Community of Practice on Grading and Reporting

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Ted Hall, Senior Associate David J. Ruff, Executive Director

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Research Quotes Open the envelope at your tables and pass the statements around your table to read one at a time As each person reads her/his quote, select something that seems significant and why. Discuss the quote briefly with your table group. Repeat with each quote. What consensus, if any, emerged for the group?

Table Talk

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Welcome, Introductions, Agenda Overview

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Participants will:

•Understand key components of student-centered learning

•Understand how these components could be implemented in their context

•Gather and give feedback on implementation with other participants

Series Outcomes

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Participants will:

• Unpack the ways in which grading and reporting present different challenges in implementing a Mastery-Based Learning system

• Anticipate and address scenarios that complicate changes in grading and reporting in schools.

• Explore a framework for guiding decision-making around grading and reporting

• Continue district and school work

Today’s Outcomes

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AgendaWelcome, Overview, IntroductionsTable Talk: Research QuotesGrading and Reporting: What are the Differences?“Who is the Audience” activityBreak“Make Your Case” preparation and presentationScenarios on Grading and Reporting LunchGuidelines, Questions, & ConsiderationsTeam Time, followed by Feedback from ColleaguesClosing and Feedback

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LogisticsTiming for today (and all sessions): 8:30 - 3:00

One Date Remaining: May 1

Virtual Coaching Sessions—still available

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Is a non-profit support organization based in Portland, Maine working nationally with schools, districts and state agencies, providing coaching, and developing

tools.

WHO WE ARE

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WE BELIEVEIn equitable, personalized, rigorous learning for all students leading to readiness for college, careers, and citizenship

That schools must simultaneously attend to policy, practice, and community engagement

School improvement is context-based, not one-size fits all

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Grading and Reporting: What’s the Difference?

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The practice of evaluating a student’s level of proficiency using a task, assessment, or other evidence.

Grading

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The practice of communicating a student’s level of proficiency to a variety of stakeholders.

Reporting

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1 INITIATING

STEP 1 >> READ THE PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTIONS

3 DEVELOPING 5 PERFORMING

STEP 4 >> SCORE YOUR SCHOOLPlace an X on the scale below to indicate your school’s performance in this dimension.

1 2 3 4 5

NOT ADDRESSED INITIATING DEVELOPING PERFORMING12GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES | 2ND EDITION 1.4 PROFICIENCY-BASED EDUCATION

Some efforts have been made to align coursework with college- and career-ready learning standards, but in practice many teachers continue to use lessons that are unaligned or outdated. The school uses a standardized credit system based on seat time, letter grades, number averaging, and other traditional practices to measure academic progress and determine readiness for graduation. There is a great deal of variation from classroom to classroom in grading practices. Reporting practices do not provide clear information about how students are performing against the school’s standards or indicate what students have learned. Students are often unaware of learning expectations for courses and lessons, and they rarely receive descriptive feedback on assignments. High-stakes external assessments often unilaterally drive instruction and lesson design. There is no consensus across the school and the district regarding what all students should learn and be able to demonstrate.

School-wide curricula and instruction have been aligned with common learning standards, but this effort has not been systematic or systemic. District and school leaders have engaged in conversations about adopting a standards-based system that leads to college- and career-readiness for all students. The principal and teacher-leaders have examined schools that are using effective proficiency-based practices. Some common scoring criteria have been developed to enhance the consistency of grading and reporting, but this practice has not been embraced by all teachers or institutionalized school-wide. Teachers use multiple formative assessment strategies in the classroom aligned with standards, and academic support is available to struggling students. Few opportunities exist for students to demonstrate learning in different ways. In some cases, learning expectations remain unclear and many students are still unaware of their own learning strengths and weaknesses or which learning standards teachers are addressing.

The school and district have publicly committed to becoming a standards-based learning community, and graduation policy has been modified to require all students to demonstrate achievement of learning expectations to ensure college and career readiness before receiving a diploma. The faculty has prioritized learning standards so that each learner demonstrates the most essential cross-curricular and discipline content, skills, as well as habits of work. The grading and reporting system aligns with these standards and distinguishes content knowledge and skills from habits of work. .All teachers use common scoring criteria that provide detailed descriptions of learning standards at each expected level of performance. Assessments are aligned to learning standards and results are used to inform instructional practice and identify students’ levels of performance against these standards. Students receive ongoing, specific feedback related to their progress toward achieving the learning standards. Alternative learning experiences are provided to all students so they have enough time and support to learn and demonstrate achievement consistent with the learning standards. Students who have met the learning standards have access to extensions or opportunities to move on to another learning experience.TE

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1 INITIATING

STEP 1 >> READ THE PERFORMANCE DESCRIPTIONS

3 DEVELOPING 5 PERFORMING

STEP 4 >> SCORE YOUR SCHOOLPlace an X on the scale below to indicate your school’s performance in this dimension.

