Search Results

1. Hatton, Ethan Scaled and Sustained Implementation of a Standards-based Grading System at the Secondary Level

Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2018, Educational Leadership

Problems with the traditional A-F grading system, which include purpose, accuracy, and alignment, have been well researched and documented for over 100 years. The synthesis of solutions to many of the issues with the traditional grading system is called standards-based grading (SBG). While the benefits of shifting to SBG were well researched, scaled and sustained implementation efforts were lacking, thus stifling progressive efforts in curriculum, instruction, and ultimately equity and access to the ideals of public education. Through careful analysis of two secondary schools, one a suburban middle school and the other a rural high school, where SBG was implemented, this qualitative case study explored the factors needed to implement and sustain scaled standards-based grading systems at the secondary level (grades 6-12).

Committee: Lucian Szlizewski (Advisor); Joel Malin (Committee Chair) Subjects: Education History; Education Philosophy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership

2. Verhoff, Steven Beyond the Grade: Understanding the Development and Spread of Alternative Grading Practices Using Q-Methodology

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

This mixed-methods case study explores the establishment, change, and sustainability of grading practices among high school teachers. Through Q-methodology, this study investigates teachers' perspectives on grading, their motivations for adopting alternative practices, and the challenges they face in implementation. The study's findings reveal that teachers primarily rely on personal experience and limited training to develop grading practices. Social networks among teachers can play a crucial role in influencing the adoption of alternative grading practices. Additionally, collective leadership and professional development can help foster a culture of innovation and support for change. However, resistance to change and the dominance of traditional practices remain significant challenges.

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Committee Chair); Patrick Spearman PhD (Committee Member); Mara Banfield EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Leadership; School Administration; Teacher Education

3. Kuberski, Kelsey Setting Standards: An Inquiry into a Novel Standards-based Grading Policy and Its Impact on High School Student Engagement, Academic Accountability, and Follow-Through

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

Standards-based grading serves as a type of formative assessment in which students work towards mastery of learning objectives to complete a course. A North Texas School District has created a novel grading policy incorporating standards-based grading practices with a non-punitive, progression-focused, student-centered learning structure. Utilizing a phenomenologically informed methodology with a constructivist approach, this study explores how students are experiencing this grading policy as it relates to their engagement and academic accountability/follow-through in the classroom. Further, this study analyzes how students are perceiving their ability to achieve current and future academic success via this system. This action research takes place at one of the district's high schools and uses qualitative measures to investigate student responses of their shared opinions, thoughts, and emotions. Five main themes emerged from the study: overall approval of the features of the system, gaps in understanding regarding the purposes of the structure, awareness of the potential promotion of negative behaviors, a desire for more reward for effort, and fear of failure regarding future-ready preparedness. Utilizing these themes, an action plan was created to modify the system and provide a framework for holistic organizational improvement.

Committee: Elizabeth Essex (Committee Chair); Charlene Evans-Smith (Committee Member); Kevin Kelly (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Secondary Education

4. Lesko, Cherish Influence of Build Direction on Interface Regions in Additive Manufacturing of Multi-Material Refractory Alloys

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Wright State University, 2021, Engineering PhD

In the pursuit of optimum performance, materials engineering seeks to design the microstructure and thus the properties of a material through the control of the material composition and processing. Functionally graded materials (FGM) are designed to incorporate location-specific material properties through compositional changes within the part. Moving toward location-specific design of material properties requires the ability to produce material gradients in three dimensions which can be accomplished through the use of additive manufacturing (AM). This research examines the composition-process-structure-property relationship of early iteration titanium (Ti) and tantalum (Ta) graded alloys built in a novel laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process through the characterization of vertical and horizontal graded orientations. Ultimate tensile strength, fractography, and Vicker's microhardness (HV) are used to evaluate the mechanical properties and materials characterization includes X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The binary Ti-Ta alloy system is of great interest to many fields of engineering including biomedical and aerospace because of the unique thermal and mechanical properties it possesses. This work discovered that the concentration of Ta required to promote full beta phase stabilization in Ti is 25% greater than what has been previously reported when used in LPBF. Understanding of AM processing effects includes influences from both the thermal behavior and machine processing strategy which impacts composition location control and influences phase evolution. Elemental segregation occurs due to incomplete mixing in the melt pool and remelting at the horizontal interfaces. It is also established that the interfaces are structurally sound, but phase transformations and resulting microstructures differed between the vertically and horizontally gra (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joy E. Gockel Ph.D. (Advisor); Raghavan Srinivasan Ph.D. (Committee Member); Henry D. Young Ph.D. (Committee Member); Todd Butler Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Engineering; Materials Science

