Knowing that grades can have long-term consequences for students, teachers voice concern about being fair in the grading process. However, their interpretations of fairness are varied and sometimes contradictory. This study looked at how teachers in one standards-based educational system determined secondary students' grades, focusing specifically…

"Quality Counts 2012," the 16th edition of "Education Week"'s annual examination of issues and challenges facing America's public schools, takes aim at topics high on the policy agenda, from the White House and Congress down to the level of local school boards and chambers of commerce: the nation's international standing in…

Policies and procedures for student achievement within a provincial system are described and compared to a theoretical model of systemwide policy devolution. Student evaluation activity is examined at the following levels: province, district, school, department, and classroom. Methodology involves analysis of documents from four elementary and…

The diversity of grading systems used in 23 of Canada's largest universities is examined. Various suggestions are offered that, if adopted, should improve the communication value of grades and increase their effectiveness in decision-making. (Editor/LBH)

Studies processes in 49 Canadian K-13 classrooms to identify teachers' student achievement evaluation methods. Teacher interviews and categorization of their testing instruments showed teachers beyond early primary grades used evaluations mainly to generate marks for reporting purposes. Such reports seen as reaffirming existing judgments, rather…