The task of grading students presents difficult issues for schools, particularly when it comes to assigning fair and meaningful grades to students with disabilities who attend general education classes. The authors have conducted extensive research on strategies for improving the accuracy, fairness, and meaningfulness of grades for students with disabilities. They emphasize the importance of building awareness of the purposes of grades, and they include a survey used to assess the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers about the role of grades. They also include a list of grading adaptations that research supports as effective. The authors’ model for developing Personalized Grading Plans enables a team consisting of a student, his or her parents, a special education teacher, and a regular classroom teacher to arrive at decisions about the types of grade adaptations that would help the student succeed.

Grading Students with Disabilities

Dennis D. Munk

William D. Bursuck

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Assessment and grading

Special education

Although there is not yet much research on the topic, the practice of making exceptions or substitutions for grading criteria is relatively common. In fact, as many as 50 percent of general education teachers use grading adaptations for their students. The most common of these are grading on improvement, giving multiple grades (for example, grading for tests and for effort), and weighting grades for specific assignments. Many teachers, however, believe grading adaptations can be unfair, especially when they are applied to someÄbut not allÄstudents. They say that limiting adaptations discriminates against students who don't meet qualifications for special education and ignores individual differences among students. Students say such limitations can create a disincentive for taking harder classes and provide those who receive adaptations with an unfair advantage. The authors recommend policies for grading to schools interested in fairer systems.

Can Grades Be Helpful and Fair?

Diverse classrooms and schools

Author

William D. Bursuck

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Articles by William D.

Grading Students with Disabilities

Can Grades Be Helpful and Fair?

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