Grading practices to empower learning, motivation, and psychological well-being

The fundamental purpose of formal schooling is simple: learning. As an extension, the purpose of assessment is to evaluate while grades communicate the status of learners’ learning. In practice, however, grades fall short of their intended goal. Many commonly used grading practices in the K-12 education system not only fail to adequately reflect and communicate student learning but often even obstruct students’ optimal learning processes. Alternatively, there’s a wealth of theoretical support and empirical evidence in educational psychology literature to suggest that educators can adjust their assessment and grading practices in such a way that both accurately represent and meaningfully improve student learning. Grounded in the central tenets of self-determination, self-efficacy, achievement-goal, and attribution theories, and their implications in educational motivation, this report aims to dissect common grading practices in light of contemporary theory and research and to connect that theory and research to more beneficial models. In doing so, the hope is to equip educators with practices that enhance student learning processes and attend to individuals’ psychological development and well-being.Educational Psycholog