Executive Summary
My research questionWhat impact would a no zero homework policy effect course failure rates at Pennfield
High School?
How other peoples' work has influenced how I think about this question Researching and reading numerous articles about the effect that a no zero policy has opened my eyes to non-traditional ways of grading and student achievement. After the initial shock of learning about a no zero policy, much effort was put into performing the research needed to figure out how this policy would work and why a no zero policy would be needed. Reading articles written by Rick Wormeli, Thomas R. Guskey, and Robert Marzano provides the reader with the ability to make an informed decision about the impact that a zero can have and why schools need to do more to get rid of them.
Most of the research that was found did not use statistics or data to support their ideas, but their logic was grounded in psychological theories on how students learn. Data or statistics to support the claim about the positive effects of student learning and the long term effects that a no zero policy will have on student standardized test scores is not available and will be a long term study that may be conducted after the initial research is completed.
How other peoples' work has influenced how I plan to study it Researching various scholarly articles and news sources has influenced and changed my understanding of grades, what the purpose of a grade is, and the effect that a zero can have. This new thinking will provide a more focused analysis of why students have failed in the past and how to prevent failures in the future.
Finding scholarly articles that refute a no zero policy is futile. Articles laced with opinions from the public and some from the field of education are the norm. Most of the reasons behind why this policy should be avoided are based on history for example; this is what I have always done or a lack of understanding of what grades are designed to show.
My plan and why its a good one Looking at the impact of a no zero policy is a basic research study. Using regular descriptive statistics will be the vehicle of the study; where the mean, median and range will be focused on. The study will be performed quickly and provide concrete numbers of students that would have passed last year had our homework policy changed before the start of last school year. This data can then be presented to the staff and a discussion of what homework is being assigned, why we are assigning it, and what we want our grades to show our students, parents, and community. Hopefully, this research proposal will also lead to a study that will focus on the impact that this policy will have on students for the long term. Student performance on the MEAP and the MME will be examined over the course of the middle to high school years.
Appendices
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Revised Introduction & Background: My initial writing did not have an explicitly stated research question, that was quickly remedied and the focus became: What impact would a no zero homework policy effect course failure rates at Pennfield High School?
Research Proposal Introduction
There has been much discussion about the power of a zero and its effect on a student’s grade in our high school this year. Our failure rates the last four years have been increasing which is hurting our progress for AYP. One thought to increase student achievement and to try to prevent or slow down class failures is not recording a zero for missing work. Although not a new concept too many people in education, the power of a zero is a new concept for most of the teaching staff at Pennfield High School. The topic was first brought to the staff’s attention by our new Superintendent and the conversation has continued with our building Principal at various staff meetings. The conversations have been heated at the staff meetings, in the break room, and in the hallways. This paper is designed to answer what effect a no zero homework policy would have on student achievement and graduation rates for students at Pennfield High School.
When first introducing the idea of the power of a zero, few articles were given to the staff members to read and discuss. The three articles that were given to the staff were given the day of the staff meeting and due to time constraints, most teachers were not able to review the articles before the staff meeting. Luckily three years ago, I was attending meetings on how to redesign high school, and I was introduced to the no zero idea then. This gave me the opportunity to listen to the arguments at the staff meeting with a calm mindset unlike the first time I heard about it.
After reflecting on the meeting and the idea behind the power of a zero, it was decided that more research needed to be done on this idea to get a better understanding of the process and how this idea can change the environment at Pennfield High School. After my initial research attempt, I was only able to find one scholarly journal article and a handful of newspaper articles that discuss this idea.
Rick Wormeli is considered a leader in the discussion of the power of a zero and has written a book, Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, that discusses the impact a zero can have on a grade. Wormeli says that “Zeros skew the grade to a point where accuracy is distorted. Teachers using the 100-point scale who do not replace a zero with a fifty, sixty, or seventy to equalize the influence of all grades earned end up recording inaccurate grades (Wormeli, 2006).” He then goes on in a later chapter and discusses the impact that a zero can have on a student psychologically and the possibility of using a 4 point scale in grading homework. Wormeli then goes on to say, “The only thing that counts on a report card is how students do on assessments (Wormeli, 2006).” This is the main argument for his reasoning behind not giving a zero for missing work.
