Happy summer to our JumpRope community. We thought some of you might welcome a list of summer reading as you begin to step away from your classrooms, schools, and offices or as you find a bit of spare time in the coming months.
I compiled the following lists by culling the sources cited from this past year’s blog posts, and so, they are not comprehensive. The lists are loosely sorted by categories and gently annotated in case that helps you pick and choose.
Top books
To me, one of the best parts of reading a book is that I get to do it away from my computer. I can take the book to the beach or the park, read it on a train or a ferry. I know I can do those things with my laptop too, but I love bringing my reading back to a time in the last century that predates ubiquitous computer use. I’m lucky to live across the street from a branch of my local library and within walking distance of a great bookstore. Having the book in my hands helps me feel closer to the author(s) and the process they went through to bring their ideas together. I’m also a sucker for margin notes and dog-eared pages and really enjoy revisiting those spots later on. Plus, handing a book to a friend and saying, “you’d really like this” is one of life’s great joys! Like all of the resources named in this post, the books provide some context, background, and generally good material for teaching, learning, and assessment.
Anderson, J., & Winthrop, R. (2025). The disengaged teen: helping kids learn better, feel better, and live better. Crown Publishing Group.
Berger, R., Rugen, L., & Woodfin, L. (2014). Leaders of their own learning: Student-engaged assessment. Jossey-Bass.
Feldman, Joe (2019). Grading for Equity: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms Corwin.
Guskey, T. (2015). On your mark: Challenging the conventions of grading and reporting. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Routledge.
Guskey, T. R. (2014). On your mark: Challenging the conventions of grading and reporting. Solution Tree Press.
Heflebower, T., et al. (2019). A Teacher’s Guide to Standards-based Learning. Solution Tree.
Marzano, R. J. (2006). Classroom assessment & grading that work. ASCD.
McTighe, J., & Willis, J. (2019). Upgrade your teaching: Understanding by design meets neuroscience. ASCD.
O’Connor, K. (2018). A repair kit for grading: Fifteen fixes for broken grades (2nd ed.). Pearson ATI.
Pollock, J. E., & Tolone, L. J. (2020). Improving student learning one teacher at a time (2nd ed.). ASCD.
Rinkema, E. & Williams, S. (2018). The Standards-based Classroom. Corwin Press.
Stewart McCafferty, A., & Beaudry, J. (2018). Putting feedback into action. Corwin. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506382135.n6
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). ASCD.
Wormeli, R. (2018). Fair isn’t always equal: Assessing & grading in the differentiated classroom (2nd ed.). Stenhouse Publishers.
Evidence and Feedback
The sources in this section address the creation and use of rubrics as well as offering feedback to students.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139–148.
Brookhart, S. M. (2008). How to give effective feedback to your students. ASCD.
Chappuis, J., & Stiggins, R. (2016). An introduction to student-involved assessment for learning. Pearson.
Brookhart, S. M. (2024). Using rubrics in basic education: A review and recommendations. Estudos em Avaliação Educacional, 35, Article e10803. https://doi.org/10.18222/eae.v35.10803
Chappuis, J. (2012). “How am I doing?” Educational Leadership, 70(1), 36.
Dawson, P. (2017). Assessment rubrics: Towards clearer and more replicable design, research and practice. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(3), 347–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1111294
English, N., Robertson, P., Gillis, S., & Graham, L. (2022). Rubrics and formative assessment in K–12 education: A scoping review of literature. International Journal of Educational Research, 113, Article 101964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2022.101964
Krebs, R., Rothstein, B., & Roelle, J. (2022). Rubrics enhance accuracy and reduce cognitive load in self-assessment. Metacognition and Learning, 17(2), 627–650. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-022-09302-1
Marzano, R. J., & Heflebower, T. (2011). Grades that show what students know. Educational Leadership, 69(3), 34.
Panadero, E., & Jonsson, A. (2013). The use of scoring rubrics for formative assessment purposes revisited: A review. Educational Research Review, 9, 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2013.01.002
Panadero, E., & Jonsson, A. (2020). A critical review of the arguments against the use of rubrics. Educational Research Review, 30, Article 100329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100329
Panadero, E., Jonsson, A., Pinedo, L., & Fernández-Castilla, B. (2023). Effects of rubrics on academic performance, self-regulated learning, and self-efficacy: A meta-analytic review. Educational Psychology Review, 35(4), Article 113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09823-4
Turner, R. (2014). Described proficiency scales and learning metrics. The Center for Global Education Monitoring, 4.
Grading
This section might seem like it should be part of the section above, but I think of it as its own category. The sources in Grading address the process of actually arriving at the score or other metric that’s reported out. Grading is the product of evidence; it is the way we communicate what the evidence tells us.
Brookhart, S. M. (1994). Teachers’ grading: Practice and theory. Applied Measurement in Education, 7, 279–301. DOI:10.1207/s15324818ame0704_2.
Brookhart, S. (2011). Educational assessment knowledge and skills for teachers. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 30(1), 3–12.
