Get Set, Go: Creating Successful Grading and Reporting Systems (An action plan for leading lasting grading reform in changing classrooms)

ISBN: 1949539458

Author: Thomas R. Guskey

Condition: New

Product DescriptionMake school a better experience for students by ensuring grading and reporting practices are honest, accurate, meaningful, and fair. A companion to the best-selling and award-winning On Your Mark, this practical guide details how to successfully lead lasting grading reform. Dr. Thomas R. Guskey simplifies the transition by guiding educators through six essential steps--from developing a coalition devoted to change to creating a systematic plan.Use this resource to develop a new system of grading in your school or district: Become familiar with the process of implementing a rigorous new system of reporting that aligns with the goals of standards-based grading. Acquire numerous tools and strategies that will assist in the process of implementing a new grading system. Study the six steps that are essential to any successful attempt to reform grading, as well as how to succeed in each. Learn how to form a change action plan that covers the entire system of implementation and improves the student experience.Contents:About the AuthorIntroductionChapter 1: Learn From FailuresChapter 2: Form a Coalition for ChangeChapter 3: Understand the Change ProcessChapter 4: Clarify the Purpose of Grading and ReportingChapter 5: Report Multiple Grades for Cognitive OutcomesChapter 6: Report Multiple Grades for Noncognitive OutcomesChapter 7: Get Assessment Policies and Practices RightChapter 8: Develop a Systematic Plan for ImplementationReferences and ResourcesIndexReviewWhenever the topic of grading comes up, nearly everyone teachers, parents, students, and educational consultants will have an opinion about what should be graded, how grades should be calculated, and what the grades mean. Some grading practices are rooted in habit ( This is how I have always graded ); some are dictated by technology ( Our grading software requires us to include six grades that are averaged ); and some are informed by district or school policies ( No zeroes allowed ). The result can be a confusing and often contentious cacophony of positions regarding grading policies and practices.Dr. Tom Guskey is a recognized scholar who has studied the extensive research base associated with all aspects of grading and reporting. However, he is not just a renowned researcher Guskey's long-standing work with schools and districts has equipped him to offer the eminently practical guidance needed to overhaul outdated and misaligned grading and reporting principles and practices. The sage advice he offers in Get Set, Go will make it much more likely that resulting grading reforms are research-based, understood by all stakeholders, and likely to endure. Simply put, if you want the most comprehensive and authoritative treatment of this topic, then you need this book! -- --Jay McTighe, educational author and consultantAs an education consultant and reformer-at-heart, I loved On Your Mark, but as a classroom teacher, I wondered how exactly to put his innovative grading ideas into practice. Enter Get Set, Go, a step-by-step roadmap for educators looking to reform their grading and reporting policies and practices. In the tradition of great reformers, Guskey does not sugarcoat the problems or offer platitudes to appease all kinds of educators. Instead, he gets right to the heart of the assessment conundrum: how our common grading practices misrepresent students abilities and how we can fix them. I read this book in one sitting thanks to Guskey's crisp writing, pragmatic solutions, and real-world examples. I found myself nodding along on nearly every page. Get Set, Go is a must-read for any educator who knows the system isn't fair and wants solutions for how to change it. This one has a permanent place on my bookshelf. --Alexis Wiggins, author of The Best Class You Never Taught: How Spider Web Discussion Can Turn Students into Learning Leaders (ASCD, 2017)Get Set, Go is essential reading for any education leader or leadership team contemplating