How is a Standards-Based Grading system different from the traditional system?
The biggest difference is a change of focus. The traditional system focused on assignments, but standards based grading focuses on skills and concepts. For instance, a traditional test might have questions over 4 different standards, but will only produce one grade. In many instances, a student might have mastered 2 of the standards on the test, but not 2 others. That student might earn a grade of a 50/F for the test. Parents and the student would then be confronted with a failing score when the student actually knows half of the material. In a SBG system, the student’s grade would reflect mastery of the two standards he/she knows and indicate the lack of knowledge of the other two. The parent and student know what to focus on, and the grade is more reflective of what the student actually knows and can do.
What do the four proficiency levels mean, and how do they correlate with student grades?
*a general rubric is provided below. Characteristics may change as dictated by assignment requirement
The biggest difference is a change of focus. The traditional system focused on assignments, but standards based grading focuses on skills and concepts. For instance, a traditional test might have questions over 4 different standards, but will only produce one grade. In many instances, a student might have mastered 2 of the standards on the test, but not 2 others. That student might earn a grade of a 50/F for the test. Parents and the student would then be confronted with a failing score when the student actually knows half of the material. In a SBG system, the student’s grade would reflect mastery of the two standards he/she knows and indicate the lack of knowledge of the other two. The parent and student know what to focus on, and the grade is more reflective of what the student actually knows and can do.
What do the four proficiency levels mean, and how do they correlate with student grades?
*a general rubric is provided below. Characteristics may change as dictated by assignment requirement
Will I still be able track a student’s grades online?
Yes! All of the information you are accustomed to finding regarding your student’s progress is still available online through PowerSchool. The difference is in what you are going to see and how those assignments can provide you with more precise information about your student’s learning. The first difference is that when a new assignment is posted, it may include scores for 3-5 standards, compared to the single score of a traditional grading system. Each score reflects your student’s performance on that one particular learning objective. As a result, a single unit test might include a score of 60% on one objective but 100% on another.
Will my student still be able to retake tests or do assignments over?
Part of standards based grading system is an environment of mastery learning. Our goal is for all students to be successful on all learning objectives. As such, students may retake tests or quizzes or we may choose to replace previous lower scores with more recent higher scores on the same standard to reflect evidence of student growth and learning. The grade for each standard should reflect the peak of your student’s understanding and we will continue to try to support your student on that concept until they reach at a minimum the “Proficient” level.
Yes! All of the information you are accustomed to finding regarding your student’s progress is still available online through PowerSchool. The difference is in what you are going to see and how those assignments can provide you with more precise information about your student’s learning. The first difference is that when a new assignment is posted, it may include scores for 3-5 standards, compared to the single score of a traditional grading system. Each score reflects your student’s performance on that one particular learning objective. As a result, a single unit test might include a score of 60% on one objective but 100% on another.
Will my student still be able to retake tests or do assignments over?
Part of standards based grading system is an environment of mastery learning. Our goal is for all students to be successful on all learning objectives. As such, students may retake tests or quizzes or we may choose to replace previous lower scores with more recent higher scores on the same standard to reflect evidence of student growth and learning. The grade for each standard should reflect the peak of your student’s understanding and we will continue to try to support your student on that concept until they reach at a minimum the “Proficient” level.