What do grade equivalent scores compare a student's performance to?

The Grade-Equivalent score compares your child's performance on grade-level material against the average performance of students at other grade levels on that same material and is reported in terms of grade level and months.

What are grade equivalent scores used for?

Most often, these scores are used to describe performance on academic achievement tests, though grade-based norms and grade equivalent scores are available for some other types of standardized assessment instruments (e.g., cognitive assessment instruments, speech and language assessment instruments).

What is an example of the use of a grade equivalent score?

For example, assume the mean score for ninth graders in the third month ofschool (9.3) is 50 on the ninth grade version of the test. If a sixth gradergets a 50 on the sixth grade test, he receives a grade-equivalent score of 9.3even though the sixth grader took the sixth grade version of the test.

Why are grade equivalent scores misleading?

Grade equivalents are not standardized scores (which are psychometrically sound and are reported) meaning that variance can exist from test to test or even within the test assessing different skill sets (math vs. reading).

What is the difference between a grade equivalent score and the grade level of academic functioning?

A grade-equivalent score represents how a student scored in comparison to same-aged peers. Grade level of academic functioning is how a student is progressing (achieving, scoring) in the academic curriculum.

AssessMinutes - Understanding Grade Equivalent scores

What is the difference between functional performance and academic achievement?

Academic Goal Areas include: Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Pre-Academic Skills and Other Academic areas. Functional Performance Goal Areas include: Communication, Behavior, Social/Emotional, Executive Functioning, Fine Motor, Gross Motor, Activities of Daily Living, Health and Development and Other Functional areas.

Does standards-based grading improve student achievement?

It values the individual student's needs and responds to those needs to guide every learner at their own pace. Standards-based grading gives every student a clear path and the time they need to succeed, improving the outcomes for every learner.

What is a potential major downfall of using a grade equivalent type of score?

The reliability of age- and grade-equivalent scores is limited by the relationship between the equivalents and the raw scores on which they are based.

What are the disadvantages of using age and grade equivalent scores on standardized tests?

AE scores compare children to the “average x-year-old.” However, the average x-year-old does not exist. Rather, the term average represents a range of performance for a particular age group. A third serious limitation of AE scores is the lack of information they provide about a test taker's performance on a given test.

Are age equivalent scores misleading?

These types of scores are often very misleading though because this does not mean the child is functioning at the level of a 3-year-old. Since 68 is the median score, it is necessary that children will score above and below without being outside of normal limits.

How do you explain grade equivalent scores to parents?

A grade equivalent indicates the grade level, in years and months, for which a given score was the average or middle score in the standardization sample. For example, a score of 25 with the grade equivalent of 4.6 means that, in the norm group, 25 was the average score of pupils in the sixth month of the fourth grade.

Which type of score interpretation is most often misunderstood and why?

Another common norm-referenced score used in educational testing is the grade-equivalent score— possibly the most misunderstood score used in educational testing. Grade-equivalent scores are presented as grade and month.

What are the benefits of standards based grading for students?

The purpose of standards-based grading is to give a clearer picture of a student's learning progress. Instead of a traditional points gradebook where you see a single letter grade, an SBG report card gives a detailed view of student strengths and areas of opportunity.

What is a grade equivalent to?

Grade 8 is the equivalent of in between grades A* and A. Grade 7 is the equivalent of a grade A. Grade 6 is the equivalent of just above a grade B. Grade 5 is the equivalent of in between grades B and C.

What is a normal equivalent score?

Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE)

Although not included on the Individual Student Reports, the Normal Curve Equivalent, or NCE, is another way of measuring student performance relative to other students, in this case where a student falls along the normal curve. The numbers on the NCE line run from 0 to 100.

What are the equivalent grades in the US?

International Grade US Equivalent Note: A (91-100) A A- (86-90) B+/A B+ (81-85) B+/A B (76-80) B/B+ B- (71-75) B C+ (66-70) C+ C (61-65) C+ D (50-60) C+ E (<50) F F (nonattendance) F Credit equivalencies are equal to US credits.

Why are standardized tests an unreliable measure of student performance?

Standardized tests can be unreliable based on inequities. Standardized tests only cover a small amount of what students know and don't account for language barriers. There are also questions over whether standardized test scores signal student learning in future years.

Should age and grade equivalents be reported as a reliable measure of performance?

Age-equivalent and grade-equivalent scores are not considered a reliable measure and should generally not be used.

What are the negative effects of standardized testing on students?

Some young students experience “anxiety, panic, irritability, frustration, boredom, crying, headaches, and loss of sleep” while taking high-stakes tests, they reported, before concluding that “high-stakes testing causes damage to children's self-esteem, overall morale, and love of learning.”

How might grading negatively affect student success in school?

Grades create risk-averse behavior

As a consequence, the expectation of receiving a grade creates a fear to fail. Students are therefore prone to choose the path with the least resistance, opting for the easy A. Looking back at my university education, I too strategically chose subjects that would benefit my GPA.

What are the drawbacks of standards-based grading system?

The second drawback of a single letter grade is that it offers no information about what specifically was learned. Standards-based report cards typically break down each subject area or course into precise elements of learning.

What are the problems with standards-based grading?

Standards-based grading is affecting students' mental health as well because poor grades lead to not getting into the college they want to go to, and it is preventing them from getting the jobs they want.

Why is standard based grading better than traditional grading?

In a standards-based grading system, educators cultivate a growth mindset: failure and making mistakes are part of the learning journey. Students are given multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery and have input on how they show what they've learned.

Is standards-based grading more equitable?

Standards-based grading systems that do not simply translate a B into a 3, but accurately capture student learning across concepts and skills, promote equity and fairness in schools.

How do colleges feel about standards-based grading?

Letter grades and transcripts based on standards are acceptable, if not preferable, by admissions folks, with a few caveats. When universities receive profiles/transcripts from schools with alternative grading/reporting systems, these students receive equal consideration.