In Get Set, Go: Creating Successful Grading and Reporting Systems, published by Solution Tree, best-selling author Dr. Thomas R. Guskey outlines how to successfully lead lasting grading reform.
A companion to the best-selling and award-winning On Your Mark, this resource picks up where its predecessor left off, outlining in detail how to implement a grading and reporting system that is meaningful, accurate, and fair.
“When it comes to grading, the stakes are high for students and their families, and the need for change is more important than ever,” explains Guskey. “On Your Mark identified precisely the changes that we need to make. Knowing what to change is important. But without a deep understanding of how to implement change, nothing improves. In this book, Get Set, Go, we take that next important step and focus on implementation.” To simplify reform implementation, Guskey guides readers through seven essential steps. Each step is described as “essential,” he explains, because reform efforts that proceed without them have significant problems and often end in failure. The seven steps are:
- Learn from failures
- Form a coalition for change
- Understand the change process
- Clarify the purpose of grading and reporting
- Report multiple grades for cognitive and noncognitive outcomes
- Get assessment policies and practices right
- Develop a systematic plan for implementation
“I read this book in one sitting thanks to Guskey’s crisp writing, pragmatic solutions, and real-world examples,” shared Alexis Wiggins, an author and English Department chair at the John Cooper School in Texas. She continued, “Get Set, Go is a must-read for any educator who knows the system isn’t fair and wants solutions for how to change it. This one has a permanent place on my bookshelf.”
