Fremont Parent University:

Standards-Based Grading

April 15, 2024

Objective for Tonight’s Session

Participants will:

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• Build on their understanding of standards-based grading practices in FSD79.

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What is a grade?

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Why do we need a grade?

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What should be included in a grade?

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Why SBG?

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No grading system is perfect

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Minimize subjectivity

Pursue clear and informative grades

Our Goal

“The confusion starts with consistency, as in, there is none. At most schools, there’s no consistency about what’s included in a grade or what’s left out, even among teachers teaching the same subject in the same school to students in the same grade at the same level. This creates what is often called “grade fog” — we’re not sure what the grade means because we’re asking that A or that C+ to communicate too much disparate information.”

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“The increased precision of percentage grades is truly far more imaginary than real.”

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But in 1912, a study by two Wisconsin researchers seriously challenged the reliability and accuracy of percentage grades. Daniel Starch and Edward Charles Elliott found that 147 high school English teachers in different schools assigned widely different percentage grades to two identical student papers. Scores on the first paper ranged from 64 to 98, and scores on the second paper ranged from 50 to 97. One paper was given a failing mark by 15 percent of the teachers and a grade of over 90 by 12 percent of the teachers.

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Hunter Brimi (2011) replicated Starch and Elliott's 1912 study and attained almost identical results. Brimi asked 90 high school teachers who had received nearly 20 hours of training in a writing 3 assessment program to grade the same student paper on a 100-point percentage scale. Among the 73 teachers who responded, scores ranged from 50 to 96. And that's among teachers who received specific professional development in writing assessment!

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“Integer grades do not necessarily make grading easier; they simply make the process more accurate and honest.”

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Remove extraneous factors

Not measuring:

• Drawing a bike
• Telling a story about a bike
• Reading about a bike
• Riding a horse
• Willingness to ride a bike
• An average of all attempts to ride

Measuring Riding a Bike

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Remove extraneous factors

Not measuring:

• Math fluency
• Handwriting
• How many times hand raised to participate
• How much kleenex brought in for extra credit
• An average of all the assessments from unit

Measuring Understanding of Fractions

Our Journey

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Our Place in the Journey - Continuous Growth

Top 3 Areas We Are Looking to Improve:

• Establishing clear criteria for levels of performance.
• Achieving alignment between curriculum maps, instruction, and assessments.
• Integrating opportunities to extend standards (4s).

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Currently: Taking part in extensive Professional Learning Community (PLC) professional development. Making connections - essential standards, rubrics, exemplars, common formative assessments, extensions, and more.

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Purpose of Standards-Based Grading in FSD79

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FSD79 Purpose

The purpose of the Fremont School District 79 report card is to communicate to parents/guardians and educators the learner’s level of progression through the standards to show evidence of learning and areas for continued growth.

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Principle 1

Grades and Reports Should Be Based on Clearly Specified Learning Goals and Performance Standards.

• What does this mean for my child(ren)? All students in the same grade in the same course, no matter their instructor, will be graded using the same standards.

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Principle 2

Evidence Used for Grading Should Be Valid.

• What does this mean for my child(ren)? Students are assessed on what they are taught. There are no trick questions and no surprises.

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Principle 3

Grading Should Be Based on Established Criteria, Not on Arbitrary Norms.

• What does this mean for my child(ren)? Students are graded on the standards assessed, not on arbitrary norms such as poor handwriting or no name on their paper.

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Principle 4

Not Everything Should be Included in Grades.

• What does this mean for my child(ren)? Students should not be penalized for early attempts in learning. Students are not graded as they are learning the information, but after the learning has occurred. Students need to have enough "practice" in order to be successful.

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Principle 5

Avoid Grading Based on (Mean) Averages.

• What does this mean for my child(ren)? A student should not be penalized for their early attempts to demonstrate learning and a teacher should not be limited in their ability to communicate student growth and attainment of learning targets. When reporting student progress on a standard, teachers can use any and all evidence to gauge a student’s progress. Averaging and algorithms are unnecessary in reporting whether or not a student has mastered a standard.

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Principle 6

Focus on Achievement and Report Other Factors Separately.

• What does this mean for my child(ren)? A student’s academic achievement should be the only aspect included in their academic grade. For example, a student’s math grades should reflect their math achievement. Other important behaviors, such as completing tasks on time and organizational skills, during math should be reported separately. These behaviors are of the utmost importance to their success and should be explicitly, and separately, communicated in their habits of success category.

