1

Grading Students
Test Scores
Jen - Aug 2016

Prepared by:
Jennifer D. De Luna

Contents:
1. Purposes
2. Methods of Determining Grades
3. Forms of Grades
4. Converting Scores to Percentage
Rating
5. Rough Method of Assigning Marks
6. K-12 Grading System

1. Purpose of Grading
Test Scores
The most compelling reason why
teachers grade students test scores
is due to the reality that they have
to. (AIRASIAN,1994)

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Informational

To communicate students subject matter

achievement

Administrative

To make decision regarding students class

standing

Motivational

To encourage students to exert academic

effort

Guidance

To identify students who need special services

like tutoring and remedial instruction

2. Methods of Determining
Grades
Criterion-Referenced Approach
Normative Referenced Approach
W. Wundth, (2004)

Criterion-referenced
Approach

Refers to evaluation of
student performance based
on the minimum standard
that the class must reach

Criterion-referenced
Approach
In criterion referenced (or fixed standard
approach), the students' grades are based
on a target performance level. The teacher
sets the standard at the beginning of the
school year and informs the students the
students to get at least the minimum
score/percentage of the test to pass the
subject.

Criterion-referenced
Approach
In this approach, the teacher has not
advanced information on how many
students will pass or fail in the subject.
Objections:
* Lacks flexibility
Ex: The minimum passing score was 75
as per DECs Order No.70 s.1998

Norm-referenced
Approach
refers to evaluation of student
performance relative to other
student performance. The teacher
bases the grade the student's
standing relative to the whole class.

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Norm-referenced
Approach
In each class, a certain number of
students is sure to obtain the
lowest failing grade, and a certain
number of student is sure to get
the highest passing grade.

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Norm-referenced
Approach
A teacher/instructor who is strictly following
this scheme of grading based on the normal
curve is expected to give
10% of his students As,
20% Bs,
40% Cs,
20% Ds,
and 10% Fs.

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Norm-referenced
Approach
assumes that the test scores of
students will be normally distributed
with mean X and standard
deviation SD.
The cut off score for passing is set at
X-0.5SD.

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Example of computation will be provided on

MONDAY

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Illustrated grading distribution

40%
35%
30%
25%

A 10%
B 20%
C 40%
D 20%
F 10%

20%
15%
10%
5%
0%

Grade F

Grade D

Grade C

Grade B

Grade A

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normal curve
a bell-shaped curve showing a particular
distribution of probability over the values of a
random variable. Also called Gaussian curve,
probability curve.

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A closer look

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Norm-referenced
Approach
Disadvantage (Ornstein,1990):
Error of Leniency
*is a rater's bias that occurs because of the rater rating
an individual too positively or negatively.
*Fat Finger Error. MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage
Error)

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Example:
Consider the following two sets of scores in an
English 1 class for 2 sections of 10 students
each:
Gr 6 Sec 1: total = 610 /10 = 61

{30, 40, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 }

Gr 6 Sec 2: total = 810/10 = 81

{60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 90, 95, 100 }

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3. Form of Grades
Qualitative Rating
Letter Grade
Numerical Grade
Percentage Grade

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3. Form of Grades

Qualitative Rating
Grades are presented in the form of qualitative
description of students performance, such as:

Excellent
Fair
Very Good
Good
Needs Improvement

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3. Form of Grades

Letter Rating
Grades expressed in the form of letters.
Example:
The American system of giving grades
- 7 point system:

A, B, B+, B-, C, C-, D

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3. Form of Grades

Numerical Grade
Numbers are used to represent the
students grade:
Example:
8 point system

1.0, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.0, 2.5,

3.0 and 4.0
Commonly used in colleges and universities.

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3. Form of Grades

Percentage Rating
Grades of 70%, 75%, 85% and
the like are given to students
test score and performance
based on criteria for grading
set by the teacher.

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Quality Symbols Use for Reporting Students Progress:

Numerical
Grades

Percentage
Grade

Letter
Grades

Descriptive/
Quality Rating

1.00
1.25
1.50
1.75
2.00
2.25
2.50
2.75
3.00
4.00
5.00

98 - 100
95 - 97
92 - 94
89 91
87 - 88
84 - 86
81 - 83
78 - 80
75 - 77
73 - 74
Below 73

A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
E

Excellent
Excellent
Very Good
Very Good
Good
Good
Very Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Passing
Conditional
Failed

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Determining Grades for a Marking System

Guidelines:
*Explain marking and grading policies.
(students, parents, guardian)
*Be objective in giving marks to students
accomplishment/performance.
*Build grading policy around the concept of
accomplishment rather than failure.

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Determining Grades for a Marking System

Guidelines:
*Consider the policies of the school in
giving the highest and lowest grade
*Use a variety of resources for determining
the students grades for marking system.
*Decide beforehand on the policy you will
implement for makeup work in case of
absence or sickness

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Criteria for Grading

Class Standing (Quizes, Exercises, etc.)

