Republic of the Philippines
President Ramon Magsaysay State University
(Formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University)
Botolan, Zambales, Philippines
College/Department College of Teacher Education
Course Code EDCK 3
Course Title Assessment in Learning 2
Place of the Course in Professional Education
the Program
Semester and Second Semester, 2023-2024
Academic Year
Introduction
Grading students’ performance during a particular marking term is an evaluation
function of every teacher. Aside from grading students’ performance, teachers have to inform
the students and their parents of the students’ academic progress in the various learning areas
in the curriculum. This chapter centers on two vital functions of every teacher that of grading
and reporting performance.
Discussion
Grading and Reporting Performance
Purposes for Assigning Grades
Grades are symbols used by teachers in conveying a student's performance in a learning
area (Oriondo & Antonio, 1984). Grades are given to student performance for the following
purposes (Eggen & Kumchak, 1993):
To inform students of their educational progress:
To inform parents of their children’s achievement and performance;
To guide further coursework;
To provide a basis for grouping students for instructional purposes;
To provide a basis for graduating students from different levels within the educational
system;
To provide a basis for college admission;
To determine honor students;
To serve as basis for granting of awards and scholarships;
To provide a criterion for students’ participation in extracurricular activities;
To motivate students to study hard;
To identify students’ strengths and weaknesses; and
To provide basis for employment.
Strategies in Grading
There are no hard and-fast rules about the best way. to grade. How a teacher grades a
student depends on his values, assumption and philosophy as a teacher (Erickson & Strommer,
1991}. There is a consensus among teachers that grades provide information on how well
student are learning.
Some suggestions below are designed to help you develop clear and fair grading
policies.
Grade on the basis of student's mastery of knowledge and skills. Restrict your
evaluations to academic performance. Eliminate other considerations as bases of
grades. Non-academic factors counted in grading obscure the primary meaning of the
grade. as an indicator of what students have learned.
Avoid grading systems that put students in competition with their classmates and limit
the number of high grades. Normative grading produces undesirable consequences for
many students. such as reduced motivation to learn, debilitating evaluation anxiety,
decreased ability to use feedback to improve learning and poor social relationships.
Try not to overemphasize grades. Explain to your students the meaning of and basis for
grades and the procedures you use in grading. Once policies have been explained, avoid
stressing grades or excessive talk about grades, which only increases students' anxieties
and decreases their motivation to do something for its own sake rather than obtain an
external reward such as a grade.
Keep students informed of their progress. For each paper, assignment. summative test or
project that you grade, give the students a sense a! what their score means. Such
information can motivate students to improve what they are doing poorly or to maintain
their performance if they are doing well.
Determining Grades for a Marking Term
As already pointed out determining grades or marks for student performance is
something a teacher should be serious about. This is because deciding whether to pass or fail a
student involves professional decisions. In college, there are usually three marking terms:
prelim; midterm; and finals. In elementary and high school, there are four: first grading; second
grading; third grading; and fourth grading. There are, however, guidelines that teachers should
consider in arriving at a student’s grade for a specific marking term.
Explain to the students your marking and grading policies. These policies have to be
understood by the students’ parents or guardians.
Be objective in giving marks to students’ accomplishment/performance.
Build your grading policy around the concept of accomplishment rather than failure.
Consider the policies of the school in giving the highest and lowest grade.
Use a variety of sources for determining students’ grades for a marking term.
Decide beforehand on the policy you will implement for makeup work in case of
absence or sickness.
On the basis of the foregoing guidelines, it is very clear that a teacher needs to come up
with criteria for grading to ensure objectivity and consistency in giving term mark for each
student. Regardless of the subject area a teacher is handling, the most commonly used criteria
for grading are the following:
Class Standing (Quizzes, Exercises, etc);
Participation/Involvement;
Summative Tests;
Projects; and
Class Attendance & Attitude.
Having identified the criteria for grading, the teacher needs to assign weight for each
criterion. For instance, a Social Studies teacher can use the following criteria for grading, with
their corresponding weights:
Criteria Weight
A. Class Standing 40%
Quizzes (20%)
Exercises (10%)
Assignment (10%)
B. Involvement 30%
Recitation (50%)
Project/Report (15%) 20%
C. Periodical Test 10%
D. Attitude & Attendance
______________________
Total = 100%
Using the criteria and weights for each criterion, the grade for a marking term can now
be computed.
What grade should Ulysses receive in Social Studies given the grades he obtained
in the different criteria for grading in the said subject for the first grading period?
CRITERIA WEIGHT GRADE WEIGHTED GRADE
1. Class Standing 40%
Quizzes (20%) 88
Exercises (10%) 92 1760
Assignments (10%) 94 920
2. Involvement 30%
Recitation (15%) 89 1335
Project/Report (15%) 91 1365
3. Periodical Test 20% 92 1840
4. Attitude & Attendance 10% 92 920
Total = 100% 9080
Total weighted grade 9080
Grad e= = =90.80∨91%
100 100
As analysis of how the grade was arrived at shows that each grade per criterion is
multiplied by its corresponding weight. After summing up the cross products of each grade and
corresponding weight, the grand total is divided by 100.
