the perception of an internal locus of causality; (b) enhance perceived

competence, and (c) are informational. When students get more feedback from

grades, they will

view grades as their responsibility and as an encouragement to their effort. Fribie

and Waltman (1992) cited in Yebek (2011) supported the motivation function of

grading. They contended that grades provided students incentives to learn by

motivating them to achieve high grades and receive recognition from others.

Besides, grades serve a function of providing information to students for self-

evaluation.

The New Normal Numerical Grading System in the

Philippines Pros

The DepEd officials highlighted some reasons for keeping the Numerical

Grading amidst this pandemic: 1. Students who are graduating next year and

seeking collegiate scholarships would not find it difficult to apply given that grades

are primarily

the basis of their application; 2. A non-graded system for reporting the progress of

the learners will also mean additional work for the teachers which they do not like to

impose at this moment because they will be studying a new system (San Antonio,

2020); 3. Shifting to non-numerical grading would affect the country’s performance at

the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a student assessment

of 15-year-old learners across 79 countries done by the Organization for Economic

Co-operation and Development (OECD) Education Secretary Leonor Briones, 2020).

Cons

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) of the Philippines recommended

to DepEd to develop a “pass or fail” mechanism for evaluation. The group

highlighted that this mechanism: 1. will rely more on the students’ ability to exhibit

and apply lessons to productive tasks at home and in their communities amid the

COVID-19 pandemic; 2. The more flexible 'pass or fail' grading system seeks to
recognize that amid a pandemic and the shift in education modalities, capacities of

families to support their children's education have been gravely affected.3. It is a

conscious acceptance of the intrinsic inferiorities of distance learning modalities

compared to classroom learning; 4. "It is a fairer metric of students' performance who

will surely and understandably get less from the inputs through distance learning

modalities. It is a concrete move to temporarily stall, if not finally address the

unhealthy culture of individualistic competition in education."5. The group further

accused DepEd of prioritizing "global competitiveness, scholarship requirements,

and their misguided concepts of motivation and excellence" over what they called

the more immediate concerns presented by the pandemic (The Alliance of

Concerned Teachers, 2020).

Secretary-General Raymond Basilio of ACT pointed out that even before

the BE-LCP, the old evaluation system has been challenging already for teachers

and students alike. “Now, these will be impossible to meet with remote learning

and will only be another burden to grappling families, while completely missing the

aim of education,”

He explained that Class performance is usually measured through reports,

group presentations, and participation during discussions. “These obviously will

not be applicable to distance learning, particularly the most preferred modular

system and the TV/radio-based instruction modalities where teacher-student

interaction is limited to clarificatory Q&As and the exchange of old and new

modules,” he added. “This, to us, is more in keeping with education’s objective of

arming our youth amid the crises, instead of alienating them from their

surroundings and adding unnecessary pressure onto their lives,” (Merlina

Hernando-Malipot, 2020)
 Senator Sherwin Gatchalian also suggested implementing a "pass or fail"

system during the distance-learning scheme. The DepEd earlier said it would retain

a numeric grading system (Katrina Domingo,2020).

According to Margarita J. Lucero Galias, it’s hard to have a fair system of

grading when children have different learning circumstances, different learning

environments, and learning delivery modalities, different resources, and types of

assistance provided to them, and/or absence of access to assistance. We have no

direct control of who makes the outputs and examination of the learners 3. Some

children do not have parents that could assist them. 4. Different students will be

experiencing different situations at home, and for some students, it may be very

challenging to focus on studying. 5. As both the teachers and students are yet

experimenting on the new learning modalities, teaching and learning from home may

not be easy and it is not reasonable to expect that teachers may make the usual

distinction required in the numerical grade system.

Factors Considered for Grading Recommendation in this Pandemic

According to Joe Feldman, the grading recommendations provided below are

grounded in research on effective evaluation, culturally responsive teaching and

learning, and my organization's work in multiple geographic and socioeconomic

contexts. They also incorporate feedback from teachers and school and district

leaders. These recommendations are based on three major factors:

1. Stress-related to COVID-19 will negatively impact student academic

performance. Everyone is affected by the stress of the global pandemic, and

this stress is expected to grow as the number of people infected, and who
become sick or die, increases. It will become more likely that each of us will

know someone or have family members with the coronavirus. Plus, the

economic impact of this crisis will become more severe, with more people out

of work and requiring financial assistance. Not only has research directly

linked parents' job losses to lower student performance, but economic strain

within a family adds stress and anxiety, which creates additional adverse

consequences such as increased domestic violence (Hoge, 2020).

