Best of The Authority: Engaging Parents and Families in Grading Reforms with Thomas Guskey

We're pleased this week to highlight another "Best of The Authority" episode. This one is my conversation with Dr. Thomas Guskey, Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. He is known throughout the world for his work on student assessment, grading and reporting, professional learning, and educational research. He's the author/editor of thirty books, including the one we discussed for this episode: Engaging Parents and Families in Grading Reforms.We talked about:Defining the purpose of grading“Is my purpose as a teacher to select talent or develop talent?”The state of grading practices in US schoolsCommunicating grading — what families want to knowWhat do families oppose?What leaders get wrong about the change processExamples of successful grading reform in school districtsFind Engaging Parents and Families in Grading Reforms from Corwin or wherever you get your books. Learn more at www.tguskey.com. About today’s guestThomas R. Guskey, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Chicago’s renowned Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistical Analysis (MESA) program, he began his career in education as a middle school teacher, served as an administrator in the Chicago Public Schools, and was the first Director of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning, a national educational research center. Dr. Guskey served on the Policy Research Team of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, and on the task force to develop the National Standards for Professional Development. He was named a Fellow in the American Educational Research Association and was awarded the Association’s prestigious Relating Research to Practice Award. He is author/editor of thirty books and over three hundred published articles and book chapters on educational assessment, program evaluation, and grading and reporting. He may be contacted by email at [email protected], Twitter at @tguskey, or at www.tguskey.com. About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt