Module 11

Grading and Reporting

Time Allotment: 4.5 hrs.

I. Introduction
Few issues have created more controversy among educators
than those associated with grading and reporting student learning. Despite
the many debates and multitudes of studies, however, prescriptions for best
practice remain elusive. Although teachers generally try to develop grading
policies that are honest and fair, strong evidence shows that their practices
vary widely, even among those who teach at the same grade level.
In this module, we are going to discuss the assessment of student
performance which is essentially knowing how the student is progressing in a
course. Grading, is the next step after testing and grading systems had been
evolved in different school’s systems all over the world.

II. Learning Outcomes

After the completion of this module, you must have:
1. explained the functions of grading and reporting;
2. distinguished between criterion-referenced and norm-referenced
grading;
3. computed grades in accordance with the current DepEd policy on
grading and
4. cited points to observe when reporting students’ progress to
both students and parents.

III. Learning Content/Topic

Grading and Reporting

Based on the author’s experience both as a parent and as a
school head, grades are very contentious. There is no Card-giving Day where
there is no parent complaint or question about a child’s grade. Complaints
come in these forms: “The grade should be higher; it should not be a failing
grade; teacher does not explain well; teacher did not accept a project
submitted an hour or so after her/his deadline”. Therefore, grading and
reporting as a way of communicating assessment results should never be
taken for granted.

We cannot blame students and parents for their grade

consciousness. Ours is still a world that puts emphasis on grades. Grade
Point Average that is required; when you apply for and enjoy a scholarship
grant, you have to meet and maintain certain grade; and when you apply for
a job, you have to present your grades because of all the things that people
ask, grades are always a part. So, grades are indeed important. But the
competency that grades should reflect are as important.

It will help students to get good grades if teachers discuss

assessment and grades before conducting the assessment. Reviewing test
results with students after assessment test is important. However,
communicating with students – as a class or individually – before
assessment is equally important. Here are seven things to consider
discussing with your students before assessing (Bobowski, 2017):

 Explain where the test fits in the bigger picture. Any given test
or assessment is just one piece of their overall progress as
students. This one test in this one day is not the sole measure of
their potential or their future. A better understanding of context
will help them better understand how it all fits together.

 Share how the test results will affect their overall class grade.
Often, students are unaware why they are being tested or why
the teachers need the data they are looking for. Is it going to be
used for setting student or class goals, establishing a grade, or
for placement purposes? Share this information with your
students before the test score will mean to them.

 Pre-empt questions about what their data will look like and who
will be seeing it. Depending on the age of your students, you
should consider sharing with them what results you’ll be
receiving after the test, what results they, as students, will
receive and what will be shared with their parents.

 Take the fear out of the testing jargon. Words like evaluate,
criteria, evidence and scores can be scary for some students.
While they may seem obvious and interchangeable to you as a
teacher, it can help students if you explain these terms to them
and set their minds at ease.

 Clarify the testing environment. Some students are less familiar

than others when it comes to testing and how testing schedules
can interrupt a given week. Providing better clarification can help
 alleviate student stress. Let them know if it will be a one-day
test of if it will happen over a period of days. Provide insights
into breaks, whether they can use the restrooms and what they
should bring with them on testing days.

 Make any transition to computers or tablets easy. If there is a

computer lab being used as part of the testing process, be sure
they know where the lab is, how the computer will be used as
part of the test and how to log in.

 Provide the dates of the next assessment. When you explain

growth over time to students, it helps to share a basic schedule
of how the assessments will be administered. Let them know
when the next one will occur and whether it will be similar to the
one, they are preparing for.