While schools often provide some measure of mental health services,

students are now unable to access them. Additionally, the health- and

economic-related stress caused by the coronavirus will likely be

disproportionately felt by students in lower-income families, who are more

vulnerable to economic downturns and more likely to experience food and

housing insecurity. We also know that grades themselves are a significant

source of stress to students and will only exacerbate the pressure they

already are experiencing.

Finally, stress and anxiety hamper cognition, particularly with higher-demand

tasks involved in learning (Vogel, 2020). Students will be unable to process

new

material or demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of course

content. Their performance on quizzes, tests, or other assessments will

assuredly be compromised and will not accurately reflect their learning. This

impact will be more acutely felt by lower-income students and those with

special needs.
2. Student academic performance during school closures is more likely to

reflect racial, economic, and resource differences. Many schools have

entirely shifted to remote instruction, and never in the history of our country

has a student's learning been so dependent on home technological resources

—a situation that has exposed glaring inequities (Reilly, 2020; Sonali,

2020). Some students do not have consistent access to technology because

of a lack of computers or internet access in their homes. Besides, families

with several school-age children may require multiple computers and higher

bandwidth.

We also know that parents who have a higher education background or who

have more resources can provide more academic supports for their children,

immediately and over the long haul. During school closures, parents

(including teachers) have been asked to assume more responsibilities to

support and even teach their children, which means that the capacity of

parents to support remote instruction will now have a greater influence on

students' learning.

And there is another complicating dynamic: Parents who are in the health or

medical professions or who provide other "essential" products or services—

including hourly employees in public transit, sanitation, grocery stores, and

pharmacies—are less available to their children than parents in other

professions during this critically important time.

Schools always strive to provide sufficient supports to students to

compensate for differences in family resources and level the playing field. But
 in this new context, most schools are unable to do that as effectively, thereby

exacerbating these disparities. The inequitable result is that students'

academic performance will reflect their home environments more tightly than

ever.

3. Most teachers have not been adequately prepared to provide high-

quality instruction remotely. Even among our most dedicated teachers,

most have received little, if any, preparation to provide distance-learning

instruction. Effective online learning requires carefully tailored instructional

design and planning, using a specialized model for design and development

(Hodges et

al., 2020). It is more than using online learning applications (which, for some

teachers, pose a very steep learning curve), it's not simply having students

progress through their school class schedule in virtual classes all day long,

and it's not just posting worksheets and readings on a website. Yet these

rudimentary translations of in-class teaching may be the best that most

teachers can do, given that they are also likely grappling with the significant

stress and anxiety of physical distancing and the health and safety of their

families.

Plus, with students doing all of their work outside the classroom, a teacher

can't ensure that any work submitted is entirely the student's; it could be the

performance of an older sibling, a parent, or even a peer.

Recommended Grading System in a Time of Crisis

Use Only Pass/Incomplete Grades

If grades do need to be awarded—such as at the high school and

postsecondary levels—the only grades for the second semester of the school year

should be either "Pass" or "Incomplete" instead of the traditional 0–100 percentages

and A–F letter grades. Schools use percentages and letter grades primarily to

distinguish among students and suggest precise distinctions of course content

knowledge, but this specificity is impossible when such significant doubts exist about

the integrity or fairness of student performance data. Letter and percentage grades

also can add stress and anxiety to students, and Pass/Incomplete grades give

students some relief during this extremely stressful time.

A student should receive a "Pass" for the second semester if, at the time her

school was closed due to the coronavirus, she was meeting minimum standards in a

course. Any student who was not meeting minimum standards in the course up to

that point should have the opportunity to fulfill the requirements remotely and receive

a "Pass" for the course. If a student is unable to meet the requirements for whatever

reason, they should receive an "Incomplete" for the course and, when schools

reopen, be provided sufficient opportunity to fulfill requirements. Yearlong courses in

which semester grades are normally combined should be bifurcated into two

separate reports—a letter grade for the first semester and a Pass/Incomplete for the

second semester.
If Grades Are Necessary, Make Them Temporary

If the school or district context requires that an A–F letter grade must be

assigned, schools should explicitly frame the grade as a temporary description of

what a student has demonstrated based on incomplete information. The district

should provide opportunities, once schools reopen, for a student to learn the course

content and improve the grade assigned during the school closure period.

