Making the Grade: An Exploratory Study of Meritocracy in New York City Public Schools

• In Event: The Roles and Perceptions of Teachers and Students Related to Grading, Feedback, and Assessment

Abstract

Research on teacher grading practice suggests that grades can represent a multitude of factors including assessments, participation, and improvement. This dissertation project builds on previous studies of grading practice and focuses on how middle school teachers assign grades in New York City, where school reform efforts --specifically high school choice --may influence grading practices. The primary research question driving this project is this: How do teachers’ beliefs about grades influence their grading practices? I employ a mixed methods design and plan to triangulate data from surveys (N=300), interviews (N=12), and a large administrative dataset (N=180,000). I use descriptive and correlational methods for quantitative analyses, and recursive coding methods consistent with the grounded theory method for qualitative analyses.

Author

• Anjali Deshpande, New York University