What Is a Grading System?

Assigning student grades at the end of a term can be a painless process for teachers who have a clear grading system in place. A grading system is a breakdown of how a teacher (or a school) categorizes and weighs student assignments to determine a student's grade out of 100.

Considerations

The grading system should reflect focused course objectives that are made readily available to students through assignment tasks, rubrics, matrices and syllabi. Transparency can help students see how their work directly impacts their grade in the course.

Features

A good grading scale is performance-based, including categories such as quizzes, tests, group projects, essays and homework. According to the University of Michigan's Center for Teaching and Learning, "items as 'effort,' 'attendance,' or 'frequency of participation,' although contributing factors to student learning, do not actually reflect the extent to which students have learned the course materials."

Benefits

Students not only take more ownership for their work and learning when a good grading system is in place, but they also learn to trust their teachers. Additionally, the numbers make sense. Data is valid and can be used to track student progress, pinpoint problems, and tweak curriculum to meet student needs.

References

• University of Michigan's Center for Teaching and Learning: Characteristics of a Good Grading System