Don't Leave the Choice of Grading to the Student

Several universities and colleges are allowing students at the end of this

semester to decide whether a course should be Pass/No Pass or graded A–F. This

reasonable compromise perpetuates inequities; it gives students access to

technology and resources the advantage of being able to earn a letter grade, while

the less- resourced student cannot realistically exercise that choice.

Have Students Sign an Integrity Agreement

Districts and schools should ask students to sign a "remote academic integrity

agreement" in which they promise that all work submitted was completed without any

additional assistance unless specified by the teacher. This agreement helps the

school or district reaffirm its expectations for students and increases students'

investment in their learning. It also builds teachers' confidence that the work students

submit is their own. Of particular importance during this crisis is that educators

consider and use these agreements not as "gotcha" traps to disqualify student work,

but rather as a tool to build responsibility and trusting relationships.

Continue Providing Feedback on Performance

Teachers should continue to give detailed feedback to students on their

performance, to support learning. Teacher feedback could be communicated through

online meetings or web-based applications and will give students valuable insight

into their understanding, guidance on how to improve, and motivation to learn and

grow. Research supports the impact of nongraded feedback to focus students on

learning rather than performance (Butler & Mordecai, 1986), and when the

psychological and intellectual "load" on students and their families is so significant, it

is important that schools lean on the side of the support and learning rather than

competition and high- stakes performance.

Students, Not Grades, Come First

Once a grading policy is decided on, districts and schools should issue a

statement to families that explains the policy and how it aligns with their overarching

beliefs about learning, equity, and children. Several policymakers and

superintendents are already implementing these policies. For example, the

superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia announced that because some

children are not able to access technology or complete assignments, teachers

cannot require or evaluate any remote work. Both Virginia and Kansas schools,

which are physically closed for the remainder of the school year, have also stated

that student work should not be graded during this time. If parents and others are

concerned about whether or not awarding traditional grades will make their children

less competitive or eligible for opportunities (e.g., scholarships and college

admission), school leaders should reassure them that it is almost certain that

institutions that make decisions based on grades—such as colleges and the NCAA

—will make adjustments and allowances because of the global upheaval caused by

COVID-19.
 During this challenging and stressful time, it is important to act in the best

interests of children. The only way schools can properly recognize the almost

unimaginable stress and anxiety that the coronavirus has and will have our

communities is to not evaluate and assign grades for remote learning during the

remainder of the 2019–20 school year. In this way, we affirm that all grades must be

accurate, that they must be equitable and, most of all, that they support learning.

International Grading System Pros and Cons

L ET T ER GR AD ES

Pros

Keeping some sense of normalcy during this unprecedented time is possible through

continuing to give out letter grades. The American grading system typically uses an

A- F breakdown with a related numerical score scale. To switch from the usual

grading system is another change that both students and teachers have to adapt to

quickly. Students thrive on clear expectations and stability in the classroom,

especially while distance learning.

By keeping letter grades, students can also appropriately calculate and track their

GPA, improving it as needed. High school juniors and seniors may need to meet a

certain GPA to be considered competitive for certain colleges and universities.

Without letter grades, their GPAs may stay the same for too long until it’s too late to

pull them up. Letter grades ensure a certain level of transparency in the learning

progress.

Cons
With online learning, teacher access is more limited. Students can’t stay after school

to get in-person help anymore. Instead, they must resort to short video chats and

emails. There are also fewer ways to deliver content creatively and thoroughly,

particularly for classes requiring hands-on activities like science labs. Students will

be less motivated to keep up letter grades with limited meaningful interactions with

their teachers.

Consistently maintaining high letter grades can also be very difficult if grading

expectations are kept the same. Students may not learn the material as well with

limited teacher and technology access. It also puts teachers in the position of giving

out lower grades than their students usually score based on their performances in

unequal circumstances. As a result, students could be less motivated to put in the

same amount of effort if their grades suffer regardless.

P ASS/ F AIL

Pros

When students attend school in person, they have equal access to their teachers

and technology. They can get away from situations that may impact their learning,

such as family issues or neighborhood violence. When they’re expected to learn

from home, the pass/fail grading system accounts for the unexpected impacts on

their education. Students, especially those with disabilities, have more wiggle room

to learn the material at their own pace and to the fullest extent they can given the

circumstances.

