ABSTRACT
If you ask a group of teachers what they dislike most about their chosen profession, many will say, “grading!” The task of grading is not only time consuming, it involves making difficult, frequently subjective choices and conclusions about student performance and sometimes ability. Teachers must decide what grade to give a student on a test, an oral presentation, a project, or any other activity that counts toward the report card grade, knowing that these grades will be communicated to the student and the parents. A prerequisite, and even more important activity, is deciding what is to count toward the final grade. Each teacher must define and operationalize an assessment philosophy. This case study gives you opportunities to think about and to experience the problems faced by teachers as they undertake this difficult and extremely important task.
