This study explores the meaning Chinese secondary school English language teachers associate with the grades they assign to their students, and the value judgements they make in grading. A questionnaire was issued to 350 junior and senior school English language teachers in China. The questionnaire data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively using Messick's validity framework. Results of these analyses demonstrate that the meaning of the construct "grade" is closely related to two concepts: (1) judgement of students' work in terms of effort, fulfilment of requirement, and quality; and (2) judgement of students' learning in terms of academic enablers (i.e. non-achievement factors such as habit, attitude and motivation that are deemed important for students' ultimate achievement), improvement, learning process, as well as achievement. Two themes concerning these teachers' values in grading were identified: appeal to what is fair and appeal to what is beneficial for students. The teachers were primarily concerned about the consequences of grading on student schooling. These findings shed light on understanding the validity of teachers' grading in the Chinese context where non-achievement factors are valued.