Chapter 12: Grading Scales

This chapter talks about the two most common grading scales, the 4-point and the 100-point scales. The chapter argued in favor of the 4-point scale over the 100-point scale because it is more subjective and a smaller scale did not allow for distortion as easily. Also on a 4-point scale it is easier to compare across classes because the 4-point scales is graded by criteria instead of which questions a student got right on a test. There is also no real reason to argue over whether a B is a high B or a low B. In the end, it really does not matter, except when it comes time to calculate GPA for the valedictorian, but the book gets on that soap box for a while. If the purpose of grades is to indicate mastery, then by assessing a problem by each of the different criteria needed, a student can get partial credit for a wrong answer. This is helpful because it shows the student exactly what he or she knows. This is the last reason mentioned in the chapter and that is it provides better feedback to both the student and the teacher. This affects me as a teacher by showing me the importance of rubrics and giving partial credit for problems is not cheating. This will help my students by showing them exactly where they are strong and which sections of their thinking they can improve.