Functions of Grading and Reporting Systems

Grading and reporting systems have some very important functions in
the educative process. Some of these important functions are enumerated
below:
a. Enhancing students’ learning through: clarifying
instructional objectives for them, showing students’ strengths
and weaknesses, providing information on personal-social
development, enhancing students’ motivation (e.g., short-
term goals) and indicating where teaching might be modified.
These can be achieved through day-to-day tests and feedback
and integrated periodic tests.

b. Reports to parents/guardians. Grading and reporting

systems also inform parents and guardians of students on the
progress of their wards. Likewise, grades and reports
communicate objectives to parents, so they can help promote
learning and likewise, communicate how well objectives were
met, so parents can better plan.

c. Administrative and guidance uses. The administrative and

guidance purposes of grading and reporting consist in: (1)
helping to decide promotion, graduation, honors, athletic
eligibility; (2) reporting achievements to other schools or to
 employers; and (3) providing input for realistic educational,
vocational and personal counselling.

These three main purposes of grading and reporting by no means exhaust all
possible uses of the activity. The main point, however, is that grades and
report cards should promote and enhance learning rather than frustrate and
discourage students. In many schools, report cards are given to students
and then parents are asked to sign these report cards. Most schools call for
parent-teacher conferences or set aside Card Getting Day for this purpose.

Components of a Grading System

Airasian and Rusell (2008) cite 3 components of a grading
system: 1) standards of comparison; 2) aspects of performance and 3)
weighting different kinds of evidence.

Standards of Comparison. In relation to standards of comparison, the

following questions are asked: What standard of comparison will you use for
grading? Will you compare a student performance to other students’
performance (norm-referenced grading)? Or will you compare student
performance with a pre-determined established standard (criterion-
referenced grading)? Or will you compare it to what a student is able to do
(learning potential or self-referenced)?

If we go outcome-based or competency-based, we will be for

criterion-referenced grading. The pre-determined standards are the
intended learning outcomes presented and explained at the beginning of
every lesson.

Aspect of Performance. The second component of a grading system

is aspect of performance, i. e., what aspects of performance must be
graded? One group of educators claim only academic performance must be
graded. This academic performance to be graded include quiz and test
results (paper-and-pencil tests), assignments, products and performances to
show processes learned. Examples are oral reports, projects, interviews,
portfolios.

Another group of educators asserts that in addition to academic

performance, student’s motivation, effort and participation should also be
graded. One of the problems in grading student’s motivation, effort and
participation, however, is the difficulty in determining the reliability of effort
and motivation.
 Weighting Different Kinds of Evidence. This refers to how much
weight is given to the different aspects or components of a student’s grade.
Let us take a look at the weighting of the different kinds of evidence in the
DepEd grading system issued in DepEd Order 8, s. 2015.

Table 7. Weight of the Components for Grades 1-10

Components Languages AP EsP Science Math MAPEH EPP/TLE

Written Work 30% 40% 20%

1-10 Performance
Tasks 50% 40% 60%
Quarterly
Assessment 20% 20% 20%

Table 8. Weight of the Components for SHS

Technical-Vocational and
Livelihood (TVL)/ Sports/
Academic Track Arts and Design Track
Work
immersion/
Research/ Work immersion/
Core All other Business All Research/
Subjects subjects Enterprise other Exhibit/
Simulation/ subject Performance
Exhibit/ s
Performance
Written
Work 25% 25% 35% 20%
11 Performance
to Tasks 50% 45% 40% 60%
12 Quarterly
Assessment 25% 30% 25% 20%

An analysis of the tables given above shows that DepEd puts the
heaviest weight on performance tasks from Grades 1-10 and from Grades
11-12. From Grades 1-10, the highest percentage (60%) is given to Music,
Arts, Physical Education and Health (MAPEH) and Edukasyong Pantahanan at
Pangkabuhayan (EPP-Home Economics and Livelihood Skills). In Senior High
School, the highest percentage (60%) understandably is for the
specialization subjects for the Tech-Voc, Sports and Arts and Design tracks.
Obviously MAPEH, EPP, the specialization subjects in the Tech-Voc, Sports
and Arts and Design tracks are dominantly skill subjects.

For complete details on the DepEd Grading System, refer to

DepEd Order #8, s. 2015.