Computation of the Final Grade
There are two ways of computing the final grade, namely: averaging; and cumulative.
In the averaging system, grades obtained by a student in each of the marking terms are
added. The sum of these grades is divided by the number of marking terms. If there are four
grading or marking periods, final grade is arrived at by applying the following formula.
FG=¿ ¿
Where: FG = final grade gg = grading grade
Illustrative Example: What will be the Sid’s final grade in Mathematics given her grades for the
four grading periods?
Grading Grade
1st 90
2nd 90
3rd 92
4th 95
Applying the formula given above, we find that:
F G=¿ ¿
90+90+ 92+ 95
¿
4
367
= 4 =91.75
= 92 %
In the cumulative system, the final grade is obtained by getting 30% of the grade
obtained during the previous marking period and 70% of the last grading period.
Mathematically, final grade can be obtained following the formula:
F G=30 % GP+ 70 % GL
Where: GP = grade during the previous marking period
TG= grade during the marking period
Illustrative Example: What final grade should Lito receive in Statistics if his GP = 94 and
LG = 97? Let us apply the formula earlier cited.
F G=30 % GP+ 70 % GL
¿ 30 % ( 94 ) +70 % (97)
¿ 0.3 ( 94 ) +0.7 ( 97 )
¿ 28.2+67.9
¿ 96.1∨96 %
An alternative formula that can be applied to arrive at the final grade using the
cumulative system is given below:
GP ( 1 )+TH (2)
F G=
3
94 ( 1 ) +97 ( 2 ) 94+ 194 288
¿ = =
3 3 3
¿ 96 %
Reporting Student Performance
One of the major responsibilities of a teacher is to periodically report student progress
to parents or guardians. There are three ways by which teachers can report student progress
and academic performance in school (Jones, 1991). These ways are discussed below.
The Report Card. The report card is given to the student’s parent or guardian after each
grading period. In the report card is reflected the attendance record of the student, together
with the teacher’s comments on the student’s social behavior or classroom conduct. In most
elementary and secondary schools, parents are given the opportunity to discuss the academic
status of their sons and daughters with their teacher-in-charge/ adviser and subject teachers
when report cards are distributed during parent-teacher conference.
Progress Reports. Parents usually receive two kinds of notices from the school about
their children. In general, teachers are expected to send home deficiency notices for students
who are failing, misbehaving in class or frequently not attending classes. There are, however,
some teachers who take it upon themselves to write sufficiency notices for students who are
excelling or have shown marked improvement. These positive notices have to be sent home
and are welcomed by parents.
Direct Contact with Parents or Guardians. Teachers can establish direct contact with
parents or guardians either through the telephone or by letter. Teachers should make it a point
to contact parents or guardians by telephone, when the student has shown a sudden turn for
either the worse or better in academic performance or in classroom behavior. That initiative by
the teacher is usually welcomed by the parents and can lead to productive conference with the
teacher. Writing a letter gives the teacher time to think and make clear his/her thoughts and
concerns and to invite the parent to respond at his / her convenience by letter, by phone, or by
arranging to have a conferences with the teacher.
Activity No. 1
Week 13-14
Name: ______________________________________ Score: ________________
Course and Year: ______________________________Date: _________________
1. What are the purposes for grading students?
2. What are the strategies teachers should consider in order to ensure fairness and objectivity
in grading students’ performance?
3. What are the guidelines that teachers should consider when giving grades for a specific
marking term?
4. How is the final grade obtained using the averaging system? cumulative system?
5. What are the three basic ways by which a teacher can report student performance to parents
or guardians?
Exercise No. 1
Name: ______________________________________ Score: ________________
Course and Year: ______________________________Date: _________________
I. List down what are asked for in each of the following.
Purposes of Grading Students
1. ______________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________
6. _______________________________________________________________________
7. ______________________________________________________________________
8. ______________________________________________________________________
9. ______________________________________________________________________
10. _____________________________________________________________________
Ways of Reporting Student Performance to Parents
11. _______________________________
12. _______________________________
13. _______________________________
Two Types of Progress Reports Sent to Parents
14. _______________________________
15. _______________________________
II. What are four strategies teachers should consider in ensuring fairness in giving grade?
Explain each (10 points).
III. Sid got 80 correct answers in a 100-item test. What grade should she receive in the said test
if perfect score is 100% and zero is:
(1) 50%?
(2) 55 %?
(3) 60%?
IV. Using the averaging system, what will be Rey’s final grade in Biology, given the following
grades in the four grading periods: 93; 96; 88; and 94?
V. Using the cumulative system, what will be Gary’s final grade in English, given the following
grades: 3rd grading = 94; tentative grade for the 4th grading = 89. Use two formulas.
Prepared by
LEA F. DOLLETE
