Abstract

Report card grading in the Quebec education system is an inevitable process that all teachers must endure. This study explored ten elementary teachers’ perspectives on their grading and report card systems through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. The two main research questions were: 1) How do elementary school teachers formulate their report card grades? and 2) What do teachers believe these grades are intended to communicate? Through analyzing the teachers’ responses, the inaccuracy of report card grades came to light, as it has for decades prior. It is evident that teachers are trying to use report card grades to represent the whole child’s experience in the classroom, while including a multitude of factors in their grades, also known as ‘hodgepodge grading’ (Brookhart, 1991). This type of grading makes it difficult for parents and students to understand what the grade symbolizes in relation to the children’s learning. Furthermore, teachers do not agree on what report card grades should be representing – thus creating more confusion for parents and a greater gap amongst teachers’ perspectives. This study complements the research that explores the reliability and validity of report card grades based on the 100 percent scale.

Keywords: reliability, validity, hodgepodge grading, academic achievement, report cards