Grading the practice of teaching: an unholy union of incompatibles

Abstract

This paper reviews policy in the assessment of school experience and examines the practice of grading currently in place in Scotland and supported by the General Teaching Council for Scotland. It discusses the problems inherent in attempts to grade practice, notably the difficulty of controlling for contextual variation between different placements. It explores research in this area in order to see whether there is any evidence that such practices can be reliable or valid. It concludes that grading is unsustainable in the light of both the research evidence and the conceptual problems that underpin the assessment of school experience.