Participation /Involvement
Summative Tests
Projects
Class Attendance & Attitude

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Methods of Reporting Final Grades

*Airasian (2001), as cited in Santrock
(2004), posts that grades are, most
common method of informing
parents about the childs progress and
performance in the classroom.

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Methods of Reporting Final Grades

3 ways of reporting Grades

1 Report cards;
Santrock (2004)
2 Written progress
McMillan (2001)
3 Parent-teacher
Payne (1997

report;

conferences,

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Methods of Reporting Final Grades

Grade reporting guidelines (Guskey, 2002)
Product Criteria- focus on what students know
and are able to do.
Process Criteria student assessmentandgrade
reporting should reflect not just final results but
also how student got there
Progress Criteria consider how much
students have gained from their learning
experiences.

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4. Converting Scores to
Percentage Rating
Formulas:
1: R = 50 (TS/TI) + 50
2: R = 45 (TS/TI) + 55
3: R = 40 (TS/TI) + 60

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Percentage Rating

Where:
R = rating in percentage
TS = total score
TI = total number of items

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Formula 1
R = 50 (TS/TI) + 50
= 50 (80/100) + 50
= 50 (0.8) + 50
= 40 + 50
= 90
The use of that formula is premised on the idea
that a student has to answer correctly 50% of the
total number of test items.
Moreover, the highest possible rating that a
student can obtain here is 100%

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Formula 2
R = 45 (TS/TI) + 55
= 45 (80/100) + 55
= 45 (0.8) + 55
= 36 + 55
= 91
It is used when the teacher sets the lowest rating at
55% instead of 50%.
It is implied from this formula that the student has
to answer correctly at least 45% of the test items in
order to get a passing grade

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Formula 3
R = 40 (TS/TI) + 60
= 40 (80/100) + 60
= 40 (0.8) + 60
= 32 + 60
= 92
It is employed when a teacher sets the lowest
rating at 60%, rather than at 55% or 50%.
The assumption in this formula is that the student
has to answer correctly 40% of the test items.

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Raw Score

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Formula #1
=50(TS/T1)+50

52
53
55
57
58
60
62
63
65
67
68
70
72
73
75

Formula #2
=45(TS/T1)+55

57
58
60
61
63
64
66
67
69
70
72
73
75
76
78

Formula #3
=40(TS/T1)+60

61
63
64
65
67
68
69
71
72
73
75
76
77
79
80

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Raw Score

16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Formula #1
=50(TS/T1)+50

77
78
80
82
83
85
87
88
90
92
93
95
97
98
100

Formula #2
=45(TS/T1)+55

79
81
82
84
85
87
88
90
91
93
94
96
97
99
100

Formula #3
=40(TS/T1)+60

81
83
84
85
87
88
89
91
92
93
94
96
97
99
100

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5. Rough Method of Assigning

Marks to Test Scores
Owing to the possibility of many students
getting failing grades when their scores
are not within the desired percentage of
correct answers (50% 45% or 40%), an
alternative method based on normal
distribution of scores.

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Rough Method Procedures

1 Arrange test scores from highest to
lowest (20, 17, 25, 33, 38, 42, 47)
2 Get the highest and lowest scores.
47
20
3 Decide the grade you will give the highest
score. Ex: you want to have 47 to be equal
to 93%

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Rough Method Procedures

4 Determine the levels of ratings to be
used.
ex: you want to have 10 levels:
(93, 90, 87, 84, 81, 78, 75, 72, 69, 66)
5 Get the total range of the scores.
Range = Highest Score (HS) Lowest Score (LS)
R = HS LS = 47 - 20
= 27

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Rough Method Procedures

6 Determine the interval of scores
by dividing the total range of scores
by the levels of rating.
I = 27 / 10

= 2.7

or 3

7 Prepare a transmutation table

showing the scores, with their
corresponding percentage ratings

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Use the interval in step 4 in determining the lower and upper limits of each
class. Begin with the lowest class interval.
Levels

Scores

Grades

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Use the interval in step 4 in determining the lower and upper limits of each
class. Begin with the lowest class interval.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Scores
47 - 49
44 46
41 43
38 40
35 - 37
32 - 34
29 - 31
26 - 28
23 - 25
20 - 22

Grades
93
90
87
84
81
78
75
72
69
66

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Practice exercise:

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K -12
GRADING SYSTEM
Reported by:
Jennifer De Luna
MS 6
Instructor: Dr.Gloria Abrazado

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DO 8, s. 2015
Policy Guidelines on
Classroom Assessment for
the K to 12 Basic
Education Program (BEP)
Dated: April 1, 2015

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DO 8, s. 2015 - Policy Guidelines on

