Evaluating Students: How Teachers Justify and Defend Their Marks to Parents, Students, and Principals

Derek B. MacDonald is a research associate and ABD Ph.D. in an Adult
Education program through the University of Georgia.

Evaluating Students is a practical guide designed to help teachers
evaluate their students. The book was written for teachers in the public
school system, where expectations are articulated as behavioural
objectives.

Individual chapters deal with marking, objectives, grades, constructing
tests, standardized tests, and complaints about evaluation. A central
message of the book is that teachers must accompany all grading with
three supporting criteria: the amount of proficiency required in
students’ answers (criteria); the expected depth/complexity of answers
(level of thought); and the context and circumstances within which
students will successfully answer questions (conditions).

Goals and objectives are the focus of Chapter 2. Evaluation develops
from the course and unit objectives, which determine the evaluation
criteria. From here teachers assign value to topics and then create unit
and lesson plans. Evaluation is thus the beginning and end of teaching.

The chapter on letter grades starts with a comparison of grading on a
curve (norm-referenced grading) and grading individuals based on rubrics
(criterion-referenced grading). It is followed by chapters on
constructing valid tests and standardized testing. The chapter on
complaints about evaluation offers coping strategies centred on the idea
that “the best way for teachers to defend their evaluative decisions
is to rely on a marking process that is research-driven, transparent,
and universally applied.”

Evaluating Students is a good resource that can be easily applied to
any teacher’s practice.