Making the Grade: Do Nebraska Teachers and Administrators Working in Public Schools in 7th-12th Grade Settings Agree about What Constitutes Sound Grading Practice?

Abstract

In this study, the researcher sought to determine whether Nebraska teachers and administrators agreed about what constitutes sound grading practice. The results of this study indicated that Nebraska teachers and administrators working in public schools in 7th-12th grade settings did not always agree about what constituted sound grading practice. To make this determination, the researcher sent surveys to a random selection of Nebraska teachers and the full complement of administrators (principals and assistant principals) and analyzed the results. The survey instrument was organized around five sub-questions: Do teachers and administrators agree about including non-academic factors in final grades; about calculating and recalculating grades; about the priority of summative over formative measures; about the purpose of grades; about the importance of consistency of grading. For the purposes of this study, the researcher established criteria for sound grading practice relative to the five sub-questions. These criteria were extracted from the literature and identified as non-traditional grading practices. The researcher established reliability and validity of the survey using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Structural equation modeling (SEM) produced effect sizes for evaluating the impact of a respondent's being a teacher or administrator upon each of the five sub-questions. Effect sizes were classified as small, medium, and large. The effect size served as an indicator of the magnitude of the disagreement between Nebraska teachers and administrators in 7th-12th grade settings. Two additional variables, building enrollment and STARS involvement, were also found to be predictors of a respondent's responses. In general the results indicated a large effect size for whether the respondent was a Nebraska teacher or administrator across the five sub-questions. Building enrollment and STARS involvement also reflected some significant effect sizes though not as consistently or powerfully as identification as an administrator. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone [phone]. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]