Classroom Assessment for the K to 12
Basic Education Program
http://
www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-8-s-2015
http://
www.deped.gov.ph/sites/default/files/orde
r/2015/DO_s2015_08.pdf

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Components of
Summative Assessment
Compone
nt s

Purpose

Written 1. Assess learners

Work
understanding of
(WW)
concepts and
application of
skills
2.Prepare learners
for quarterly
assessments

When
given

At the
end of the
topic or
unit

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Components of
Summative Assessment
Componen
ts

Purpose

Performance

1. Involve students in the

learning process
2. Give students
opportunities to
demonstrate and
integrate their
knowledge,
understanding and skills
3. Give students the
freedom to express their
learning in appropriate
and diverse ways
4. Encourage student

Tasks
(PT)

When
given
At the end of
a lesson
focusing on a
topic/skill
lesson
Several times
during the
quarter

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Components of
Summative Assessment
Compone
nts

Purpose

When
given

Quarterly Synthesize all the

Once, at
Assessme learning skills,
the end of
nt
concepts, and values the

(QA)

learned in an entire quarter

quarter

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Grading System
The K-12 Basic Education Program (BEP) uses
a standards-based and competencybased grading system.
All grades will be based on the weighted
score of the learners summative assessments.
The minimum grade to pass a specific
learning area is 60, which transmuted to
75 in the Report Card.

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Grading System
The lowest mark that can appear on the
Report Card is 60 for Quarterly Grades
and Final Grades
Learners from Grades 1 to 12 are graded on
Written Work (WW), Performance
Tasks(PT), and Quarterly Assessment (QA)
every quarter.
These three are given specific percentage
weights that vary according to the nature of
the learning area.

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Grading System
How is learner progress
recorded and computed ?
The following table shows the step-bystep way of computing the grades.

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Grading System
How are grades computed at the end of
the school year?

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Grading System
How is the learners progress reported?

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Grading System
How are learners promoted or retained
at the end of the school year?
A Final Grade of 75 or higher in all
learning areas allows the student to be
promoted to the next grade level.

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LEARNER PROMOTION AND RETENTION

For
Grades 1
to 3
Learners

Requirements

Decision

1. Final Grade of at least

75 in all learning areas
2. Did Not Meet
Expectations in not
more than two learning
areas

Promoted to the next

grade level
Must pass remedial classes
for learning areas with
failing mark to be
promoted to the next grade
level. Other wise the
learner is retained in the
same grade level
Retained in the same grade
level

3. Did Not Meet

Expectations in not
more than three
learning areas.

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LEARNER PROMOTION AND RETENTION

For
Grades 4
to 10
Learners

Requirements

Decision

1. Final Grade of at least

75 in all learning areas
2. Did Not Meet
Expectations in not
more than two learning
areas

Promoted to the next grade

level
Must pass remedial classes
for learning areas with
failing mark to be promoted
to the next grade level.
Other wise the learner is
retained in the same grade
level
Retained in the same grade
level

3. Did Not Meet

Expectations in not
more than three
learning areas.

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LEARNER PROMOTION AND RETENTION

For
Grades 4
to 10
Learners

Requirements

Decision

4. Must pass all

learning areas in the
Elementary

1. Earn the Elementary

Certificate
2. Promoted to Junior
High School
1. Earn the Junior
High School
Certificate
2. Promoted to Senior
High School

5. Must pass all

learning areas in the
Junior High School

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Recomputed Final Grade

Remedial Class Mark (RCM) is the equivalent of the
Final Grade for Remedial Classes
The Final Grade at the end of the school year and the
Remedial Class Mark are averaged
Final Grade + Remedial Class Mark = Recomputed
2
Final Grade

73 + 85 = 158/2 = 79 is the RFG

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The teacher of the Remedial Class

issues the Certificate of Recomputed
Final Grade, which is noted by the
School Principal.
This is submitted to the Division Office
and must be attached to both Form 137
and School Form no. 5

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References:
C. Garcia ,(2004). Educational Measurement & Evaluation. Books,
Atbp. Publishing Corp., Mandaluyong City, Philippines
D. Gutierez, , (2007). Assessment of Learning Outcomes (Cognitive
Domain) Book 1. Kerusso Pubishing House, Malabon City
A. Macarandang and V. Vega, (2009). Assessment of Learning 1. Books,
Atbp. Publishing Corp., Mandaluyong City, Philippines
A. Rico, ( 2011). Assessment of Students Learning: A Practical
Approach. Anvil Pubishing, Inc. Mandaluyong City, Philippines
R. Santos, (2007). Assessment of Learning 1. LoriMar Publishing, Inc.
Metro Manila, Philippines
W. Wundth, (2004). Measurement and Evaluation Concepts and
Principles . Rex Bookstore. Sampaloc, Manila
http://
www.deped.gov.ph/orders?f%5B0%5D=field_classification%3A234