Key facets of classroom grading: A comparison of teacher and student perspectives

This study compares the attitudes and perceptions of teachers and students with respect to various critical dimensions of classroom grading. Data were gathered via questionnaire procedure on a sample of 402 students and 174 teachers drawn from four comprehensive junior and senior high schools in northern Israel. Overall, an impressive degree of correspondence was observed between the grading attitudes and perceptions of teachers and those of students. Accordingly, both teachers and students tended to view the primary goal of grading as evaluating student achievement rather than enhancing motivation or shaping classroom behavior. Furthermore, both groups judged the absolute level of student achievement as the most salient consideration to be held in mind when assigning grades, rather than relative standing in class or individual progress, and tended to view periodic examinations as the optimal indicator of student achievement. Overall, the data confirm the hypothesis that grading is ingrained in the school culture, with both teachers and students internalizing similar values, beliefs, and preferences relating to classroom grading policy and practices in the course of their acculturation to the school environment.