Grading practices: The key to unlocking student achievement and motivation Understanding student motivation allows teachers to develop strategies that can increase motivation, thus increasing academic achievement. Academics has become a constant competition from kindergarten onwards as to provide the best opportunities for students. A major factor on academic achievement is how a teacher uses grading practices to drive student motivation. Selecting the correct type of grading style become an integral part in creating an effective learning environment, thus allowing for increased student achievement. This literature review will explore the effects a grading practice has on student motivation and achievement. It will determine what types
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Teaching has shifted away from a learning focused environment to a grade focused environment. Students have been built to place grades above learning the classroom (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). This grade only focus get embedded into students from early in their education careers (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). Making a shift from a grade-oriented focus to a learning-oriented focus required participation from both the teacher and the students. Teachers must move away from a power role and consider the classroom environment to be a partnership (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). Therefore, creating a partnership allows the classroom to be an effective learning environment because there is a mutual responsibility for learning (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). In order to shift to a learning-oriented environment teachers must select how they grade carefully, as to not create a grade-oriented classroom (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). Trust between student and teacher must be built in order for any successful achievement or motivation to occur. Detail feedback that created high standards is …show more content…
Traditional grading can cause anxiety and problems with student creativity. Students often guess what a teacher wants them to remember instead of maximizing their learning and thinking creatively (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). Strong, Davis, and Hawks (2004) allowed students to express creativity on take home tests through various methods, which creativity played a critical role in earning high grades. Students found assessing themselves to be difficult because it was something that they were not used to doing in their academic career (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). Strong, Davis, Hawks (2004) compared self-grading with traditional grading over two semesters, which eighty percent of students attended both semesters of the course and answered the questionnaire. Self-grading made fifty-two percent of the students more motivated to learn the material (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). This increased motivation can lead to increased academic success. Self-grading creates intrinsic motivation, which created the ability for deeper learning to take place (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). Sixty-six percent of the students felt an increase of responsibility for their learning with self-grading and forty-six percent felt that self-grading encouraged them to learn outside the classroom (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). Over fifty percent left the course with a better understanding of the material,
Teaching has shifted away from a learning focused environment to a grade focused environment. Students have been built to place grades above learning the classroom (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). This grade only focus get embedded into students from early in their education careers (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). Making a shift from a grade-oriented focus to a learning-oriented focus required participation from both the teacher and the students. Teachers must move away from a power role and consider the classroom environment to be a partnership (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). Therefore, creating a partnership allows the classroom to be an effective learning environment because there is a mutual responsibility for learning (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). In order to shift to a learning-oriented environment teachers must select how they grade carefully, as to not create a grade-oriented classroom (Farias, Farias, & Fairfield, 2010). Trust between student and teacher must be built in order for any successful achievement or motivation to occur. Detail feedback that created high standards is …show more content…
Traditional grading can cause anxiety and problems with student creativity. Students often guess what a teacher wants them to remember instead of maximizing their learning and thinking creatively (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). Strong, Davis, and Hawks (2004) allowed students to express creativity on take home tests through various methods, which creativity played a critical role in earning high grades. Students found assessing themselves to be difficult because it was something that they were not used to doing in their academic career (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). Strong, Davis, Hawks (2004) compared self-grading with traditional grading over two semesters, which eighty percent of students attended both semesters of the course and answered the questionnaire. Self-grading made fifty-two percent of the students more motivated to learn the material (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). This increased motivation can lead to increased academic success. Self-grading creates intrinsic motivation, which created the ability for deeper learning to take place (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). Sixty-six percent of the students felt an increase of responsibility for their learning with self-grading and forty-six percent felt that self-grading encouraged them to learn outside the classroom (Strong, Davis, & Hawks, 2004). Over fifty percent left the course with a better understanding of the material,