The traditional way of grading doesn’t provide much information. When a student makes an A, B, or C for the report period, the letter provides no understanding of exactly what learning took place. There is no communication with any sort of accuracy or consistency. Letter grades, percentages, or numbers provide no indication to the students or parents about the skills and concepts that were learned. Nor does it show what needs to be learned.
Originally, grades were intended to communicate mastery of performance. Today, that does not seem so. Grades get inflated from ‘bonus’ points, homework practice assignments, classroom participation, etc. This skews the assigned grades toward a higher mark. Through the inflation or deflation of grades, a true picture of a student’s learning is lost. In stressing grades, we are indicating that the end is more important than the journey through the learning process. Grades have no longer become an effective communication of student learning. Does standards based grading give a better picture of the actual learning?
What is Standards Based Grading?
Standards based grading is an understanding and a demonstration of the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn. It is a system of reporting proficiency on today’s standards. It is not to be confused with competency based grading.
Standards based grading measures proficiency of the course’s objectives and goals. It assesses student achievement and teacher effectiveness. Students are measured on the proficiency of content standards. When students achieve mastery, they move to more difficult concepts. Students that do not achieve mastery are identified and provided the necessary support in order to achieve proficiency.
The standards based grading system measures a student’s mastery of the essential standards set forth by a class. It tells how well the student understands the material that is presented in the classroom. Parents need to have a clear understanding of what a grading system means and understand what a student learned. After all, education is about the learning and not about the letter grade or points achieved. Teachers and parents want to know what specific skills their children need in order to improve and what it is they have already mastered.
Traditional Grading Scales
Traditional grading systems hold back students that are excelling and move student who aren’t ready. Changing from letter grades or percentages to standard based grading is a challenge. But, it is an important part of the learning process. It adopts high expectations and individualizes learning for all students.
Schools need to assign meaningful work and assess for growth. We must show more interest in the learning and less interest in a grade. Teachers must provide and parents must expect meaningful feedback of a student’s progress. It’s time parents and educators focus on understanding individual concepts by each student. Let’s get a clear picture of what our students have learned and what they need to learn in order for them to become engaged and own their learning.
