Why Zero Isn't A Grade At All

Syllogism:

Grades represent evaluations of learning.

A zero, given for missing or late work, does not represent an evaluation of learning.

Therefore, that zero is not a grade.

Any questions?

(So, what are those zeros doing in grade books?)

(Next up: Zero and Statistical Integrity)

Don't Give a Zero! Try 50, 59, or 60. (Or not.)

Here's the first in a miniseries about the folly of awarding a grade of zero for late work or work not turned in.

Part 1: The Math of Zero in a Percentage Scale

I was talking to a colleague recently about how although there is no one "right" way to grade, there certainly are justifiable and unjustifiable grades.

Then I said, innocently as I could manage,"...and giving kids zeros as a penalty for late work or for work not turned in is a perfect example of unjustifiable grading."

He immediately went on the attack. "I've heard that the school board is about to require us to not give zeros! That's outrageous! No work, no grade! We have to teach kids to be responsible!"

I didn't know which of the four positions he took to reply to first, so I chose the easiest.

"Nope," I said, "the school board is not about to require the high school to quit giving zeros. We're in a conversational mode, and I hope people are willing to think about standards-based grading and talk it over."

"However," I followed up with, "have you given any thought to the math of zero?"

"What do you mean, the math? Zero is zero. Nothing is nothing. No work, zip. End of story."

Realizing that I had no graceful exit strategy from this conversation if my colleague proved resistant to my charm and logic, I set up a problem for him to analyze.

"Think about this," I suggested. "Everyone is familiar with a 4.0 GPA scale, right? What if the F (a zero, right?), in a 4.0 scale had the same weight as a zero in a scale of 0-100, the percent scale we use almost universally for grading?"

"What are you getting at?" he asked.

"Just this," I said. "In a 4.0 scale, A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, and F=0. The difference between a D and an F is just one point. On the percentage scale, the difference between a D and a zero is 60 points. Does that seem proportionate to you?"

"No," he said, as the math began to register. "On a 4.0 scale, if it were equivalent to a percentage scale, the F would be, what, negative 6?!"

"That's in the ball park," I said. "Isn't it amazing that we teachers don't ask these kinds of questions more often when we talk about grading?"

"Yeah," he said thoughtfully.

"Look," I said, "here's a two-page article from the Phi Beta Kappan on the destructive effect of zeros . It's written by Doug Reeves, an international education consultant based in Colorado. He explains it far more eloquently than I can. Check it out."

The following week, I asked him if he liked the article. "Man," he said, "I am DONE with zeros!"

"Pass it on," I said, "because there's more..."

(Next up: Why Zero Isn't A Grade At All)

Making Math Count

I can’t say exactly when I got off track with math, but it may have been the year I had to relearn long division after a hot summer of just being a happy kid and thinking no math thoughts at all.

It wasn’t until I had to take college statistics that I lost my “math phobia.” Portland State University math department legends, Mildred Bennett and her teammate, Ethel Lawrence, were ahead of their time with their highly effective teaching methods and student support.

Since that epiphanic time in my statistics classes, I have marveled at the importance and utility of mathematics in everyday life, from the complex economic models that determine the prime rate, to the use of algebra to solve fence-building problems. (I confess that I still don’t understand calculus, but I’m working on it — slowly.)

Today, over a half century after my difficulties with math, we still have students who struggle. The November issue of Educational Leadership is devoted to math education. Naturally, my favorite article is “Nine Ways to Catch Kids Up.” Access is free, along with some other great math pieces, so check it out.

Help someone catch up today!

Cross-posted on Straight Talk 13NOV2007

Luann -- Unintended Irony?

Mrs. Chili said... (In response to this post by DrPezz...)

Dear God/dess, I hope you're right about standardized testing. I feel as though the pendulum of idiocy has swung SO far that, really, the only way to GO is back.

I was listening to NPR the other day - they were talking about standardized testing - and one teacher (or maybe it was a vice principal) said, and I'm pretty much quoting here, that "we teach them how to pass the tests and hope that somewhere along the way a little REAL learning gets in." [Italics mine -- Hugh]

Tell me exactly HOW that serves our kids - and our future???

November 5, 2007 4:50 AM

We've gotta fix this mess.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Here's the lead from an education story in today's Washington Post.

Knowing State Tests' 'Cut' Scores
By Ian Shapira
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 22, 2007; Page B01

Charonda Godette and her mother are staring at a sheaf of black-and-white test reports in their kitchen, frustrated by a blunt indictment repeated over and over: "Fail/Does Not Meet." In her first three years at Potomac Senior High School in Prince William County, the 17-year-old has flunked a slew of Virginia Standards of Learning exams: Earth science. Algebra II. And geometry -- three times.