At the same time, teachers can be more lenient with students and are given more

leniency with their challenges. They have the option to give out fairer grades when

they’re dealing with family issues or have a limited range to teach the material.
Teachers don’t have to feel guilty setting unrealistic expectations, especially if they

know their students face inordinate challenges at home. However, It does ensure

students must still learn and be somewhat present.

Cons

While students have more flexibility, it’s possible they won’t be motivated to learn the

class material to the fullest degree. If a teacher assigns a series of textbook math

problems, for example, students might only complete some problems knowing they’d

still “pass” the assignment. Some students learn best when faced with high

expectations and complete work more thoroughly when their grades are at stake.

The consequences of failing are less likely for students who normally do well

academically with pass/fail to grade.

With the potential lack of motivation, students most likely won’t be getting the

academic enrichment needed to succeed in next year’s classes or be prepared for

standardized tests and college applications. Many classes build upon one another,

such as Algebra I and Algebra II. If students don’t properly learn the base concepts

in the first class, how can they succeed at learning more advanced concepts in the

second class? When schools return to letter grades or numerical scores, how will

colleges look at the low scores on student transcripts?

NO GR ADE S

Pros

Refraining from grading any work students do in distance learning allows for the

most flexibility and takes away any pressure. Students with disabilities, family issues,

and/or limited technology/internet access don’t have to worry about completing

assignments on time or keeping upgrades on top of other more pressing situations. It

ensures the most equity among schools and school districts with a wide range of

student and teacher needs.

Many teachers face a steep learning curve with figuring out new and creative ways

to teach the class material with the available technological tools. Without the

additional workload of giving out grades, teachers can put their time and energy into

how to best cater to their students’ unique needs. Grading and giving sufficient

feedback can be extremely time-consuming, which would take away from

overcoming the technological learning curve.

Cons

Without any academic repercussions for not doing assigned work, there will be a

definite lack of motivation from many students. If a student hates learning physics,

chances are all physics assignments will be ignored. It’s feasible that students may

not complete any assignments at all, even those for classes they love, without

incentive to do work. For middle and high school students, watching TV or playing

video games is probably more enticing than doing homework without feedback and

grades.
The potential lack of motivation will also be frustrating for teachers creating content

as best as they can. They may feel any lessons they create or assignments are

given are wasted time for both themselves and their students if no effort is put forth.

Teachers want to see their students learning for the next weeks to months, but no

grading policy will make it hard to track student progress.

Just like conducting any scientific experiment, trial and error will be inevitable in the

process of determining the most effective way to assign grades to students. The U.S.

education system has never experienced a transition this large-scale, so finding the

perfect solution even at the district level is very unlikely. Each student and teacher

has different learning needs and academic goals.

The best grading practices will encourage honesty and respectful communication

among teachers, students, and administrators. Above all else, though, providing

highly effective feedback will be even more valuable to students during this

pandemic no matter what grades they receive. Research suggests that one of the

best ways to improve student success is to provide more descriptive feedback rather

than more numerical evaluations.

Feedback is how we learn. Through ongoing cycles of practice and feedback, we

learn new skills throughout our lives. For students, effective feedback is equivalent to

8 additional months of learning per school year. With widespread school closures

and limited time-capacity for teachers, feedback is one of the most powerful tools to

use right now to make sure students keep learning and growing.

As the nation’s schools lurch into an unprecedented experiment with distance

learning, with all of the hiccups and false starts that entails, teachers and

administrators alike
are starting to wrestle with a question deeply at the heart of the learning enterprise:

How are they supposed to assign grades?

It’s a tough call. Districts must balance what’s fair for students, considering that

many don’t—or won’t—have full access to their teachers. There’s also an art to the

messaging—they don’t want to communicate that they’re blowing off the rest of the

school year.

COVID-19 has forced schools across the world to rethink overnight how to teach and

grade their students. Yes, this is a herculean task; we might also dare to think of it as

an opportunity to evaluate our practices with an equity lens. Doing so raises some

urgent questions. Among them: How can we justly grade and report on student work

in a world where remote learning exacerbates the racial and socio-economic

inequities we were already struggling with? This question is not to be brushed aside

until the crisis is over, for there is no equitable “normal” to return to. Given this

inconvenient truth, we hope you will join us in reimagining what grading is for and

how reporting might look. Our big idea is really simple: The focus should be on

feedback and learning. A grade shouldn’t be a reward or punishment for attendance,

behavior, or other forms of compliance.