1 2 3 4 5

NOT ADDRESSED INITIATING DEVELOPING PERFORMING12GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES | 2ND EDITION 1.4 PROFICIENCY-BASED EDUCATION

Some efforts have been made to align coursework with college- and career-ready learning standards, but in practice many teachers continue to use lessons that are unaligned or outdated. The school uses a standardized credit system based on seat time, letter grades, number averaging, and other traditional practices to measure academic progress and determine readiness for graduation. There is a great deal of variation from classroom to classroom in grading practices. Reporting practices do not provide clear information about how students are performing against the school’s standards or indicate what students have learned. Students are often unaware of learning expectations for courses and lessons, and they rarely receive descriptive feedback on assignments. High-stakes external assessments often unilaterally drive instruction and lesson design. There is no consensus across the school and the district regarding what all students should learn and be able to demonstrate.

School-wide curricula and instruction have been aligned with common learning standards, but this effort has not been systematic or systemic. District and school leaders have engaged in conversations about adopting a standards-based system that leads to college- and career-readiness for all students. The principal and teacher-leaders have examined schools that are using effective proficiency-based practices. Some common scoring criteria have been developed to enhance the consistency of grading and reporting, but this practice has not been embraced by all teachers or institutionalized school-wide. Teachers use multiple formative assessment strategies in the classroom aligned with standards, and academic support is available to struggling students. Few opportunities exist for students to demonstrate learning in different ways. In some cases, learning expectations remain unclear and many students are still unaware of their own learning strengths and weaknesses or which learning standards teachers are addressing.

The school and district have publicly committed to becoming a standards-based learning community, and graduation policy has been modified to require all students to demonstrate achievement of learning expectations to ensure college and career readiness before receiving a diploma. The faculty has prioritized learning standards so that each learner demonstrates the most essential cross-curricular and discipline content, skills, as well as habits of work. The grading and reporting system aligns with these standards and distinguishes content knowledge and skills from habits of work. .All teachers use common scoring criteria that provide detailed descriptions of learning standards at each expected level of performance. Assessments are aligned to learning standards and results are used to inform instructional practice and identify students’ levels of performance against these standards. Students receive ongoing, specific feedback related to their progress toward achieving the learning standards. Alternative learning experiences are provided to all students so they have enough time and support to learn and demonstrate achievement consistent with the learning standards. Students who have met the learning standards have access to extensions or opportunities to move on to another learning experience.

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Consider your Audience

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Who is the audience for the grade book?

and what do they need to know?

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Who is the audience for the report card?

and what do they need to know?

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Who is the audience for the transcript?

and what do they need to know?

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Make the Case!

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“Make the Case”  Activity and Discussion 

 

 

Purpose:  To push your thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of using different methods of reporting out 

  student progress on report cards and transcripts   as schools transition to Mastery­Based Learning. 

 

Assumptions: 

● Your school is transitioning to Mastery­Based Learning and a decision needs to be made about how to report out student 

progress. 

● There are three options on the table (see below). 

● There are advantages and disadvantages of each option. 

● The school has developed graduation standards, performance indicators, and scoring criteria that are (or soon will be) used to 

guide instruction and assessment in all subjects and classrooms. 

 

Outline of Steps: 

 

1. In small groups, you will be assigned one of three positions to take:  

● Use A­F to report on student progress on report cards and transcripts 

● Use 0­100 to report on student progress on report cards and transcripts 

● Use 1­4 to report on student progress on report cards and transcripts 

2. In your group, be prepared to “Make the Case” for the position you are assigned.  Take into account all factors associated with 

the transition to mastery­based learning and think about all of the stakeholders affected by this decision. 