What also confounds Charonda and Carole Godette is something the reports omit. They do not show the number of correct answers required to pass the exams. (Boldface mine -- Hugh)

There are a number of questions whirling about in my mind after reading this article, including:

1. Should state assessments model what best practices teach us about good assessment? (For example, good assessment includes useful feedback to increase learning and achievement.)

2. Would state education departments be playing such silly games (trying to second-guess teachers with regard to how they will teach the subject matter vis-a-vis the state "assessment") if NCLB was out of the picture?

Folks, if this is the wave of the future, we are in deep yogurt. I'm scratching my head, trying to understand the value of concealing passing scores. Part of me thinks that if the teacher does good job reaching students and teaching the subject, the state tests will take care of themselves. But if we violate the integrity of assessment and try to make kids hit moving targets, aren't we creating yet another distraction to getting the job done?

Yet more reasons, I believe, to abandon federal interference in state education.

If the feds want to do something, let the "invisible hand" of Adam Smith do its work, but contribute funding to states whose economies lag, and thereby level the playing fields.

I don't mind some of my federal tax money going to another state that needs the help, if the feds would strip away the overlaying bureaucracy that currently wastes financial and emotional resources in every state.

Note: I intended to post tonight about what our district is doing to promote racial tolerance. I'm currently waiting for a report from our assistant supe in charge of operations, and curriculum and instruction. I'll post as soon as I get the word. There's a lot going on, including board of ed sessions to increase board member awareness of diversity and racial tolerance needs and challenges.

Artwork: Relativity by M.C. Escher, 1953, lithograph, 27.7 × 29.2 cm

Not Gonna Happen!

Does it hurt if your brain gets full? We'll never know, because even if we were able to learn 10 or 100 times what we normally learn each day -- even going to school -- none of us will live long enough to find out. Not even close.

Briefly, learning capacity, for the average person, is virtually without limit. The challenge is, how to use our brains more efficiently so we can be more effective in our daily lives.

The really big question for modern educators is, "Why don't we teach students brain-friendly learning techniques?" I'm talking about techniques that were familiar to the ancient Greeks and Romans, the orators and storytellers who had to remember tons of stuff without teleprompters or notes. How come we, as teachers, can't model the mind power of those classical folks we read about in the history books?

I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that my Dad, who was a high school teacher and a scholar until the day he died, taught me about mnemonics -- techniques for making use of the associative power of memory -- so that I could more easily recall information teachers expected I would learn by rote, that is, repetition, aka banging your head into a brick wall until you make a dent.

The first of what I consider the most important brain-friendly learning techniques is the art and science of mnemonics.

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (edited):

Main Entry: mnemonic
Function:adjective
Etymology:Greek, mindful, to remember
Date:1753

1 : assisting or intended to assist memory; also : of or relating to mnemonics
2 : of or relating to memory

Here's how I used to introduce the topic in my brief few minutes with eighth grade parents at Back-to-School Nights (which are happening around our district this forthcoming week)...

After an announcement about where parents could find our curriculum (in the student handbook!), I went on to discuss how I would teach their children to succeed in my class. I barely had time to introduce them to brain-friendly learning techniques and explain "grading for learning," but we alway had fun with mnemonics.

Imagine if you are a parent sitting in Mr. Repairman's eighth grade social studies class (American History through 1877) and he tells you that one of the state's onerous standards requires you to actually know, that is, memorize (for crying out loud) the names of the thirteen British colonies that became the original states.

Then Mr. Repairman says, "I can teach you to remember them flawlessly in five minutes or less, and what's more, you will be able to recite them, not only in the order you learn them, but backwards as well."

Then Mr. Repairman asks, "Now how many of you think I'm full of beans." Along with a few smiles, a few hands go up. Parents are more cautious that kids. When I do it in class during the colonies unit, the whole class raises hands!

Five minutes later, the braver parents are reciting the names of the thirteen colonies as promised. The ones who brought their children enabled a preview for those precocious rascals, most of whom competed at the Back-to-School class with the adults to show that they, too, could do the magic memory exercise, both forward and backward.

The students, for this first exercise, used my mnemonic, but later, when they had to memorize the goals of the US Constitution, for example, they used their own creations and drew their mnemonics as well.

Tomorrow I'll go into a little more detail and cite some references for teachers who want to help their students remember everything from mere facts to complex concepts, almost effortlessly.

