This change leadership plan was designed to assist a suburban middle school transition from a traditional grading and assessment system to a standards-based system. Using Wagner’s (2008) change leadership model, the plan includes an AS-IS assessment and a TO-BE vision to analyze the school’s context, culture, conditions, and competencies (Wagner’s 4 Cs) that need to be considered when planning for any major organizational change. The plan includes a review of relevant literature related to standards-based grading and an analysis of survey and interview data collected on students’ and teachers’ perceptions on the school’s current grading practices. Survey findings reveal that traditional grading practices fall short in meeting the needs of all students. Both teachers and students agree that: the purpose of grading and assessment should be to provide meaningful feedback on a student’s learning; behavior should be reported independent of student learning; and assessments should be purposeful, not busy work, and designed to improve student learning. Student interview themes included: allowing more student self-assessment; opportunities to redo and refine homework without penalty; and more closely connecting homework assignments and assessments with classroom instruction. Teacher interview themes noted: the inability of letter grades to accurately measure student learning; frustration with a lack of common assessments across the district; and the need for high quality professional development in transitioning to a standards-based assessment system. Strategies and actions recommended for making the transition include: educating the school community on standards-based grading; aligning all assessments to standards; creation of common assessments; and developing a standards-based report card.
","abstract_html":"<p>This change leadership plan was designed to assist a suburban middle school transition from a traditional grading and assessment system to a standards-based system. Using Wagner’s (2008) change leadership model, the plan includes an AS-IS assessment and a TO-BE vision to analyze the school’s context, culture, conditions, and competencies (Wagner’s 4 Cs) that need to be considered when planning for any major organizational change. The plan includes a review of relevant literature related to standards-based grading and an analysis of survey and interview data collected on students’ and teachers’ perceptions on the school’s current grading practices. Survey findings reveal that traditional grading practices fall short in meeting the needs of all students. Both teachers and students agree that: the purpose of grading and assessment should be to provide meaningful feedback on a student’s learning; behavior should be reported independent of student learning; and assessments should be purposeful, not busy work, and designed to improve student learning. Student interview themes included: allowing more student self-assessment; opportunities to redo and refine homework without penalty; and more closely connecting homework assignments and assessments with classroom instruction. Teacher interview themes noted: the inability of letter grades to accurately measure student learning; frustration with a lack of common assessments across the district; and the need for high quality professional development in transitioning to a standards-based assessment system. Strategies and actions recommended for making the transition include: educating the school community on standards-based grading; aligning all assessments to standards; creation of common assessments; and developing a standards-based report card. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Horn, Brian P., 2270699"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - NLU Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jack Denny","Norman Weston","Elizabeth McDonald"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:32Z","subjects":["Standards-Based Grading","Homework","assessment","change leadership","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/197","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jack Denny","Norman Weston","Elizabeth McDonald"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Horn, Brian P., 2270699"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-12-12T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - NLU Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. 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Using Wagner’s (2008) change leadership model, the plan includes an AS-IS assessment and a TO-BE vision to analyze the school’s context, culture, conditions, and competencies (Wagner’s 4 Cs) that need to be considered when planning for any major organizational change. The plan includes a review of relevant literature related to standards-based grading and an analysis of survey and interview data collected on students’ and teachers’ perceptions on the school’s current grading practices. Survey findings reveal that traditional grading practices fall short in meeting the needs of all students. Both teachers and students agree that: the purpose of grading and assessment should be to provide meaningful feedback on a student’s learning; behavior should be reported independent of student learning; and assessments should be purposeful, not busy work, and designed to improve student learning. Student interview themes included: allowing more student self-assessment; opportunities to redo and refine homework without penalty; and more closely connecting homework assignments and assessments with classroom instruction. Teacher interview themes noted: the inability of letter grades to accurately measure student learning; frustration with a lack of common assessments across the district; and the need for high quality professional development in transitioning to a standards-based assessment system. Strategies and actions recommended for making the transition include: educating the school community on standards-based grading; aligning all assessments to standards; creation of common assessments; and developing a standards-based report card.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Standards-Based Grading In A Middle School: A Change Leadership Plan"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jack Denny","Norman Weston","Elizabeth McDonald"],"dc:creator":["Horn, Brian P., 2270699"],"dc:date.available":["2017-12-12T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This change leadership plan was designed to assist a suburban middle school transition from a traditional grading and assessment system to a standards-based system. Using Wagner’s (2008) change leadership model, the plan includes an AS-IS assessment and a TO-BE vision to analyze the school’s context, culture, conditions, and competencies (Wagner’s 4 Cs) that need to be considered when planning for any major organizational change. The plan includes a review of relevant literature related to standards-based grading and an analysis of survey and interview data collected on students’ and teachers’ perceptions on the school’s current grading practices. Survey findings reveal that traditional grading practices fall short in meeting the needs of all students. Both teachers and students agree that: the purpose of grading and assessment should be to provide meaningful feedback on a student’s learning; behavior should be reported independent of student learning; and assessments should be purposeful, not busy work, and designed to improve student learning. Student interview themes included: allowing more student self-assessment; opportunities to redo and refine homework without penalty; and more closely connecting homework assignments and assessments with classroom instruction. Teacher interview themes noted: the inability of letter grades to accurately measure student learning; frustration with a lack of common assessments across the district; and the need for high quality professional development in transitioning to a standards-based assessment system. Strategies and actions recommended for making the transition include: educating the school community on standards-based grading; aligning all assessments to standards; creation of common assessments; and developing a standards-based report card.
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