Why Communicate Assessment Result

We document our assessment processes for accountability,

institutional and individual memory. Documenting the decisions made means
learned lessons. Assessment results that have been thoroughly discussed
should be communicated clearly and accurately to learners as well as
parents for improved learning.

Sharing assessment results is an opportunity to tell an important

and meaningful story. Your role is to educate stakeholders about context,
background, methods, results of assessment and to involve them in making
sense of the results and identifying possible solutions or next steps. These
can be done during Parents-Teachers Conference.

Some Pointers in Communicating Assessment Results

In order to effectively communicate our assessment results, we

need to do the following: 1) to establish learning outcomes related to what
we are assessing; 2) document the process we used to assess the outcome;
3) tie the results back to our learning outcomes to communicate whether the
program or service “worked” as we intended and 4) take note of decisions
made as a result of the assessment process. This is the essence of
outcomes-based teaching and learning.

We all agree that students are key education stakeholders. When

they are involved in the assessment process and in their own learning, the
result is an improvement in achievement. An objective, transparent and
respectful assessment feedback to students drives home the points which
the students need to work upon.

Giving Feedback to Students and Parents after Assessments

Giving is never easy. It is important that the feedback process is

handled delicately. Below are some points that can guide the teacher as an
assessor during feedback.
  A cliché’, which works effectively, is to open the session with
positive feedback.

 Know the expectation of the student/parent from the feedback

session; it acts as a compass for the teacher as assessor.

 Be very specific and stick to the pre-defined parameters or

competencies to make reference.

 Cite examples whenever possible to help students/parent

understand better.

 Involve the student/parent. Feedback has to be a dialogue and

not a monologue which means that the student/parent should be
given an opportunity to discuss student’s/parent’s aspirations,
motivations and experience of the assessments.

 Be patient and display great listening skills to create the required

trust and rapport with the student/parent.

 Allow the student/parent to explain the intent behind his/her

action and differing opinion whenever appropriate.

 Refrain from passing a judgmental statement; your statements

have to be suggestive rather than stated as absolute truths.

The feedback provider has to remember that feedback is also a

mechanism to learn for people. Let us make a reference to the Johari
Window given below:

High
Unaware of Aware of
Strength Strength

Competence

Unaware of Area Aware of Area

of Development of Development

Low

Low Self-Awareness High

 The feedback should help the students/parents become aware of
their areas of strength and areas of development. It should encourage
students/parents to do introspection, help students/parents to draw
inference and reach conclusions.
People are very good at hiding any feeling of hurt and upset.
However, beneath the façade lies a demoralized and de-motivated
individual. For example, some students might start thinking “if that is what I
am like, am I really going to get where I want?” or “Is this what they think
of me?” such situation requires very careful handling of feedback or else it
can become the road to frustration.
If the desired level of trust does not exist between the teacher
and the student/parent, feedback discussion becomes very difficult and the
purpose of feedback is defeated. If teachers share the outcomes and
feedback with the student/parent without allowing discussion or comment,
the feedback session becomes a fiasco. Where students/parents do not
share hopes, aspirations or intrinsically commit to their development actions
no further progress can take place. It helps if the teacher knows the profile
of the student/parent beforehand as it later helps in navigating the feedback
discussion appropriately. This results in greater acceptability of feedback.

Reporting Students’ Progress and Grades to Parents

Students’ progress and grades are reported to parents through
Report Card, Parents-Teachers conference and written conferences. They are
explained below.
Report Card. The Report card is a standard method of reporting
student’s progress and grades to parents. See sample report card for junior
and senior high school from the Department of Education.
 TEMPORARY PROGRESS REPORT CARD FOR ELEMENTARY AND JHS
For more meaningful reporting of students’ progress, the

meaning of grades is given. The DepEd gives the following grade

interpretation:

