STANDARDS-BASED GRADING (SBG)

A Case Study…Kinda

@MR_ABUD #TEAMPHYSICS

FIRST, SOME SBG CLARIFICATION

A proponent of SBG Well read and

researched about SBG Marzano and O’Connor

are two good sources Experienced

implementing a SBG approach last year

Well-versed with Microsoft Excel, and that made SBG easier

Available to answer questions about his experience & knowledge

An expert on SBG…yet Paid by any SBG

company Telling you what to do in

your classroom Going to come and set

up a complete “canned” SBG system for your classroom

ABUD IS: ABUD IS NOT:

MOTIVATION FOR THE SHIFT

Meaning of a gradeWhat you did vs. what you know

Students motivated (by meaning of the grade) to do assignments/tasksLike finishing the weekend chores checklistFocus on learning and mastery is lost

Students “make up” missing work at the end of a marking period for credit to help their grade

Without focus on learning for mastery, taking learning risks can be too costly

THE PROBLEMHow might we make a grade better represent what students know rather than what they did?

THE SOLUTIO

NAt least, it was an attempt at one…

THIS PLAN WAS DEVELOPED OVER CHRISTMAS BREAK & IMPLEMENTED AT THE START OF 2ND SEMESTER

Stopped checking in homework all together Previously was checked for “completion” (approach to assess student

attempt) Wrote standards for each unit (adapted from curriculum map

and state HSCEs) Written in student-centered “I statements”

Developed assessments that generated ostensible evidence of student learning on standards Linked individual assessments (and even individual questions) to one or

more standards Kept record of student scores on assessments Reported student assessment scores according to standards

Used an average of all assessment scores for a given standards Managed Scores in Microsoft Excel Created “Standards” in Pinnacle instead of assignments Input standards scores in Pinnacle

Calculated summative score & reported all standards and ratings to students separately from their report card

Actions Taken:

TRACKING PROGRESS WITH GRAPHS

TRACKING PROGRESS WITH TABLES

From: Frank Noschese’s blog post, “The Tower” (7/27/11)

GRADEBOOK BEFORETask Grade

Homework 1 10/10

Homework 2 10/10

Homework 3 10/10

Quiz 2/10

Homework 4 10/10

Homework 5 10/10

Test 15/50

Homework 6 10/10

Quiz 2 5/10

Homework 7 10/10

Project 95/100

Test 2 30/50

Overall Grade 227/290 ( 78% | C+ | 8 )

THE SBG SCALE

Traditional (%)

14-Point Range

Letter SBG Ratin

g

Proficiency Level with Standard

90-100 12-14 A 4 Exceeds proficiency

80-89 9-11 B 3 Demonstrates proficiency

70-79 6-8 C 2 Approaches proficiency

60-69 3-5 D 1 Falls well below proficiency

<60 1-2 E 0 Lacks all proficiency

0 0 Z 0 No attempt made

Inspired by the 4.0 grade point average system, the rating system used in SBG simply assigns a numeric value to a level of proficiency.

Here is how it looks in comparison to how we are used to grading:

GR

AD

EB

OO

KA

FTER

FINDINGS Students:

Agreed with SBG as a means to more accurately reflect what they know

Used the feedback from their SBG report to improve their understanding and strived for mastery (completed reassessments)

Stopped copying just to get assignments completed so they would “get [their] points” toward a grade

Shifted their focus from doing to learning Struggled with the adjustment to a different

grading approach that Did not readily see how to use SBG feedback, or

did not choose to use the SBG feedback Still asked, “what assignments am I missing that

my grade is so low?” Wished it had been implemented from day 1

COMPLAINTS & CRITICISMS OF SBG

Students: Cognitive dissonance with

regard to grading“What the formula” (WTF) moments occurred when students could not figure the calculation of their gradeSOLUTION: MORE TRANSPARENT PROCESS

Forces them to have to know itMany are used to being able to “fake it to make it” (the game of school)SOLUTION: START FROM DAY 1 & INTRODUCE PROCESS WITH AN INVITING EXPERIENCE

Mr. Abud, I was wondering what my grade is; it

says “approaching proficiency” a

bunch of times.

COMPLAINTS & CRITICISMS OF SBG

Parents: Not possible with Pinnacle to

see why their student has the grades on the standards that they doSearching for a missing “checklist” that

their student did not completeSOLUTION: STUDENTS KEEP TRACK

OF THEIR PROGRESSGrade lower than expected,

yet student “does their work”Parents used to having completion

accountability for students’ gradesSOLUTION: LETTERS HOME

EXPLAINING PROCESS

Perhaps my grade was artificially

inflated by all that copying I

did on my homework for completion…

CONCLUSIONS, REFLECTIONS, & RECOMMENDATIONS

Focus on learning, not just doing

Opportunity for improvement

Removes pressure of academic risk-taking

Connects grade to learning

Makes assessment and grading more transparent/relevant

Standards in gradebook instead of tasks

Starts from day 1 Students track their

own progress More formative

assessment Obtrusive Unobtrusive Student-generated

Rubrics Letter home to

explain process

Strengths (+) Changes (∆)

NEXT STEPS…FOR INTERESTED PARTIES

Consider How you ALREADY use rubrics to assess students What your performance objectives look like To what extent your assessments connect to your objectives The function of homework in your class (practice or chore)

Reflect on How often you have students wanting to make up missing

work for points but gain nothing from doing that work The extent to which a grade in your class truly reflects

learning Whether your students are motivated to learn or do What opportunities exist for students to recover from early

mistakes

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO TRY SBGThe following actions can be part of a small action research project

in your own classroom: Consider for an upcoming unit/chapter/lesson/project

Writing objectives in “I statement” language that connect to your content standards

Developing assessments (formative and summative) that make it easy to observe proficiency with the objectives

Adding a rubric to that assessment if it doesn’t already have one (omit components unrelated to objectives, e.g., 1” margins)

Creating proficiency rankings with explanations of each ranking level

Assessing students according to the rubric components Reporting students’ scores on the rubric and generating

a summative score as well Providing students a means to track their own

performance Debriefing the grading approach with your class

FINAL THOUGHTS

SBG is not a replacement for a summative grade It just gives more substantive meaning to that grade

It is completely possible to implement with any number of students in any content area

It is best for teaching and learning It promotes formative assessment, feedback, and

student ownership over learning It can be done in a low-tech (paper grids / graphs)

or a high-tech way (Excel, Pinnacle, cloud-based apps)

It is more “fun” when you do it with others

RESOURCES

Always Formative Blog: http://bit.ly/ksFvZk

ActiveGrade – a cloud-based web app for SBG http://activegrade.com

Sample Classroom SBG Policy Handout http://bit.ly/nnAGly

SBG w/Voice http://t.co/MBvlgNM

US Dept. of Ed. SBG Resources http://1.usa.gov/lOgtWu

Frank Noschese’s Action-Reaction Blog http://fnoschese.wordpress.com/