Making the Grades: Guidelines and Principles for Teachers and Students

Cara W. F. Hyson contributes to discussions of grading by explaining her seven (7) principles for grading students in her history classes:

Principle #1- Grades are always about percents.

Principle #2- Grades indicate a teacher's ability to teach the material.

Principle #3- Students should not be allowed to share grades in the classroom.

Principle #4- The role of a teacher is not to stump the students.

Principle #5- A teacher should be willing to reconsider any grade given to any student.

Principle #6-Grades should be seen as an important part of the learning process, not the end of that process.

Principle #7- The role of a teacher is to teach and inspire.

Hyson teaches history at Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J. She is a graduate of Yale University with a Master of Arts in Teaching History from Bard College.

Thanks, Cara, for offering this thoughtful list of grading principles. You set an excellent standard for all of us to try to emulate.