3. Present your position to other colleagues who have been assigned the two other positions and listen to the presentations 

made by colleagues promoting the other two positions.  Use the following process: 

● First group presents their position, including answering as many questions as they can about why this is the 

best approach.  While the group presents, others make notes on the back of this sheet.  (5 min) 

● Other group members ask both clarifying and probing questions (2 min) 

● First group makes a final statement (1 min) 

● Second and third group goes through same steps (8 min each) 

● Written reflection using prompts on the back (3 minutes) 

● Whole group debrief (10 minutes) 

 

 

This work by  Great Schools Partnership  is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution­NonCommercial­ShareAlike 4.0 International License 

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Tables 1, 4, 7 (this room) Tables 2, 5, 8 (this room)

Tables 3, 6, 9 (other room)

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Scenarios to Consider

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Guidelines for Scenarios Discussion

Read aloud each scenario in turn Discuss each scenario using these questions:

What went wrong? What might have been done differently? How might the school resolve the problem?

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Lunch!

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What have we learned?

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School Interviews

Casco Bay High School: Maine Sanborn Regional High School: New Hampshire Montpelier High School: Vermont Building 21: Pennsylvania Pittsfield High School: New Hampshire New Haven Academy: Connecticut

GSP staff interviewed:

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Some Examples

All used a 1-4 scale to score student work against defined criteria or scales Some reported 1-4 scores Some report scores for standards, alone, not courses Some translated 1-4 scores to letter grades for courses on report cards and transcripts

Grading and Reporting

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Some Examples

Most continue to require course credit BUT students gain credit by meeting proficiency

Graduation proficiencies are very different among the schools Transcripts are very different among the schools School profiles and grading guides are crucial

Verification for Graduation

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Some Examples

All have begun to separate work habits from academic success in different ways All have different ways of valuing work habits All have created time in the schedule to support students in meeting or exceeding proficiency Most do not combine work habits or the need for intervention in a single course score

Habits of Work; Support and Intervention

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What matters most?

"Daily learning targets make clear what the purpose of the work is. If the course standards and targets and indicators are all connected to criteria that describe levels of performance, accompanied by exemplars, kids know where they’re going and how to get there… Our teachers and students are always having the conversation about what good work looks like.” - Derek Pierce; Casco Bay High School

Clear, Shared Outcomes

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Guidelines, Questions, and Considerations

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 Grading and Reporting: Guidelines,  

Questions, and Considerations  

Steps  Questions  Considerations/Implications 

Build a common 

understanding of grades 

and grading within the 

school community. 

● Why do we grade student work and 

performance? 

● What should grades on tasks or 

assessments mean or communicate? 

● What purpose do grades serve in our 

system? 

● To what extent does educational 

research support or conflict with our 

beliefs about grading? 

● Many teachers, students, and parents 

have strongly-held, but unexamined, 

beliefs about grading and may struggle 

to shift their thinking. 

● It is possible that a group of educators 

could reaffirm beliefs that are not 

supported by research (zeroes motivate 

students to perform, for instance). 

● Abstract agreements about grading will 

probably continue to be challenged 

when they are actually implemented  

Determine the purpose 

of each type of grade 

across the system. 

● How might the purpose of a type of 

work a student does (practice, 

preparation for class, formative or 

summative assessment) impact the way 

it is graded or reported? 

● How should formative and summative 

assessments be valued in the 

gradebook? 

● How are habits of work and learning 

valued in the system? 

● If course grades are used, how are they 

determined? 

● How will the school verify that a student 

is ready to graduate?  

 

 

● A school or district should not try to 

answer all of these questions before 

digging into other aspects of the system, 

but if educators haven’t put them on the 

table early in the process, they might 

cause problems later. 

● At some point, a school will have to 

decide what graduation means. What 

level of proficiency does a student have 

to meet to graduate? How many 

proficiencies, and how often? What 

requirements exist beyond proficiency? 

Will the school retain course 

requirements or credits? 

March 2018 1 

This work by  Great Schools Partnership  is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution­NonCommercial­ShareAlike 4.0 International License 

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Guidelines, Questions, and Considerations

Read the document quietly “Turn and Talk” with one or two others:

What is an area you think you’ve done well? What is an area that still needs work?

Identify next steps for your school or district

In School and/or District Teams

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Team Time!

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Feedback to Colleagues

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Topics for Discussion Community Engagement/Messaging Transferable Skills Redos and Retakes Midterms and Finals School Information Systems Balance of Autonomy vs Standardization

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Process for Discussion: 1.Go around the group to find out why each person came

2.Decide on what topics you want to explore

3.Discuss!

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+ What worked well today?

Exit Index Card

∆ What could have beenimproved?

(on front of index card)

(on back of index card)

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THANK YOU

482 Congress Street, Suite 500Portland, ME 04101207.773.0505greatschoolspartnership.org

Ted Hall, Senior Associate David J. Ruff, Executive Director

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