5. Rice, William Subjectivity in grading: The role individual subjectivity plays in assigning grades

Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2021, Educational Leadership

Grading involves a multifaceted evaluative practice that often requires the teacher to make judgements about student learning. Teachers, of course, tend to believe grades should primarily represent student achievement to properly communicate to students and parents how well students have mastered the standards of a course (Marzano, 2000). Student achievement is defined by Sadler (2010) as the attainment of an identifiable level of knowledge as determined through evaluating performances on assessment tasks, as designated by the course grade. Grades are perceived to hold much power including the social status and future successes of the students, the teacher's effectiveness, the overall success of the school district, and more. For these reasons few issues have ever created more anxiety and, at times, distrust than those policies associated with grading and the reporting of student learning. When looking at grading policies, we must be confident that all stakeholders can define what value the grade holds relative to a student's development in the subject matter. Those stakeholders must know that a grade earned indicates a level of subject material mastery, they must feel confident that grades are consistent within subject matters, departments, districts, and the state. This embedded case study integrated qualitative and quantitative methods to explore 1) if the grade a teacher assigns at the end of a class is reflective of success on state assessments and 2) what meaning teachers and students put on a final course grade. Using a sequential explanatory design, End of Course (EOC) Scaled Test Scores from a suburban high school's 2018 English Language Arts II (10th grade test) and Geometry (10th grade test) courses were used to examine whether there was a significant relationship between EOC Scaled Test Scores for these two subject matters and end of class grades. Indeed, this study revealed that the grade assigned at the end of a class period is a predictor of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lucian Szlizewski Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Joel Malin Dr. (Committee Member); Stephanie Baer Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education History; Education Philosophy; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory

6. Henry, Dawn Standards-based Grading: The Effect of Common Grading Criteria on Academic Growth

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2018, Leadership Studies

Points-driven grading systems are prolific and persistent in American K-12 education, despite research indicating their gender and racial bias in implementation (Cornwell, Mustard & Van Parys, 2013), their lack of accuracy in representing student achievement (Allen, 2005), and their negative effect on learning (Klapp, 2015). Research indicates while teachers are open to changing their practice, they want assurance that changes will lead to improved outcomes for their students (Millard, 2016). The purpose of the study was to determine whether standards-based grading rubrics developed through a shared leadership approach significantly increased academic growth and the percentage of students demonstrating acceptable levels of growth in early literacy, reading, and math skill development. Participants in the causal-comparative post-hoc study were comprised of kindergarten through grade two students in two Midwestern public school districts, one of which issued standards-based grades while the other issued grades under a points-driven grading system. Academic growth data in the form of student growth percentiles were gathered using STAR¿ assessments, an online assessment tool used in both districts to measure achievement and growth. Results indicated no effect for rubric implementation in any of the three subject areas when comparing the two districts' growth scores; nor was there a significant difference in the percentage of students demonstrating acceptable growth in reading or math. However, a significantly higher percentage of students did demonstrate acceptable growth in early literacy skills after standards-based grading rubrics were implemented. The researcher concluded that teacher involvement in the development of the rubrics, as well as their use of the rubrics for instructional purposes could have mediated the effect of the tools' use.

Committee: Rachel Reinhart PhD (Advisor); Lee Nickoson PhD (Other); Chris Willis PhD (Committee Member); Patrick Pauken PhD (Committee Member); Todd Cramer PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education Philosophy; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership; Educational Tests and Measurements

7. Blankenship, Shortie The effects of regular grading and contract grading on college students' achievement, performance, and preference for grading systems /

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1977, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education