Assessing Core Skills: A Study of Teacher Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, and Collaboration

Most grading done at high schools in the United States results in a single grade for a single class on a report card or transcript. A single number or letter lacks context and cannot effectively communicate a student’s proficiency in content or skills. Altering or expanding a school’s grading scheme may originate at the district or school level, but that is not where the work is done. A student’s grade is often solely constructed by the individual teacher for the individual class. As such, any change to an assessment system must start with teachers. This action research project was designed to involve teachers in an innovation investigating the utility and efficacy of using a competency-based assessment system to assess the school’s core skills of collaborating, communicating, observing, questioning, speculating and hypothesizing, evaluating, and applying knowledge. The complimentary study associated with the research questions analyzed faculty attitudes, self-efficacy, and collaboration during the innovation. Quantitative data was collected from a single survey taken at three different times throughout the study. Qualitative data was collected from two focus group interviews and seven individual interviews. The results of the study highlight the important role of student feedback, the tension between a latent versus active curriculum, the need for flexibility when working with faculty, and the promise of professional learning communities. Finally, implications for practice and suggestions for further study and next steps are discussed.