Standards Based Grading
New for Students in Grades 3-5
An Introduction for Parents
Why did we move to Standards Based Grading in the intermediate grades?
This summer, administrators worked with a committee of teachers in grades 3-5 to explore the benefits of our K-2 grading system. After this review, we made changes, established standards, and designed a version for our intermediate grade students. We are now in the process of communicating these changes to all teachers in grades 3-5 while working through PowerSchool, our current grading platform.
In this communication, we hope to explain why we made this change. Please look for additional communication on when to expect to see grades, sample report cards, and more. We also will be addressing questions related to Principal's List and Honor Roll in the near future. Please keep in mind, we planned to move in this direction in the 2021-2022 school year, but our new virtual learning environment led us to forge ahead. Please stay tuned for more communication as we delve further into this monumental transition.
Please review the video below to provide you with some context for standards based grading:
What is Standards Based Grading?
Standards-based grading (SBG) is a system which focuses on student learning and grades based on a demonstrated understanding of specific concepts/standards. Instead of a simple letter grade, students receive grades on multiple different learning targets and can see which concepts they understood well and which they need to improve upon.
Standards-based grading provides explanations of the concepts and material that students should know and/or be able to do. These are called student learning standards, which provide a baseline that is consistent across all students in the grade level. Teachers’ instruction is guided by these standards and they work to make sure their students learn all of the expected standards they need to before leaving their class. When students receive report cards, they receive a list of learning standards and a rubric score on each standard of how well they mastered the material.
How standards-based grading benefits teachers and students
- Provides meaning to grades – Students understand why they receive each grade and the breakdown of how they did on each standard rather than a receiving a vague letter (or percentage) with no explanation.
- Keeps students and teachers accountable – With specific learning standards expected from the beginning of the class, the teacher knows what they are expected to teach. With the use of consistent formative assessments, teachers and students know how well they are doing on these learning targets and can adjust as needed to ensure proficient understanding by the end of the course.
- Better feedback for improvement – With grades broken up into different learning standards, students can immediately see which areas of learning they need to improve upon. Teachers can also use this information to improve instruction; if they see that a majority of the class has a lack of understanding in one standard, they can focus on that standard more moving forward.
- Provides information to differentiate instruction – With learning standards common to the class and frequent formative assessments, the teacher knows which students are at each level for each standard. Using this information, they can differentiate instruction and give different leveled assignments to different groups of students based at the proficiency level in which they performing.
- Students become more self-motivated – With the goal of SBG being student mastery and understanding rather than getting the most points, students become more motivated to truly understand the material. The “Will this be graded?” question is slowly replaced with earnest questions to better understand the material.
- Tracks Standards Mastery – With standards-based grading, teachers are able to focus their instruction and progress analysis around how students are mastering the content required for each standard. Tracking standards mastery helps instructors make sure they are adequately preparing students for the content that will be tested during the state test.
Digital assessment provides and easy shift to standards-based-grading
A key tenant of standards-based grading is understanding where each student is on the road to mastery, not just at the end of the year, but constantly throughout the year. Recent improvements in technology and the widespread implementation of digital assessment technology in schools has greatly helped with gather this information. Digital assessments make it much easier for teachers to easily distribute formative assessments, provide instant, comprehensive feedback, and even differentiate assessments for different groups of students.
The Scale for Grades 3-5 Core Academics
Approaching - I consistently demonstrate understanding of this skill or standard with little or no assistance. I am working toward independent application and transference of learning to new tasks.
Developing - I demonstrate progress in my understanding of this skill or standard. My performance is inconsistent, and I often receive multiple supports as I work toward meeting grade level expectations.
Beginning - I demonstrate limited understanding of this skill or standard, and I need a high level of prompting and support.
NI - Not Introduced (To primarily be used for students being taught off-level for IEP purposes. NI may also be used when certain standards are not fully addressed within a marking period due to pacing changes that may need to be made during a virtual learning experience.)
The Scale for Specials, Spanish, and Behaviors that Support Learning Performance
U - Usually
O - Occasionally
R - Rarely