Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Dr. Anthony Bridgeman

Second Advisor

Dr. Daniel Marquardt

Third Advisor

Dr. Joseph Piro

Abstract

GRADING PRACTICES IN SECONDARY CLASSROOMS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY EXPLORING TEACHER DECISION-MAKING, STUDENT OUTCOMES, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL EQUITY. Lay, Lauren, 2026: Dissertation, Long Island University. Grading practices remain one of the most influential yet inconsistent aspects of secondary education. Despite increased interest in equitable grading, little research has examined how teachers make grading decisions within a common institutional context while exploring relationships among grading practices, student outcomes, motivation, and educational equity. The purpose of this convergent mixed-methods study was to examine how grading decision-making among 9th and 10th-grade teachers across five core content areas within one suburban New York high school related to student quarterly averages, teachers’ perceptions of student motivation, and educational equity. Twenty-nine teachers completed a Likert-scale survey regarding their grading practices, and 10 teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Independent-samples t-tests were used to compare student quarterly averages across grading practices, while interview transcripts were analyzed using in vivo, deductive, inductive, pattern coding, and thematic analysis. Quantitative findings indicated statistically significant differences in student quarterly averages for several grading practices, including the use of rubrics, extra credit, homework grading, formative assessments, and the assignment of zeros. Qualitative findings revealed that teachers viewed grades as measures of academic mastery while balancing flexibility with accountability. Participants also emphasized that student motivation is influenced by factors beyond grades and that equitable grading requires consistency supported by professional judgment. Together, the findings suggest that teachers rarely adopt purely traditional ore quitable grading philosophies. Instead, grading decisions reflect a balance among academic accuracy, fairness, accountability, and responsiveness to individual student needs. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature on equitable grading and may inform future grading policies, professional learning, and instructional practice.

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