By the way, when one of the parents asked another teacher during the same evening why they didn't teach students how to remember stuff more easily, the parent reported back to me that the teacher dismissed Mr. Repairman's mnemonics as "Mere memory tricks. Of no value, whatsoever."

I was probably overgeneralizing when I thought to myself, "What a moron."

The teacher, not the parent. ;-)

Cartoon Copyright 1986 by Gary Larson

Brain-based What?

Over on What It’s Like On the Inside, The Science Goddess is aptly referencing the Broadway musical Young Frankenstein in her discussion of “brain-based learning strategies.” You have to read her post for yourself and pay special attention to her links that will lead you to a short rant about the similarities between brain-based and butt-based learning strategies authored by Professor Plum, who may or may not still be stirring up the edublogosphere.

Maybe the reason I enjoyed her post so much is because I’ve always struggled with what to call my favorite focus (brain potential) on teaching and learning strategies (in addition to “grading for learning”). After all, we weren’t born with brain-use instruction manuals attached to our big toes…

I finally decided, after considerable deliberation over the years, to go my own way, depart from popular education research reporting, and call all the “stuff” under the heading “brain-based” by somewhat different names, to whit, “brain-friendly teaching strategies,” and “brain-friendly learning strategies.” My students could deal with that and so could their parents.

To be perfectly frank, my students and I never put much time into brain physiology, which seems to be an obligatory preface to discussing (and practicing) brain potential for learning, but in the end, useless.

What the brain can do is what lights up my Christmas tree. My students and I had lots of conversations about learning potential being virtually infinite, and old age being no barrier to continued learning (thank you, God). And, at the beginning of the school year, I promised to share with them ways to access this incredible potential.

Tomorrow, I’ll share the difference between the instructional and learning techniques, and some of those techniques that helped my students harness their own brainpower. It’s not your ordinary, everyday classroom stuff. Two of the ideas I’ll highlight helped me get a 4.0 in graduate school, without a brain transplant or any increase in I.Q.

I’ll include some references in case anyone is curious about how to maximize their students’ achievement potential by applying some of these concepts.

What Are Grades For, and Why Should We Care?

I hope that back-to-school is going smoothly for all of you. I also hope that this post begins the fulfillment of a promise I made a while ago to have a running conversation on the importance of linking grades to standards for the improvement of student achievement.

Some of this dialog will be cross-posted on the Edublogger wiki discussion on standards-based grading.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any discussion of grading should begin with a common understanding of what grades are for, who needs to know what grades tell about a student, and what grades should and should not describe, and why.

In his book Transforming Classroom Grading, Robert Marzano (2000) cites the work of measurement expert Peter Airasian (1994) who tells us that grades can serve a number of purposes, including administrative (to decide on who moves through the system and who does not); guidance (based on grades, what a student should or should not pursue vocationally - a very suspect use, in my opinion); feedback about student achievement (no surprise here); instructional planning (try to steer clear of tracking -- a bad word these days); and motivation (beware, very difficult to substantiate).

Marzano concludes, not surprisingly, that the primary purpose of student grading is to provide feedback (accurate, undistorted, valid, and reliable) about student achievement. All other uses for grades flow from that, whether the consumers of grading information are parents, counselors, administration, admissions officers, or the students themselves.

It's also interesting to note that when Bob Marzano conducts professional development sessions on grading and asks his audiences of teachers if they have ever received grades that were not indicative of their academic achievement in a course of study, virtually all raise their hands. When he asks about their total school achievement report, 50% or so indicate that the grades they received did not reflect what they learned in school.

If teachers don't trust grades, why should anyone else?


Marzano, R. (2000). Transforming Classroom Grading. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Airasian, P. (1994). Classroom Assessment, 2nd ed.. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

2nd Annual Conference on Sound Grading Practices

Educational Testing Service/Assessment Training Institute is holding the premiere international conference on standards-based grading December 6-7, 2007.

The continuation of this conference is a sure indicator that grading for learning has hit critical mass, and I'm way happy to say that our district will be well represented.

I'll be doing a couple of breakout sessions (those will be listed later) and I'd very much enjoy meeting any of you who can persuade your district to send you. At the risk of sounding like an old-time sales dog, "Last year was a sellout, so talk to your administrator today."

New Wiki In Town! 2

Here's an update on our wiki...

First, participants discussed wiki goals, use, and format. Then Eric edited and finalized the Front Page that outlines where we are at this point.

We'll begin our exploration of standards-based grading with a warm up wherein we analyze a couple of grading situations that made major metro papers. In SBG Warm Up Draft 1, we'll look at the articles separately, comment on each of them, then compare the situations and draw some conclusions about what's being described in the articles. (Articles are on this page.)

Standards-Based Grading, or SBG from here on, is also known as "grading linked to standards," and "grading for learning." (Thanks to Exhausted Intern for the new term and three-letter acronym!)

The end goal is to produce a document or series of wiki pages that can 1) serve as a primer for educators new to SBG, 2) facilitate a quick review for educators who have been exposed to the concepts, 3) be a training tool for professional development sessions.

This topic is red hot and ready to roll.

New Wiki In Town!

Eric Turner of Second Hand Thoughts has been hard at work constructing a wiki for edubloggers to share and polish thoughts about the education topics near and dear to their hearts.

While poking around in Eric's new construction zone, I came upon the above image. It's from Eric and it pretty well sums up the aim of the new wiki.

Any more conversation/ideas about how it's going to work? Let's hear from you!

Eric's my choice for ad hoc wiki foreman at least till it's up and running. How does that sound?

A Grading Conversation

I'll be off the grid for a couple of days, but was hoping to contribute something constructive prior to taking off.

Labels/categories/topics in a blog sidebar, although they may be a way to keep track of topical conversations, don't go far enough. A search function also helps. (There's probably an efficient Web 2.0 way to do it, like a topical aggregator, but it hasn't touched my mind yet.) So this is an experiment, a "sticky" post. (I'll figure a way to make it sticky!)

Eric, in Second Hand Thoughts, reinforced my desire to broaden and deepen the conversations on what the Exhausted Intern calls SBG or "standards-based grading," aka, "grading for learning," or "grading linked to standards." (Eric has in mind an idea for focusing conversations that goes beyond what I'm hoping to do here.) Here goes...

So far, I've talked about SBG with the following folks who have "grading" listed on their topic sidebar...

The Science Goddess of What It's Like On the Inside
The Exhausted Intern of Not Enough Hours

...and folks who don't have "grading" listed as a topic, but have addressed the issue in posts or "comments" either on RepairKit or their own blog:

Miss Profe from Hardknock Teacher's Life (See today's knock-your-socks-off post.)
Miss A of Confessions from the Couch
The Midwest Teacher of Teach Me, I Dare You

This is also an open invitation to join the conversation.

If I left anyone out of this conversation, my sincere apology and please mention it in a comment to this post. I'll cut and paste your link above.

My goal is to list, in one place, all of you with whom I exchange ideas about SBG. (If this is a dumb idea, or there's a better way to do it, please tell me!)

Summer Slide

It's not often that we read about a longitudinal study that confirms our fears that we may not easily meet our goals to educate all students to the best of their ability, but this one helps us pinpoint some reasons for the achievement gap that we can grapple with.

Kevin Bushweller of Motivation Matters talks about the significance of the Johns Hopkins University study that confirms our intuitive notion that what students learn or don't learn (and why) during summer break contributes significantly to the education gap.

A copy of the complete study, published last April in the American Sociological Review, is available for $20 from Ingenta Labs. You will find the abstract on the Ingenta page as well.

In the News

Here are some recent news articles related to student achievement that I've found of interest -- with brief commentary, and, I hope, something for everyone...


Award Winning Education Policy Blog

The rubber meets the road in the classroom, but education policy is where the vehicle is assembled. RSS feed is available for those of you interested in thoughtful opinion on educational policy in the US. Education Policy Blog

Here's an article from ASCD Blogwatch that offers a description of the award-winning policy blog and some context.

Lest We Forget...

Excessive TV viewing does not lead to the development of engaged and skillful learners. Here's yet another warning from The Seattle Times.


Competition and Learning Go Together for Boys

I used to have my eighth grade social studies classes play Trashball -- a wastebasket version of basketball -- as an alternative to Jeopardy-type learning games because there was always more movement and excitement. Class average test performance went up when we played, and even the principal, whose office back door was directly across from my classroom, didn't seem to mind the noise that accompanied the learning dynamics.

The Detroit Free Press talks about how competition stimulates learning for boys. Some good lessons here!


Improved Working Memory = Greater Student Achievement

Here's Swedish company that has developed a research-based video game to improve working memory in children with Attention Deficit Disorder. They will soon open a Chicago office to serve North America and release a version for adults, as well.

The article in the Chicago Tribune is no longer free, but go to the CogMed web site for more details. Looks promising!


And here's one for The Science Goddess...

Dads Influence Daughters' Attraction to Math & Science

A 13-year longitudinal study from the University of Michigan shows that home environment, especially Dad's attitude, plays a big role in a daughter's attraction to math and science. You will think twice about the toys you buy for your kids after you read this article from Science Daily Magazine.