In any classroom, the teacher is expected to document students’ performance. At regular intervals (e.g., six weeks, nine weeks), the results of this evaluation are shared with students and their parents in the form of a report card. When they are first introduced to the concept of differentiated instruction, some teachers, parents, and students might consider it unfair for all students to be evaluated and graded using the same set of criteria when some students are working on complex or advanced tasks and others are learning foundational skills. In other words, they believe that the lower-performing students might receive higher grades than they deserve. However, this belief is often dismissed once it is understood that one of the major goals of a differentiated classroom is to help all students to succeed. Success is defined as a demonstration of growth toward the mastery of a given content or a skill. Because students in a differentiated classroom are often working on different tasks and completing different products to show mastery, several questions arise:
Though students will work on different activities and demonstrate their knowledge through a variety of products, teachers can accurately evaluate student performance using one of several recommended methods:
3. Identify the levels of performance and their point values
In general, it is better to use no more than seven levels, and no fewer than three. Teachers can use a zero as the lowest level of performance, if they choose.
Example: For the Egyptian presentation, the levels of performance are: 1=poor, 2=average, 3=excellent
4. Identify the criteria for each level of performance and create table
For the Egyptian presentation, see the table below:
Student mentions or represents three or fewer of the following:
Student mentions or represents at least four of the following:
Student must mention or represent all six of the following:
5. Create a grading system based on possible points earned
For the Egyptian presentation, the grading system is:
| Points | Grade |
| 12 | A+ |
| 11 | A |
| 10 | B+ |
| 9 | B |
| 8 | C+ |
| 7 | C |
| 6 | D+ |
| 5 | D |
| 4 | F |
Working folders are not the same thing as portfolios. They are a simply a place to store a student’s work.
First, the teacher needs to identify the type of portfolio that would best evaluate the student’s performance. Next, to use the portfolio effectively, the teacher needs to address the factors in the table below.
Teachers can examine the portfolios to evaluate student performance, but how they conduct that evaluation depends on the type of portfolio. The graphic below suggests some evaluation guidelines for each type.
GrowthIn the example below, a twelfth-grade English teacher has assigned a project portfolio so that she can evaluate whether the students have mastered the process of writing a research paper. The teacher asks that the students include a number of items to demonstrate that they understand the steps required to write a term paper (e.g., list of sources, outline, first draft, edited version). For each artifact, the students must include an annotation. Additionally, when students turn in their final term paper, they will include a self-reflection describing what skills they have developed during the process.
A graphic represents the English portfolio belonging to a twelfth-grade student named Jalen D. Inside the portfolio are a number of pages. One is labeled “Edited,” another “First Draft,” and a third “Outline.”
Jalen D. has also written an annotation for his term paper outline. His annotation reads as follows:
Annotation: Outline for Term Paper
Name: Jalen Date: February 17, XXXX
Having to create this outline helped me to organize my thoughts. It also made me realize that I needed to add a section.
Finally, Jalen D. has written a self-reflection to sum up the experience of writing his term paper. His self-reflection reads as follows:
Self-Reflection: Term Paper
Name: Jalen Date: February 17, XXXX
While writing this term paper, I learned how to research a topic and verify my information. I also learned how to evaluate whether a source is credible. Additionally, I learned how valuable it is to first create an outline to organize my thoughts.
Self-evaluation can be an effective means of gauging performance and can have a positive effect on student outcomes. However, for students to evaluate their own work accurately and benefit from the process, teachers must first instruct them how to do so. Teachers might want to start by having the students complete short self-evaluations on small assignments (e.g., daily homework). In general, for student self-assessment to be effective, teachers should:
Teachers can provide students with rubrics and checklists with which to self evaluate their work. Teachers also might want to use strategies such as those highlighted in the table below.
In addition to evaluating performance, teachers must also assign grades for each instructional period. Typically, teachers consider three factors when they assign grades:
In a traditional classroom, teachers usually report one grade that reflects all three factors. Although achievement is important in a differentiated classroom, growth is also critical; it is a measure of success and teachers want to communicate to students and to parents how much growth the student has experienced. In a differentiated classroom, teachers grade these factors separately. They report grades based only on achievement and report information about growth and habits in other ways, such as in the notes section of the report card, sending a letter or email home containing this information, or discussing at a parent-teacher conference.
In a traditional classroom, it is often the case that students with the greatest ability easily achieve the top grades with little effort, while students who struggle often receive poor or failing grades even if they have worked hard and shown great improvement. This frequently results in the top students not applying themselves because they can easily master the work with little or no effort and in the struggling students giving up because no amount of effort will lead to success.
When they assign grades, teachers should keep several principles in mind. First, teachers should understand that an assessment is a means of collecting information about their students and that every assessment does not have to be graded. Second, grades should be based on a student’s performance in relation to grade-level standards. Next, as mentioned above, grades should only reflect student achievement, not student growth or habits. Finally, students should be graded against established criteria and not in relation to the performance of their peers. In addition to these principles, teachers should consider practices related to grading. Click on each item below to learn more about how to address it in a differentiated classroom.
The primary purpose of preassessments and formative assessments is to guide instruction. Preassessments and homework should never be graded. Formative assessments should rarely be graded, and only when students are informed ahead of time. The reason for this is that, if teachers grade these types of assessments early in the grading cycle, some students’ grade averages will be lowered because they are unable to perform well on a task that they have just been introduced to. Instead, summative assessments should be graded to determine whether students have mastered the content.
A system of providing continual feedback about preconceptions and performances to both learners and instructors; an ongoing evaluation of student learning.
An evaluation administered to measure student learning outcomes, typically at the end of a unit or chapter. Often used to evaluate whether a student has mastered the content or skill.
Grades should be an accurate reflection of student achievement. Teachers should not adjust a student’s grades either higher or lower based on other factors such as effort, bonus points, and behavior. Similarly, teachers should not grade on curve.
Because students learn at different rates, some might not perform well on the summative assessment. However, this does not mean that students cannot master the content or skill; they might just need more time. Teachers should give students another chance to demonstrate mastery without being penalized (e.g., deducting points for a second attempt). Teachers should give students full credit if they master the content on subsequent attempts.
Because students learn in different ways, some require more supports to successfully learn content or a skill and to demonstrate their knowledge. If teachers provide supports (e.g., graphic organizers) to help students master the material, they should also provide these same supports when students are being assessed (without adjusting the grade).
Assignments or tests evaluate students’ mastery of specific content or skills. Although typically not recommended in a differentiated classroom, if a teacher awards extra credit or bonus points, they should only be awarded if the extra credit assignment or bonus activity assesses this same content. If extra credit assignment or bonus point items are unrelated, students’ grades will be inflated and not an accurate reflection of mastery.
When cooperative learning activities are used to teach students about a topic, the teacher should not grade this activity. Teachers should avoid assigning a single grade to all of the students who work together on a group project because such grades will not reflect an individual student’s mastery of the topic at hand.
Instructional arrangement in which heterogeneous (mixed-ability) groups are employed as a method of maximizing the learning of everyone in those groups; also helps students to develop social skills and has been demonstrated to yield especially favorable results for students in at-risk groups, such as those with learning disabilities.
Traditionally, teachers record a zero for students who do not turn in an assignment. Even for students who generally receive good grades, a single zero can significantly lower their overall average. This is also true for students who receive a very low grade on a test or assignment (e.g., 20%). Some teachers who differentiate instruction record a grade that will indicate that the students are not proficient in a given topic (e.g., 50% or 60%) without skewing the student’s overall grade average.
