Holistic grading, in standards-based education, is an approach to scoring

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s using a simple grading structure that bases a grade on a paper's overall quality. This type of grading, which is also described as nonreductionist grading, contrasts with analytic grading, which takes more factors into account when assigning a grade. Holistic grading can also be used to assess classroom-based work. Rather than counting errors, a paper is judged holistically and often compared to an anchor paper to evaluate if it meets a writing standard.

Model

While analytic grading involves criterion-by-criterion judgments, holistic grading appraises student works as integrated entities. In holistic grading, the learner's performance is approached as one and cannot be reduced or divided into several component performances. Here, teachers are required to consider specific aspects of the student's answer as well as the quality of the whole. Holistic grading operates by distinguishing satisfactory performance from one that is simply adequate or outstanding.

Projects using holistic grading

Many institutions use holistic grading when evaluating student writing as part of a graduation requirement. Some examples include: * The

National Certificate of Educational Achievement The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the official secondary-school qualification in New Zealand. Phased in between 2002 and 2004, it replaced three older secondary-school qualifications. The New Zealand Qualifications Au ...

is the New Zealand graduation certificate, which bases its score on holistic grading. * In the United States, the

Graduate Record Examination The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States and Canada and a few other countries. The GRE is owned and administered by Educational Testing Serv ...

(GRE) uses holistic grading.

References

School terminology Standards-based education Standardized tests Student assessment and evaluation Civil rights of students {{edu-stub