More Than a Mark: Understanding The Social and Cultural Dimensions and Consequences of Grading

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Numerous studies have investigated the composition, reliability, and validity of teachers’ grading practices (Brookhart et al., 2016). While these studies have recognized that grading is a complex context-dependent process that serves multiple functions (Walvoord & Johnson Anderson, 2009), researchers have called for a deeper exploration of the social and cultural dimensions of teachers’ grades and grading practices. The purpose of this symposium is to consider social and cultural dimensions and consequences of teachers’ grades from an international perspective with studies in the United States, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, and China. By drawing on international contexts, this symposium sheds new light on the socio-cultural nature of teachers’ grading beliefs, dilemmas, consequences to student wellness, and relationship with standardized test results.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Classroom Assessment

Chair

• Susan M. Brookhart, Duquesne University

Papers

• Understanding Grading Beliefs of In-Service and Preservice Teachers in the United States - Sarah M. Bonner, Hunter College - CUNY; Peggy P. Chen, Hunter College - CUNY

• Grading as a Cultural Practice: Implications for Student Mobility and High-Stakes Decision - Christopher DeLuca, Queen's University - Kingston; Liying Cheng, Queen's University

• The Impact of Assessment Systems on Students’ Psychological, Cognitive, and Social Well-Being - Thea Klapp, University of Gothenburg; Alli Klapp, University of Gothenburg; Jan-Eric Gustafsson, Goteborg University

• Taking Test Results "Into Consideration" When Grading - Anders Jönsson, Kristianstad University

• Grading in a Dilemmatic Space: An Analysis of Mathematics and Language Swiss Secondary Teachers - Raphaël Pasquini, University of Teacher Education - Lausanne

Discussant

• Thomas R. Guskey, University of Kentucky