​This inconsistency occurs when some teachers use performance on assessments, others use behavior, and still others use improvement or progress to determine the grade.

You avoid this by clearly defining for students how their grade is broken down by percentages.

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​In these classes, students who attend, dress out for class, participate on a regular basis, and do not cause discipline problems end up with high grades. The teacher thus lowers learning expectations in return for compliant behaviors. This is a practice known as grade exchange.

This is easily avoided if your report card has separate categories for performance and behavior. NYCDOE has this report card structure.​

​1) Teachers tend to grade their students the way they were graded (similar to parenting)

2) Veteran teachers socialize student teachers and beginning teachers to use this grading system.

3) You are a new teacher that is forced to follow the grading policies of the department that you are in. ​

​Letter grades do not fully and accurately indicate whether or not a student has met the criteria of a specific standard. If an A represents complete accomplishment of a standard, then a B represents an amount less than complete. This continues on for a C and so forth. With a Standards-Based grading system ranking students with other students does not matter. Competency does.

Teachers must define what the various letter grades mean and communicate this to parents and students. ​

​Grades should represent the degree to which a student meets the program's goals. When grades are based on measures other than achievement, the grade is not a valid indicator of the goals met. Teachers must avoid using managerial factors that supersede or override student achievement (e.g., lowering a students grade by a full letter due to an incidence of not getting dressed).

​If a student's performance is inconsistent or if a student cannot replicate the same score on an assessment, the grade does not accurately reflect student learning. If a student has an extraordinary day but consistently does not show competence, the student has not mastered the content. Teachers must ensure that the assessments used and the results gained from them consistently represent student learning to calculate grades.

​When assessing ESL students, teachers must select assessments appropriate for the student. The assessment should measure learning, not language ability. EdPuzzles, Quizizz, and Kahoots can be translated into different languages, although this will be time consuming.

When grading students with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan), that document is used as the basis for that grade. The IEP should outline the type and quality of work expected of the student.

When grading students without an IEP, but have special needs, the teacher should write appropriate instructional goals and then base grades on the degree to which these goals are met. Standards guide the process, and teachers must realize they can be met in a variety of ways.

Low fit students may require different assessments that measure the degree to which they have met the learning outcomes. Several good Phys Ed texts provide insight into appropriate modifications for these students.