Impact of Teacher Attitudes on Implementation of a Standards-Based Grading System

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the impact of teacher attitudes and to discover other factors that have an impact on the implementation of a standards-based grading program. This descriptive phenomenology features interviews of 25 educators from Georgia as well as other states and two foreign countries in order to collect their perspectives of the lived experience of the implementation process.

The findings of this study suggest that the attitudes teachers have regarding the implantation process of a standards-based grading program do have a significant impact on the process. Those participants who described themselves as having a positive attitude towards the transition tended to also describe experiencing a more successful implementation of the program. The converse was true as participants describing their experience as being controlled by a negative attitude towards the transition experienced less successful transitions to the standards-based grading program. The findings of this study suggest that school leaders play a vital role in creating a successful implementation process and that other factors such as the quality of professional development and the element of time impact the process.