Other articles that were found were newspaper articles that discussed if the policy is fair and which schools started to follow the concept. At Bayside High in Virginia Beach, they have implemented the no zero policy with great success. One of the reasons for starting this policy was to ensure that students learned the material “…eliminating zeros refocuses teachers on making sure all students, even the reluctant ones, learn the material (Roth, 2008).”
A school district in Collier County Florida, implemented a no zero policy for all their elementary buildings. Their rational behind this was to make sure that students were not going to take the easy way out and not complete their work. “The consequences of not doing an assignment are doing the assignment, whether it is at recess, after school or at Saturday school (Albers, 2008).” The fact that this was implemented in an elementary building raises a red flag for a high school teacher.
Bibliography
Albers, K. (2008, December 5). Collier School officials: Much research went into eliminating "zero" grades. Retrieved May 23, 2009, from www.naplesnews.com: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/dec/05/collier-school-officials-much-research-went-elimin/
Roth, L. (2008, October 5). For some schools, using zerod doesn't add up. Retrieved May 23, 2009, from http://hamptonroads.com: http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/some-schools-using-zero-scores-doesnt-add
Wormeli, R. (2006). Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers.
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Revised Literature Review: A personal introduction for why I choose the research project initially was removed and a more concise and professional introduction was written. Some APA errors were corrected as well.
Literature Review
In reviewing the current literature on a no-zero based homework policy, there is little data support or deny the policy. What is apparent from reviewing the current literature is many experts who are willing to argue the idea based on policy ideas. Rick Wormeli, a proponent of a no zero policy had this to say about teachers that become angry about changing grading policies, “… This is a very understandable conclusion on the part of the teachers, but it’s incorrect (Wormeli, 2006).” Wormeli bases his arguments on the discrepancy of the mathematical intervals of a 100 point scale and that the students grade would not be reflective of meeting mastery or not. Although the 60% concept may be a difficult concept for many teachers to understand, measuring what students have learned is the key. If a student knows the material and excels on the test, then what does it matter if they complete the daily homework assignments or not? If a student gets a zero for not completing a homework assignment, teachers need to take the time to make sure the student gets their work done. A senior vice president of the Southern Regional Education Board in Viginia had this to say about allowing zeros “…eliminating zeros refocuses teachers on making sure all students, even the reluctant ones, learn the material (Roth, 2008).”
The bulk of the literature that was found was for allowing zeros. The best resource that was found was the book written by Rick Wormele, Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom. Wormele dedicates a chapter on grading issues in the classroom, and the power that a zero has is the first topic that he discusses. Wormele does not list any support materials in the chapter which leaves the reader wondering how valid his opinions are instead of having data to support his claims.
Another quality resource that was found was written by Thomas Guskey (1994) in an Educational Leadership article. In it, Guskey states, “… assigning a score of a zero to work that is late, missed, or neglected doesn’t actually depict learning (Guskey, 1994 ).” Guskey does not want grades to be used as a form of punishment if work is not completed. He advocates that all teachers take the time and try to force or help their students to complete the work.
In an article that he wrote for the Educational Digest, Guskey writes, “Many teachers see zeros as their ultimate grading weapon, using them to punish students for not making adequate effort of failing to show appropriate responsibility (Guskey, 2004).” His arguments behind not allowing zeros are three fold: zeros do not show what a student has learned, the effect of a zero is magnified by a typical 100 point grading scale, and there is no research that shows that zeros are an effective way to punish students. The main idea behind this movement is to not allow students to get away with not doing their work. Students need to be held accountable for their work, if they do not complete it, re-teaching or study halls need to be provided in order for the student to complete the assignment. Many other resources advocate for not allowing zeros in a gradebook, they want to require students to make up the missing assignment after school or in a Saturday school session.
Various school districts across the country are no longer allowing zeros for students, Lehn Middle School in Port Byron, New York, Dallas Independent School District in Texas, and Collier County School District in Naples Florida are some examples of schools with similar policies on zeros (Friess, 2008).” The movement behind not allowing zeros is growing and starting to spread across the country.