Students of color, students who live in poverty, students with disabilities, and other

marginalized populations have always faced unique impediments at school. Many

schools built support structures designed to help students scale these barriers, but

most of those supports are not available remotely. Barriers faced by marginalized

students have only gotten taller in recent weeks. Some students lack access to the

internet. Others lack access to required devices, such as tablets or computers.

Others are struggling with a job loss in the family and may lack access to necessities

like heat
or food. Still, others may be responsible for teaching younger siblings in addition to

their learning.

Recommendations for Grading and Reporting

Transforming the way your school or district grades and reports is a significant

change that normally warrants a broad and inclusive community conversation.

However, time is of the essence; if schools don’t act quickly, students stand to be

permanently hurt by unfair grading practices. Consequently, GSP believes schools

and districts must act quickly and make changes to their grading and reporting

systems that will positively impact students today. Once this crisis passes, the

learning gained by these decisions can be refined for the next steps.

If we can’t continue grading as usual, what can educators do?

We recommend temporarily using some form of pass/incomplete grading to give

every student the fairest chance to have their learning formally noted during this

challenging time for all. This would enable students to continue to demonstrate their

learning but not unfairly punish students who are unable to do so through no fault of

their own.

Implementing such a system requires challenging conversations with the entire

school community. The below guiding questions can help you as your school or

district endeavors to create a system that works for you:

 Who does this decision privilege or benefit?

 Who does this decision harm or disadvantage?

 How are we hearing our community’s needs?

 What type of support will our students and families need to experience success?

 What type of support will teachers need to implement this in a way that supports

all students?
  Does our system allow for appropriate adaptations?

 What considerations might be important regarding “consumers” of our grading

systems, such as colleges or future employers?

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations theory provided the theoretical framework

for this study. A theory that has been widely tested and implemented. It has been

used to explain individuals and social system adoption of new ideas, inventions, and

practices. Boaventura et al. (2017) noted that “Rogers’ theory has been widely used

in a variety of settings, ranging from the diffusion of rural technology among farmers

to the adoption of innovations in educational settings. This theory is useful for

instructional technologists to explain, predict, and account for the factors that impede

or facilitate the diffusion of their products”.

Central Florida utilized the diffusion of innovation theory to investigate how wikis

were implemented by instructors in Political Science, Education, and Health

Information. Qingshan (2017) conducted a descriptive study using two case studies

to focus on how the diffusion framework "can be applied in studying the adoption of

ICTs Information and Communication Technologies in LIS Library and Information

Science education and agricultural information systems” in Kenya, Africa.

Rogers’s theory of perceived attributes of innovation defines five characteristics

of an innovation which has been shown to affect the rate of its adoption in a society

(Cullen, 2001). Rogers (2003) mentioned that the rate of adoption is partially

influenced by perceived attributes namely: relative advantage, compatibility,

complexity, trialability, and observability. Each of the elements of this theory is

described as follows:

 Relative advantage: the degree to which the innovation is perceived to be

superior to current practice. In other words, the degree to which it is perceived

as better than the idea it supersedes by a particular group of users. According

to Robinson (2003), it is measured in terms that matter to those users, like an

economic advantage, social prestige, convenience, or satisfaction. The

greater the perceived relative advantage, the more rapid its rate of adoption.

 Compatibility: the degree to which the innovation is perceived to be consistent

with socio-cultural values, previous ideas, and /or perceived needs. An

idea/innovation that is incompatible with a potential user’s values, norms, or

practices will not be adopted as rapidly as a compatible innovation.

 Complexity: The degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult to use

and understand. It is hypothesized to be negatively related to the rate of

adoption of an innovation (Rogers, 2003). Innovations that are simpler to

understand and use are adopted more rapidly than innovations that require

the adopter to develop new skills and understanding.

 Trialability: The degree to which the innovation can be experienced on a

limited basis. It is the fourth factor in promoting the adaptability of innovation

by providing the opportunity for a potential user to experience using the

innovation itself.

 Observability: The degree to which the results of the innovation are visible to

potential adopters. The easier it is for an individual to see the results of an

innovation, the more likely they are to adopt it. Visible results lower

uncertainty
 and also stimulate peer discussion of a new idea, as friends and neighbors of an

adopter often request information about it.

 The attributes such as; relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, and

observability are positively related to innovation adoption, whereas complexity is

negatively related to adoption.


earn to listen carefully to others, and receive constructive criticism. Think of criticism
as a way to learn.
11. Need for improvement does not mean failure.