Brookhart, S. M., Guskey, T. R., Bowers, A. J., McMillan, J. H., Smith, J. K., Smith, L. F., . . . Welsh, M. E. (2016) A century of grading research: Meaning and value in the most common educational measure. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 803–848, DOI: 10.3102/0034654316672069
Fendler, L., & Muzaffar, I. (2008). THE HISTORY OF THE BELL CURVE: SORTING AND THE IDEA OF NORMAL. Educational Theory, 58(1), 63–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.2007.0276.x
Guskey, T. (2020, January 6). Classic mistakes in grading reform and how to avoid them. Solution Tree. https://tguskey.com/classic-mistakes-in-grading-reform-and-how-to-avoid-them/
Guskey, Thomas R. & Link, Laura J. (2019) Exploring the factors teachers consider in determining students’ grades, Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 26(3), 303-320, DOI: 10.1080/0969594X.2018.1555515
McMillan, J. H., & Nash, S. (2000, April). Teacher classroom assessment and grading decision making. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education, New Orleans, LA.
Standards-Based Grading
Like the section above, the sources in Standards-Based Grading address the process of actually arriving at the metric that’s reported out. Of course, they do so within the context of standards-based practices, which include, but are not limited to things like disaggregating grades, avoiding using averages in favor of grading growth over time, and reporting habits of work and learning (HOWLs) separately from academic grades.
Link, L., & Guskey, T. R. (2022). Is standards-based grading effective? Theory Into Practice, 61(4), 406–417. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2022.2107338
Townsley, M., and Wilcox, J. (2024) Standards-Based Grading: Core Principles and Current Implementation Debates, The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 97(3), 76-86, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2024.2357615
Toledo, S., & Dubas, J. M. (2017). A Learner-Centered Grading Method Focused on Reaching Proficiency with Course Learning Outcomes. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(8), 1043–1050. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00651
Townsley, M., & Buckmiller, T. (2020). Losing As and Fs: What works for schools implementing standards-based grading? Educational Considerations, 46(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2204
Community views on Standards-Based Grading
Spoiler alert! Most of the views represented in this section are not supportive of standards-based grading. If you’re someone who has already met with resistance, the views you see represented here might resonate with the pushback you’ve experienced. If you’ve yet to actually meet resistance, these articles might be a tiny sample of some of what you could expect.
Denham, R. (2019). New grading model met with confusion, pushback in unit 5 high schools. WGLT. Retrieved April 2, 2025. https://www.wglt.org/show/wglts-sound-ideas/2019-12-11/new-grading-model-met-with-confusion-pushback-in-unit-5-high-schools
Franklin, A., Buckmiller, T., Kruse, J. (2016). Vocal and vehement: Understanding parents‘ aversion to standards-based grading. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 4(11), 19–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.11114/ijsss.v4i11.1923
Link, L. J., Guskey, T. R., & Novosel-Lingat, J. E. M. (2025). Variation in stakeholders’ views on homework and grading. Improving Schools. https://doi.org/10.1177/13654802251325382
McKibben, S. (2017). Stepping out of rank. Education Update, 59(9), 2–3, 6.
Peters, R.; Kruse, J., Buckmiller, T., Townsley, M. (2017). “It’s Just Not Fair!” Making sense of secondary students’ resistance to a standards-based grading. American Secondary Education, 45(3), 9–28.
Rado, D. (2016, June 2). Parents push back against school report cards with no letter grades. TCA Regional News. https://www.proquest.com/wire-feeds/parents-push-back-against-school-report-cards/docview/1793170268/se-2
Young, J. (2023, November 30). As schools move to change how kids are graded, some families push back. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-11-30-as-schools-move-to-change-how-kids-are-graded-some-families-push-back
Other
There is no clear theme to the sources named in this section. As I was researching for blog posts this past year, there were times I found I needed to widen my scope. That process led me to the authors and titles below. The topics in this section range from organizational behavior to teacher compensation and some other things in neither of those categories.
Boren, M. (2021). How States Can Elevate the Teaching Profession. Southern Regional Education Board. Retrieved 5.27.25. https://www.sreb.org/blog-post/how-states-can-elevate-teaching-profession
Chase, P. A., Hilliard, L. J., Geldhof, G. J., Warren, D. J. A., & Lerner, R. M. (2014). Academic achievement in the high school years: The changing role of school engagement. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(6), 884–896. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0085-4
Lynam, S., Cachia, M., & Stock, R. (2024). An evaluation of the factors that influence academic success as defined by engaged students. Educational Review, 76(3), 586–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2022.2052808
Mether, L. (2023). Why people resist change (and what you can do about it). Governance Directions, 75(8), 1072–1073.
Powell, W., & Colyvas, J. (2008). Microfoundations of institutional theory. In R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, R. Suddaby, & K. Sahlin (Eds.), The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism (pp. 276–299). London, UK: Sage.
Rodriguez, L. F. (2008). “Teachers know you can do more”: Understanding how school cultures of success affect urban high school students. Educational Policy, 22(5), 758–780. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904807307070
Sakar, C. (2021). Educational and sociological factors influencing students’ academic achievements: The United States of America example. International Journal of Education and Language, 1(2), 12–21.
Valentine, J. W., & Prater, M. (2011). Instructional, transformational, and managerial leadership and student achievement: High school principals make a difference. NASSP Bulletin, 95(1), 5–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636511404062
Will, M. (2022). The Gap Between Teacher Pay and Other Professions Hits a New High. How Bad Is It? Education Week. Retrieved 5.27.25. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/the-gap-between-teacher-pay-and-other-professions-hits-a-new-high-how-bad-is-it/2022/08
