SBG ppt conferences

1/19/16
Standards-Based Grading 101
Cascade Middle School
Why change grading practices?
“The answer is quite simple: grades are so imprecise that they are almost meaningless.”
-­‐-­‐Robert Marzano
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Essential Question 1
— What are
the major reasons we use
report cards and assign grades to student
work?
Essential Question 2
— Ideally, what purpose
should a report card
or grades serve?
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The Research
— According
to Thomas Guskey PhD - Two
major conclusions can be drawn from the
research on grading
1. Grading is NOT essential to the
instructional process
◦
◦
2.
Teachers can teach without grades
Students can and do learn without grades
Grading and reporting should ALWAYS
be done in reference to learning criteria,
never “on the curve”
The Research (cont.)
— According
to ACT’s report - The
Forgotten Middle
◦ …the level of academic achievement that
students attain by eighth grade has a larger
impact on their college and career readiness
by the time they graduate from high school
than anything that happens academically in
high school.
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The Research (cont.)
— …eighth-grade
achievement is the best
predictor of students’ ultimate level of
college and career readiness by high
school graduation—even more than
students’ family background, high school
coursework, or high school grade point
average.
Activity
—
Calculate the grade for a student who receives
these 10 scores in the gradebook
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
C
C
I (Incomplete)
D
C
B
I (Incomplete)
I (Incomplete)
B
A
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Student Comparison
—
Student 1
—
Student 2
◦ Does every homework
assignment (at home)
◦ Forgets to turn in some
homework
◦ Does extra credit when
available
◦ Doesn’t do extra credit
◦ Participates in class
(participation points)
◦ Averages 50% on exams (in
class)
◦ Is quiet and does not
participate in class
◦ Averages 89% on exams
◦ Receives a C (passes course)
◦ Receives a C (passes course)
Traditional grading would imply these two
students have the same level of mastery of
the content. Do you believe this is the case?
Current Grading Practices…
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
Promote points – not learning
Assumes learning is the same throughout the
semester (Averages)
Inflate or deflate grades based on behaviors
Assumes low grades motivate (They don’t)
Give unequal weighting – zero is 60 points below
aD
Use a single letter to paint a picture of a complex
learner
Don’t necessarily link assignments to standards
Vary from teacher to teacher
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Standards-Based Grading
Focuses on mastering standards instead of
accumulating points
— Accurately reports what students can and
cannot do in terms of course content/skills
—
◦ Students/Teachers/Parents know where students
are in their learning – no guesswork
Recognizes student learning occurs over
time
— Allows for mastery of content/skills in
multiple ways with multiple opportunities
—
◦ After all, isn’t the goal for students to learn?
Communication
— The
goal of SBG is to communicate
student achievement
— When students receive scores for each
standard, everyone knows where they are
in relation to mastery (not other students
– e.g. curve)
— Parents don’t need to ask teacher, “Why
does my student have a C?”
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Consistency
— SBG
is based on academic standards
which are the same for everyone
— Grading becomes uniform between
teachers
— Grades across subject areas are
consistent
Relevancy
— Assessments
must be tied to standards
◦ No fluff
— Identifies important
concepts and skills
and reports student progress in them
— Students see clear tie between
assignments and the learning goal
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Grading
—
Academic standards
◦ Only grades related to student mastery of concepts
and skills are included
◦ Report card will include scores for every standard
graded
◦ Overall letter will be calculated based on student
scores in standards
—
Behavior standards
◦ Still important to communicate behavior to student
and parents
◦ Separate standards that do not impact academic
scores
◦ Not linked to overall letter – removes inflating and
deflating
Academic Standards Examples
Write arguments to support claim(s) with clear reasons
and relevant evidence
— Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve
word problems involving division of fractions by
fractions
— Compare and contrast the information gained from
experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources
with that gained from reading a text on the same topic
— Analyze and categorize physical activities according to
potential fitness benefits
—
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Behavior Standards Examples
— Active Listening
— Independent work
— Uses Time Wisely
— Seeks Help Appropriately
— Participation
— Positive Attitude
— Effort
& Home Practice
Are we alone?
— No
◦ Supported by State and District
◦ PBMS has already made transition
◦ Many districts in the state – Beaverton,
Lebanon, Medford, etc.
◦ Many districts across the Country –
Minnesota, Kentucky, etc.
— Research supports
as best practice
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What does SBG look like?
Students receive a rubric stating the academic standards they
will be graded on and what criteria is needed to receive each
score
— Students then receive scores (1, 2, 3, or 4) based on their
performance on a particular standard
—
◦ They receive a score for each standard on an assignment or
assessment instead of an overall score
Their scores go into the grade book (multiple scores for
multiple standards)
— The computer calculates an overall score for each standard
(more weight on more recent scores or final learning)
— Each standard is averaged into an overall letter
— Report cards have a letter AND scores for each standards
—
Checking student progress
— Students
and parents can use StudentVue
and Parent Vue to examine each standard
and the assignments/assessments that led
to that score
— Easy to see areas of mastery and areas for
growth
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Multiple Paths, Multiple Tries
— One
of the principles of SBG is that there
a multiple ways to demonstrate mastery
of a standard
— SBG also takes into account that students
may not learn something the first time
◦ Values learning from mistakes
◦ Students provided multiple opportunities to
show mastery (certain requirements have to
be met in order to do this)
Sources
— http://www.relnei.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/06/NCCRA-5-3013-Slides.pdf
— https://www.act.org/research/policymaker
s/pdf/ForgottenMiddle.pdf
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