Reconsidering grades as data for decision making: more than just academic knowledge

Alex J. Bowers

69 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Educational Administration

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Educational Assessment and Improvement Student Assessment and Feedback School Choice and Performance

Abstract

Purpose Much of the recent research on data‐driven decision making in US schools has focused on standardized test scores while other forms of data in schools have gone largely unexamined as useful data, such as teacher‐assigned grades. Based on the literature, the theory outlined in this paper is that grades, as data historically overlooked in schools, are a useful multidimensional assessment for decision making by educational leaders. This paper aims to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach Using multidimensional scaling, grades, and standardized test scores are compared for 195 students in grades 9‐12 from two US school districts. The relationship between these assessments is visualized between grades in core subjects, such as Mathematics and English, non‐core subjects, such as Art and Physical Education, and standardized test scores, such as the ACT. Findings Two significant dimensions appear to be embedded within grades; assessment of academic knowledge and an assessment of a student's ability to negotiate the social processes of school. These findings indicate that grades should be reconceptualized as informative for data‐driven decision making in schools as a potential assessment of both academic knowledge and a student's ability to negotiate the social processes of school. Originality/value Grades have been overlooked as useful data in the data‐driven decision‐making literature. This paper provides novel evidence for the usefulness of actual teacher‐assigned grades in school and district decision making as well as research and policymaking versus the past use of student self‐reported grades or teacher perceptions of grading practices.

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References

2005Preparing teachers for a changing world: what teachers should learn and be able to do 2001Early Teacher–Child Relationships and the Trajectory of Children's School Outcomes through Eighth Grade 2005Can Instructional and Emotional Support in the First-Grade Classroom Make a Difference for Children at Risk of School Failure?2005The Validity of Self-Reported Grade Point Averages, Class Ranks, and Test Scores: A Meta-Analysis and Review of the Literature 2007Preventing Student Disengagement and Keeping Students on the Graduation Path in Urban Middle-Grades Schools: Early Identification and Effective Interventions 2001The Dropout Process in Life Course Perspective: Early Risk Factors at Home and School 2006Strategies to Promote Data Use for Instructional Improvement: Actions, Outcomes, and Lessons fromThree Urban Districts 2006Conceptions of Evidence Use in School Districts: Mapping the Terrain

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2013Do We Know Who Will Drop Out?: A Review of the Predictors of Dropping out of High School: Precision, Sensitivity, and Specificity 2011The White British‐Black Caribbean achievement gap: Tests, tiers and teacher expectations 2010Grades and Graduation: A Longitudinal Risk Perspective to Identify Student Dropouts

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