James H. McMillan

Elementary Teachers' Classroom Assessment and Grading Practices

Abstract The authors investigated the assessment and grading practices of over 900 Grades 3-5 teachers representing urban, suburban, and rural schools. Teachers indicated the extent to which they used various factors to grade students, the types of assessments used, the cognitive level of assessments, and the grades awarded. Teachers appeared to conceptualize 6 major factors when they graded students; they placed the greatest weight on academic performance and academic-enabling behaviors, such as effort and improvement, and much less emphasis on homework, comparisons with other students, grade distributions of other teachers, and borderline cases. The teachers used 3 types of assessments—constructed-response, objective, and teacher-made major examinations; they differentiated between recall and higher level cognitive skills. However, there were few relationships between assessment and grade level, subject matter assessed, and grades awarded. Results are discussed in light of other research, indicating that teachers use a “hodgepodge” of factors when assessing and grading students.

Formative Assessment Techniques to Support Student Motivation and Achievement

Abstract Formative assessment can have a powerful impact on student motivation and achievement. This article discusses five key practices that teachers can use to gather important information about student understanding, provide feedback to students, and enable students to set and attain meaningful learning goals. Each of the techniques can enhance student motivation as well as achievement.

Attributions, Affect, and Expectations: A Test of Weiner's Three-Dimensional Model

In a test of predictions derived from Weiners reformulated three-dimensional model of attributions, college students who had performed well or poorly on an examination reported the locus, stability, and controllability of the causes of their performance, their affective reactions, and their expectations. As is consistent with Weiners model, more positive affective reactions were reported by students who (a) felt they controlled the causes of their performance, (b) attributed success to internal factors or failure to external factors, and (c) attributed their outcomes to factors that were stable, controllable, and internal. Expectations, however, were related more to perceived locus of cause and controllability than to stability. The implications of attributions and perceived control in educational settings are discussed in relation to learned helplessness, expectations, and reactions to failure.

Defying the Odds: Middle Schoolers in High Risk Circumstances Who Succeed.

One of the major concerns in education today is the problem of increasingly high numbers of students who are in danger of dropping out of school. They are potential dropouts because of a variety of factors stemming from their l w socioeconomic status, educational disadvantages, and history of under achievement. Many also believe that large numbers of poor minority children are more likely to encounter circumstances or engage in behaviors which put them at high risk for acade mic failure. However, as Reed and McCoy (1989) note, numer ous children of all cultures face such risks at one time or anoth er. Todays children and youth, as well as adults, are faced with myriad, complex social problems. Much has been written about the effects that problems such as unemployment, divorce, single-parent households, working mothers, poverty, substance abuse, sexual experimentation, violence, and preju dice and racism have on the lives of children. These problems can have an impact on the lives of children of low income, minority families, as well as the children of well-educated, mid dle-class majority families. Consequendy, children from all types of backgrounds can come to school with a high potential for academic failure.

Children's Causal Attributions in Achievement Situations

Summary The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to investigate the external validity of childrens causal attributions in achievement situations, and (b) explore attributional patterns of different cultures within the United States. One hundred and seventy-four 4th and 5th grade boys and girls (93 Anglo, 54 Mexican-American, and 27 Black) were asked to give rewards to children described by stories. The eight stories varied effort, ability, and outcome for each situation. The results indicated similarities with previous research which suggest that some attributional patterns may be consistent among all children. They conflict with earlier research indicating that intent (effort) was a more important determinant of rewards given than outcome for 10- to 12-year-olds and suggest the need for further research of racial groups to investigate cultural influence on attributional patterns.

Student Opinion Survey: Development of Measures of Student Motivation

This research describes the development of measures of student motivation. Using the expectancy-value model of motivation as a theoretical rationale, instruments were developed to measure self-efficacy and attitudes toward the importance of learning in general, science, mathematics, and reading/English of elementary, middle, and secondary students. The instruments were validated with existing measures and teacher ratings of students. Results of the multitrait-multimethod analyses indicated acceptable construct-related evidence for validity. Stability estimates of reliability ranged from .56 to .88 for the elementary school form, .67 to .89 for the middle school form, and .69 to .88 for the high school form. Conclusions and reconmiendations for further development are indicated.

Establishing Benchmarks for Outcome Indicators: A Statistical Approach to Developing Performance Standards.

Indicators of program performance are used as evaluative measures in a variety of fields. A particularly vexing problem for evaluation is the development of empirically based performance expectations. Should program sponsors be satisfied with average performance? How should evaluators account for client differences? This article presents a statistical technique for developing performance standards based on benchmark groups. The benchmark groups are selected using a multivariate technique that relies on a squared Euclidean distance method. For each observation unit, in this case a school district, a unique comparison group is selected. The performance of the district is compared to the performance of its benchmark group. Then the credibility, predictability, and equity of the method are tested. The approach meets or exceeds these test criteria and appears to be a viable, albeit controversial, approach for developing comparative performance standards.

Attribution—Affect relationships following classroom performance

Abstract Two studies that examine distinct affect—attribution linkages in the context of an actual examination are reported. The results provide partial support for Weiners model but also suggest that attributions are related to positive affect when the attributions are associated with the potential of satisfactory performance. That is, attributions generate positive affect to the extent that such attributions help ensure good performance.

A Century of Grading Research: Meaning and Value in the Most Common Educational Measure

Grading refers to the symbols assigned to individual pieces of student work or to composite measures of student performance on report cards. This review of over 100 years of research on grading considers five types of studies: (a) early studies of the reliability of grades, (b) quantitative studies of the composition of K–12 report card grades, (c) survey and interview studies of teachers’ perceptions of grades, (d) studies of standards-based grading, and (e) grading in higher education. Early 20th-century studies generally condemned teachers’ grades as unreliable. More recent studies of the relationships of grades to tested achievement and survey studies of teachers’ grading practices and beliefs suggest that grades assess a multidimensional construct containing both cognitive and noncognitive factors reflecting what teachers value in student work. Implications for future research and for grading practices are discussed.

Effect of Instructional Procedure and Pupil Locus of Control on Achievement and Attitudes.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of instructional procedures differing in degree of student control on achievement and attitudes of pupils identified as having an internal or external locus of control. Two sixth-grade classes (N=47) were divided into internal and external locus of control groups. Half of the internals and externals in each class were randomly assigned a structured instructional procedure and half assigned a contract procedure. A two-week unit on nutrition was taught to all students, using a structured or contract method. There were no significant differences in achievement among any of the groups. However, the internal-contract group seemed to show a more positive attitude toward the unit than did the other three groups. These results suggest that instructional procedure may not differentially affect achievement of internal and external sixth graders over a short period, but that attitudes toward instruction may be affected.