Finding scholarly journal articles that refute the no zero concept proves to be a difficult task to complete. Most of the information that was found was located in newspaper articles, and the comment sections of the newspaper articles. This was the most interesting aspect of the research, reading the comment section underneath the various newspaper articles. The no zero concept does not create the furor that the 60% for not doing the work concept creates. Although finding published research that refutes that idea is difficult.
BibliographyAlbers, K. (2008, December 5). Collier School officials: Much research went into eliminating
"zero" grades. Retrieved May 23, 2009, from www.naplesnews.com: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/dec/05/collier-school-officials-much-research-went-elimin/
Friess, S. (2008, May 21). At some schools, failure goes from zero to 50. Retrieved June 28, 2009,
from USA Today : http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-05-18-zeroes-main_N.htm
Guskey, T. R. (2004). Are Zeros Your Ultimate Weapon?. theEducationDigest , 31-35.
Guskey, T. R. (1994 ). Making the Grade: What Benefits Students? Educational Leadership , 14-
20 .
Roth, L. (2008, October 5). For some schools, using zerod doesn't add up. Retrieved May 23,
2009, from http://hamptonroads.com: http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/some-schools-using-zero-scores-doesnt-add
Wormeli, R. (2006). Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated
Classroom. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers.
• Revised Research Plan: The research plan was revised to include 4 teachers, one from each content area, instead of two gradebooks. Some of my initial writing was too specific for the assignment and that was removed.
Research Plan
Research QuestionWhat impact would a no zero homework policy effect course failure rates at Pennfield High School?
Sample Describe: The sample that will be used is comprised of semester grade reports from four teachers at Pennfield High School. One teacher’s gradebook from each core will be examined. Gradebooks were saved as PDF’s and are accessible on the schools network. The student population at Pennfield High School numbers around 700 and is made up of middle to lower income students, with many students on a free or reduced lunch program. The school is located on the northern border of Battle Creek, Michigan and has a mix of rural and urban areas.
Justify: The data that will be used, four teacher’s grade books for the 2008/09 school year, will provide a data set that is familiar to both staff and administrators. One teacher’s grade book from each core discipline will have their grade book examined. This familiarity will help give the research results validity to the staff and administrators.
Study design, data sources, procedures, & analysis Study Design: The number of course failures earned without a no zero homework policy will be tallied from the 2008-09 school year. These tallies will be taken from the online gradebooks of two teachers. The researcher will look for a relationship between the number of zeros on homework assignments, unit test grades, and overall semester grade before removing the homework assignments.
Once completed, all zeros on homework assignments will be removed from the gradebooks and the researcher will then look at the correlation between unit test grades, and overall semester grade without allowing zeros. The correlation is important to examine if and when this research proposal is presented to the staff at Pennfield High School, and possibly at a School Board meeting. This correlation will show the difference, if any, between student achievement on unit test’s with and without zeros.
Data Sources: The data is coming from a district mandated online grade book system that teachers are required to use to post grades. This system keeps grades online which allows students, parents, and teachers the ability to view student grades and assignments in his/her classes. The researcher has asked for and received permission to use semester grades for two classes at Pennfield High School. To the right is a sample of one students semester two grade in an Economics class without taking away zeros for missing homework assignments. The student failed the semester while the teacher allowed homework to not be completed or turned in.
Below is the same student when zeros for missing work are removed:
Looking at the red text box, it is apparent that the overall percentage of 57% is closer to his/her cumulative final exam grade of 63% than his original 45.2%.
Procedure and data analysis: The first step in the research process will be to find and pull out the students that failed the two classes from the online grade book. The amount of points that the student missed because of missing homework will then be subtracted from the total points possible and the total points that the student earned for the semester. A new grade will be calculated using the new totals to see if they are now passing. Data will be compiled of the number of students that are now passing without allowing any zeros, and how many students still failed. Using regular descriptive statistics will be the vehicle of the study to analyze the data; where the mean, median and range will be focused on.
