Bridging Research, Reform, and Classroom Practice: Stakeholder’s Perceptions of a High School’s Revised Grading Policy

• In Event: Roundtable Session 116
  In Roundtable Session: Mechanisms to Improve School Learning Environments

Abstract

The current gap between research, reform, and classroom practice is significant. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gather and analyze the perceptions of stakeholders, including district leaders, teachers, and students, related to a recent change in grading policy at a large suburban high school. The Concerns–Based Adoption Model (Hall, Wallace & Dossett, 1973) and learning goal orientation (Dweck, 2000) among stakeholders provided the theoretical frameworks that guided this study. The results provide insights into how perceptions of academic success and readiness for change were accelerating or limiting factors that shaped stakeholder’s investment and personal adoption of practices aligned to a research-based, policy-driven set of reforms for grading and assessment.

Authors

• Anthony C. Frontier, Cardinal Stritch University

• Carroll Elizabeth Bronson, Cardinal Stritch University