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Determining Grades: Standards-Based Grading vs Traditional Points-Based…

- - - - Traits:
      - Also known as formative assessment/grading
      - “Standards-based grading concerns itself with the cohesive body of knowledge that the student gains as a result of the course”
      - Standards-based assessment is for “feedback, with the expectation of improvement”
      - “Assesses in the present tense, seeking to verify not simply that a student has completed a certain amount of assignments, but that a student is armed with the tools necessary to succeed in future assignments.”
      - “Though applicable to all fields of study, this method of evaluation is particularly relevant to the liberal arts, whose academic objectives lend themselves less to test scores (points) and more to the general betterment of students’ abilities to think and write critically, comprehending and contributing to the world around them in a manner that projects, as the phrase suggests, a measure of ‘liberation.’”
      - “The standards-based grading notion is related to this philosophy. It teaches students that they will be evaluated in many areas, and that they need to demonstrate proficiency in each. If a student does not demonstrate proficiency in an area, he/she will continue practicing the skill in order to demonstrate proficiency. This is a direct connection to the work place. Workers are evaluated in many areas. If one area is weak, they focus on that area and look for ways to improve.”
      - Example for 6th grade Spanish (what I will teach): Exit ticket at end of class to be graded by LEVEL: Level 1: Beginning; Level 2: Approaching; Level 3: Meeting; Level 4: Above. The result of this assessment will begin to provide me with a sense of where the student is currently landing on the continuum of learning, and will guide my learning the following day.
  - - - Traits:
      - Traditionally utilizes a 100-point scale, assigning point values to assignments, quizzes and tests to add up to 100 per quarter or semester.
      - The system is “predicated upon judgment of what the student has already managed to achieve”
      - “Method that hold students accountable for earning points…” which often does not “represent learning achievements so much as students’ ability to follow a set of rules”
      - “Most assessments in today’s classrooms are based on a 100-point scale. The improper use of this scale can lead to incorrect student achievement scores.”
      - “The range of scores between classrooms is one source of error associated with the 100-point scale. This type of scale provides little to no reflection of the difficulty level of each assessment. Weighting items differently from assessment to assessment and the uneven level of difficulty is akin to changing the scale that is being used from one assessment to the next. Tracking student achievement over time using the 100-point scale can be tremendously difficult due to the wide range of scoring provided (p. 41).”
      - “A single letter grade offers no information about what was specifically learned in the subject area, giving parents no indication of what students must still work on. Lower achieving students working on an adjusted curriculum, due to an intervention program, may receive the same letter grades as higher level students working at or above grade level. This can give parents the misconception that their child is performing on grade level”
      - “Through a standards-based report card, teachers can indicate proficiency of learning targets and objectives within a subject”
      - Example for 6th grade Spanish (what I will teach): Exit ticket at end of class to be assigned a point value, and which will be averaged together with all other exit tickets to produce one chunk (ie. 20%) of the overall grade.
- - - - To determine the level that each student is operating at, I will use the following:
      - Weekly exit tickets to capture student ability to write or identify vocabulary and conjugated verbs. Each exit ticket will account for 25% of that week’s leveling.
      - Weekly small group conversations (each group will rotate in to work directly with me). One time each week, students will participate in a small group with me when I will engage them in conversation and listen to their participation which will help me to assess their understanding of the language as well as their ability (and willingness) to produce it. This conversation will account for 25% of that week’s leveling.
      - Weekly in-class writing tasks (done individually and in groups) will be collected to give me an understanding of student ability to produce the language in writing. These written products will account for 25% of that week’s leveling.
      - Weekly self-assessment against a rubric. Students will be provided with a weekly self-assessment which is almost like a quiz. Students will assess their own level (Beginner→Approaching→Meeting→Advanced) according to their ability to define and conjugate a variety of words, comment on matters of culture addressed that week, and their own sense of their ability to listen to, understand and speak the language. Self-assessments will account for 25% of that week’s leveling.
      - Each week, I will re-set the level of my students which will allow me – at any given time – to express to them, their families and my administration, the progress of each student on the continuum of first-year language acquisition from beginning→approaching→meeting→advanced.