Standards Based Grading

By Patrick McGing

I am not sure when I first came across Standard Based Grading (SBG) or heard about the idea/theory of it but at this point in my educational career (this is my 5th year teaching) I have fully bought into the idea behind it. I have drunk the kool-aid and continue to drink it. Therefore, I am going to look at my own understanding of SBG and what conflicts and challenges I currently have.

A specific question has come up multiple times now that has solidified my belief in SBG, “If you have a B in the class, can you tell me what you have learned in that class?” The majority of students cannot explain what they have learned in that course. Maybe they list a random activity that was done but that just means that they completed the activity; did they actually retain any information? Maybe? Yes? Probably something, but what? The same students will not list a specific skill they have gained.

Student reflecting on the standards covered in a project

As a Career and Technical Education instructor, a majority of our curriculum is whether you know how to complete a task or not using a skill and can you use that skill and apply it in a different manner. Thus, the amount of points something is worth is the last thing on my mind; but it is the first thing on students minds. How do I shift student’s focus on the skills they are building and self-assessing those skills and not the question of, “How many points is this worth?” and “When is it due?”

Student’s hand-drawn circuit of a display showing her date of birth

These questions make me cringe.   In my - so far short trial of SBG - I have found a few very positive things and still have many questions and challenges.

Successes:

• Students understand the purpose of activities when tied to a specific standard or skill
• Students strive to earn a 4/4 on each standard - demonstrating mastery of that standard
• Students can be reassessed in many different ways - written questions, verbal discussion/explanation, or additional practice 
• Quizzes are very focused on standards and do not include “filler” 
• Students actually review quizzes rather than throwing them out
• Students do not play the points game to get an “A”
• It is much more difficult to demonstrate “A” or mastery of a standard
• Students can list standards and skills they have mastered and learned

Challenges:

• Explaining procedures to students 
• Providing consistent feedback to students
• Developing reassessments that show growth of student’s understanding
• How many standards?
• Scale: 1 - 4 or 2 - 4? Or something different
• How to track students through the process 
• How to translate SBG into a typical A - F gradebook
• Can students still list or explain a standard 3 weeks from now?

Things that still need to be done: 

• Better communication with parents
• Written
• Verbal
• Alignment of all standards with: 
• Activities
• Assessments 
• Rubrics developed for all standards 
• Does a rubric for each standard even need to be made? Does a generic work?