Descriptions Grading Scale Remarks

Outstanding 90-100 Passed
Very Satisfactory 85-89 Passed
Satisfactory 80-84 Passed
Fairly Satisfactory 75-79 Passed
Did Not Meet Expectation Below 75 Failed
 Report cards convey letter grades like A, B, C, D and F
sometimes with + or – so a student may get an A+ or A-, B+ or B-, etc.
Some report cards convey numerical grades such as 85 in Math, 93 in
English and 88 in Biology. Still other report cards simply have Pass or Fail.
The DepEd Student Report Card include affective characteristics such as
Maka-Diyos, Maka-tao, Maka-bansa and Maka-kalikasan.
Written Progress Reports. These can be weekly, bi-weekly or
monthly reports of the student’s progress and achievement (McMillan,
2007). These written reports may include the student’s performance on tests
and quizzes, projects, oral reports… They also can include information about
the student’s motivation, cooperation and behavior, as well as suggestions
for how parents can help the student improve his/her performance.
Figure 18. Sample Written Progress Report

Parent-Teacher Conferences. Durham (2006) asserts that

“parent-teacher conferences are both a responsibility and an opportunity.”
The education of the learner is the primary responsibility of parents. In this
task of educating children, parents are assisted by the school. For the
benefit of children then it is best for teachers and parents to come together
to discuss their children’s progress. Parent-Teacher Conferences are a
perfect avenue for this purpose.
 It has been a practice of schools to set aside a day for Report
Card distribution which is at the same time the opportunity for parents and
teachers to confer regarding their child’s performance.
Here are some reminders for schools/teachers to get the most
from parent-teacher conferences:
1. Announce the date for card-giving in advance. Or better still
the school calendar which should be given at the beginning of
the school year must already include the dates for card-giving
and parent-teacher conference/s. Parents are busy and can’t
just be there at the school’s beck and call.

2. Be positive in approach. Start the conference with something

positive and maintain the positive atmosphere. There is always
something good in every student. Even if a student has
performed poorly, try to find at least some areas in which the
student has performed well.

3. Be objective. While you should positive, be truthful and honest.

Give an accurate picture of a student’s performance in order
not to give false hopes to parents.

4. Have a listening ear. Act with empathy. Parents are parents.

They will tend to favor their children.

5. Don’t project an “omniscient” image. You don’t know all the

answers to questions. Refer the parents to the right person.
Example, the Physics teacher if the problem is the child’s
performance in Physics.

6. Practice good communication skills. Communicate criteria for

grading. Have a dialogue not a monologue where the only one
talking is you (or only the parent).

7. Don’t talk about other students. The focus of the parent-

teacher conference should only be the parent’s child. Never
compare the child with other students,

8. End with an encouraging note in the same way that you begin
with a positive note. It is not the end of the world.
Why Report/Communicate Assessment Results
We document our assessment processes for accountability. So,
teaching leads to assessing learning, reporting and communicating
assessment results. These assessment results should be communicated
clearly and accurately to learners as well as parents for improved learning.
Sharing assessment results is an opportunity to tell an important
and meaningful story. Your role is to educate stakeholders about context,
background, methods, results of assessment and to involve them in making
sense of the results and identifying possible solutions or next steps. This is
reporting.
We all agree that students are key education stakeholders. When
they are involved in the assessment process and in their own learning, the
result is an improvement in achievement. An objective, transparent and
respectful assessment feedback to students drives home the points which
the students need to work upon.
IV. Learning Assessment
(in Google Forms)

V. Enrichment Activity

I. Compute the grade of a student in:

a. Grade 9 English with the following raw scores:

Written Work – 80 out of 100

Performance Task – 60 out of 100
Score in Quarterly Test – 50 out of 100

b. Grade 11 student in Introduction to the Philosophy of the

Human Person, a core subject in SHS with the following
raw scores:

Written Work – 30 out of 50

Performance Task – 42 out of 60
Quarterly Test – 28 out of 40

c. Grade 3 student in the Mother Tongue subject: with the

following raw scores:

Written Work – 20 out of 30

Performance Task – 25 out of 40
Quarterly Test – 22 out of 30