Welcome to the What's New in APE Podcast blog/podcast. In this episode, I had a discussion with a panel of APE and grading experts to discuss grading philosophies and procedures within the field of APE. The panelists included: Brad Wiener (@APETeacher), a former SHAPE America National APE Teacher of the year and a current an adapted physical educator for Montgomery County Public Schools; Dr. Kristi Roth (@midlifetreks), a full professor at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and one of the co-authors of Principles and Methods of APE and Recreation; and Dr. Matt Townsley (@mctownsley) an assistant professor in the educational leadership department at the University of Northern Iowa. Within this discussion, the panel tackles topics related to (1) what is the purpose of grading, (2) barriers and issues with grading in APE, (3) standards-based grading in APE, (4) an adapted grading scale APE teachers can use within their classes, and (5) grading policies and laws. In addition, this discussion was driven partially by Dr. Roth's recent article entitled "Adapted Grading in Physical Education for Students with Disabilities".
Within this episode, the panelists allude to several resources to help APE teachers improve and inform their grading processes. Below is a list of some of the resources discussed:
- Grading Exceptional and Struggling Learners, a book by Jung and Guskey (2011) on grading strategies for students with disabilities.
- Grading Exceptional Learners is an article also by Jung and Guskey (2010) that outlines a 5 step model to properly grade students with disabilities.
- A letter to the Office of Civil Rights that discusses a case around modified grading for students with disabilities. In addition, the Office of Civil Rights created a FAQ page to offer guidance on grading students with disabilities.
