Standards Based Grades
Grading based on standards
When talking about grading to the standards, there are different setups schools might require. It may be a 0-4 system like a GPA or a variation like 1-8, or it could be a letter system like A-F or a variation like Unsatisfactory-Advanced or Exceeds proficiency. In my experience, some teachers that are required to grade according to the standards, have some kind of system but generally seem to not understand one aspect or another. The most common systems I have seen are using a percent that is then converted to some other system, grading only tiered tests/quizzes, developing worksheets at different levels, or a checklist or competency type of system.
I think this part takes some true reflection on your teaching philosophy. What do you currently believe, and what are you willing to change are two very important questions that I think all teachers should ask themselves.
According to Marzano, there are 0-4 levels of learning. 0 means a student can’t do it or doesn’t know the information. A 1 means that the student can recognize the information but struggles with the concepts. Level 2 is knowing some of the concepts you teaching but may make mistakes. Level 3 means a student knows exactly what the teacher taught, but may not be able to apply it in new ways or understand enough to help someone else. Level 4 means the student knows what the teacher taught, and can apply this information to things not directly discussed, or could teach it to another student.
This somewhat aligns with the Depth of knowledge philosophy. The first level is remembering simple facts. Level two is being able to remember something and use it in some way, like using it in a formula or predicting outcomes based on known information. The third level is making connections and critically understanding the concept. The fourth level is applying the information to new or different situations not specifically taught.
Combining all systems.
Highest grade = A student that can apply the concepts to new situations not taught.
High grade= A student that can explain the concepts and show how all components are related.
Middle grade= A student that can apply the concepts, vocabulary, and formulas to various situations,
Low Grade= A student that can identify the concepts, vocabulary, and proper formulas.
Lowest grade = A student that does not work or shows no evidence of understanding.
With this in mind, I do not teach level-A work. Technically I can’t or else it is not a new situation. I teach level B, and if a student wants an A that student will have to truly understand the concepts. These ideas are what most teachers are taught, but when it comes to implementing them into practice it can be difficult. It can be done in many ways, but no matter how you choose to do it, just make sure that you stick to only content that relates to the standard and measures the level of understanding of that content standard or unit goal.
This is how I choose to grade.
Everything that I assign to students is labeled with the level of knowledge that the assessment is requiring of them. The first couple of days that I teach a new unit, I only give students work that has level one and two questions, again it is on the paper or assignment somewhere so students know. This means that in the first couple of days, the highest grade the student can have for the unit is a C. It also means a student’s grade can not go down, as not turning in level 3 or 4 work does not count against their grade. As we progress through the unit, I incorporate level three and four questions, and the level 4 questions are usually long and essay-style. On my tests, the questions are also grouped by levels. Students understand that they don’t have to get a certain amount of questions correct, but answer the appropriate level of questions correctly. In my philosophy, if a student can answer more than ⅔ of the answers for that level correctly then that is their level of knowledge. This reduces the time it takes for me to grade, as all I have to do is look at the lowest levels and go up, if a student can’t answer ⅔ of a certain level then they get the grade lower.
Example Assessment-
Level 1 questions are all correct
Level 2 answers are mostly correct but got one or two wrong.
Level 3 questions only 1 right.
This means the student would get a 2 or a C for this assessment. It doesn’t matter that they got some wrong in level 2, or one question right in level 3. The correctly answered question was probably guessed correctly or they may have just known that answer, but that doesn’t mean they truly understand the concept. Or on the level 2, they may have just read the question wrong or got something mixed up. I make all assessments this way. Sometimes I only give the student a level 1 worksheet, and as long as the student completes ⅔ correctly they get the D. Now to be clear if a student gets every question correct on a worksheet, this does not mean the student gets an A. The student can only get an A for doing A-level work, and showing A-level understanding.
Level 4 is making a project. If a student chooses to do this, then they are not required to take the quiz. Instead, students need to make something to show their knowledge and how they applied this knowledge in different ways. This can look like them recording themselves teaching what they learned to someone at home, designing their new experiment, creating music about their topic, or many many more things. This page is a list of different types of projects students can choose to do to show Level 4 understanding.
I know people may have mixed feelings about this. Overall, after trying many systems, this is the best I have seen. It increases student participation, in that some students will not work, and these students would normally in another class fail and be ok with failing. I have noticed that these students will at the very least do the level 1 work, which can only result in increased passing/graduation rates. Some teachers have told me that students just won’t fully participate because they already have a passing grade, but I haven’t seen this at all. It seems as if students are willing to try the harder level work, but are more comfortable if they do not get it correct.
SBG is grading students on what they know, instead of punishing students for what they don’t.
How this looks in my gradebook?
I setup my grade book based on categories. These categories are daily work and tests. I do this because I think the true measure of what the student knows should come from the tests and so I weight them more. I don’t think that a bellwork question should be equal to a test question. Again this is based on my philosophy, but you can choose what it looks like in yours, but make sure that whatever you decide, look through the math and make sure what you intend to be your grading system, truly is your grading system. Then in these categories I make two assignments, and name them the standard we are working on. Then in the first column I put the students worksheet or experiment or anything else I want to grade, but I do not grade all work we do. I don’t put bellwork, note catchers or informal questions in the gradebook directly only as completed. As the assessments are already broken into the different levels, it is easy for me to put that level into the gradebook by looking at the level they answered most of the questions correctly. For all work I update this one grade. This way I can track that a students level of understanding is on track with the work we are doing. The test grade will be put in when the test is taken. I then do a reteach and use that grade to update the first column, and have students who need to retake an alternate version of the test. Again the students' grades can only go up, unless they fail the test, and even then students have multiple opportunities taking the test. At the end the gradebook is averaging together the level of understanding of each standard only.
Clarifications
I do not allow students to only answer higher level questions. I make it clear that if they want the A level they must also show all lower levels and not jump into a project. I explain if you can make a project successfully in the beginning, then you need to chose a different topic/question/career.
If a student doesn’t do daily work, their grade is not majorly affected by having multiple failing grades. I think if a student shows their understanding on a test then they have proven their understanding. Having said that, the student has not provided very much evidence, so that student will not have a high grade although it will be sufficient to pass.
I do not take off points for late work, and I will allow students to turn in work when possible. That assignment may have an alternative assignment, since I have probably already graded the work and given it back and had discussion. Or if students are doing completely individual choice, then there is no way for students to cheat, and no need for alternative assignments. I won’t allow students to cheat, but I also won’t punish them for not being punctual.
Students can always redo a level of assignment and are required to show at least 2/3 correct answers before moving on to the next task.
Note-catchers or other participation grades do not measure the level of understanding, so even though I do similar type of work, the students do not get a grade for it, only a completion mark. When students ask I tell them, they won’t get a grade for completing it, but completing it will help them get a higher grade.
No grades are based on behaviors, habits, or preparedness.
There is no extra credit in my class. Simply put if you want your grade higher you will have to show your level of understanding through the same types of assignments as everyone else or a slightly altered assignment, and will always be the same content the other students learned.
All students and parents know this upfront.
If you simplify this philosophy it is not much different than what most people already do, the biggest difference is how you are looking at designing your curriculum and setting up your grades. These simple changes can have radical changes in how students view your class and their education.