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How is my child doing? How can I tell?

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Academic Levels of Progression

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Academic Levels of Progression

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Level 4 (Extending)

What does this level mean? The student extends grade level expectations by deeply and independently applying and utilizing concepts and skills.

How is this different from the other levels? A student at a level 4 independently uses and applies knowledge in ways that demonstrate higher level thinking skills. A student who is able to consistently perform at Level 4 is one who independently demonstrates extensions of their knowledge and/or mastery of some accelerated standards. The student is “advanced” in that they are performing at a level above where we would expect them to be at a given point in time. Students may not have the opportunity for a level 4 on every assignment or assessment, but they should have enough opportunities to demonstrate a level 4 on their measured strands each term.

What does this level not mean? This level is not the equivalent to an “A” in a traditional letter grade system. While there is no direct comparison to a letter grade, any level 4 grades a student receives represents some deep and impressive understanding.

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Level 3 (Meeting)

What does this level mean? The student demonstrates grade level expectations for concepts and skills.

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How is this different from the other levels? A student at a Level 3 demonstrates understanding of grade level skills and concepts and requires minimal support. A level 3 throughout the school year indicates strong, excellent work at grade level. The 3 mark is the goal for the grade level and should be celebrated as "on grade level" or "right where we would expect them to be," yet students should continue to be pushed to strive for even further learning as appropriate. Level 3 represents those students who are independently able to meet the standards after instruction. Students receiving a mark of 3 are on track for college and career readiness for that subject.

What does this level not mean? This level is not the equivalent to an “A” (or a “B”) in a traditional letter grade system. While there is no direct comparison to a letter grade, any level 3 grades a student receives should be recognized as commendable understanding and achievement.

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Level 2 (Approaching)

What does this level mean? The student is progressing toward basic understanding of course concepts and skills with assistance.

How is this different from the other levels? A student at a Level 2 has not yet met the standards but is progressing toward achieving skills and learning course concepts. Some support from teachers, parents and/or peers is needed. The 2 mark indicates ongoing growth, but not quite where we would expect them to be at that given point in time. At Level 2, a student can correctly identify some concepts and/or vocabulary, and/or use some skills. A level 2 mark means that the student is not meeting course expectations. It requires both communication and action in order to help the student meet the course standards. It is important that we are honest about this marking with students and families.

What does this level not mean? This level does not mean a student is not growing. There may very well be opportunities to celebrate a level 2, depending upon how the student is progressing.

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Level 1 (Beginning)

What does this level mean? The student shows an emerging awareness of concepts and skills.

How is this different from the other levels? A student at a Level 1 is currently not meeting the course standards. The student demonstrates an inconsistent understanding and application of knowledge. Intervention is needed from teachers and parents. Students at this level are beginning to identify subject area concepts, vocabulary, and/or use skills. They are unable to make connections among ideas or extend the information.

What does this level not mean? This level does not mean a student is not capable of achieving higher levels of performance. A deep exploration of the students academic performance, as well as their habits of success performance, can shed further light on the appropriate levers to focus on to promote future growth.

Habits of Success Levels of Progression

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Behaviors and academics are both significant and reporting them separately communicates even more about the learner and how they can continue to grow without distorting a student’s actual achievement in learning.

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Habits of Success Levels of Progression

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• Interacts and collaborates respectfully
• Follows directions and expectations
• Completes assigned tasks on time and with quality
• Demonstrates organizational skills
• Uses time productively
• Contributes ideas and adds value to discussions

• Pre-K through 5th grade students have one overall habits of success section on their report card.
• Middle school students have one habits of success section per content area on the report card.

Determining Grades

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What Grade Would You Give…

A student recently completed first trimester in 3rd grade ELA. Their assessment scores under the “Reading: Foundational Skills” strand were as follows:

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What grade would you give them for this strand?

What method did you use to determine this grade?

Determining Grades

• 4-6 strands to report achievement in a course
• No set number of data points
• Progress/benchmark approach instead an attainment approach
• Emphasis on most recent evidence of learning (decaying weights in gradebook - default)

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Determining Grades - Decaying Weights

We believe the most recent evidence of student learning should not be penalized by earlier attempts in learning. We use decaying weights instead of simply averaging.

This mode orders recent scores from newest to oldest, and calculates a score, based on assigned weights, allowing for more recent student performance to factor more greatly into the overall score

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Ultimately, the teacher’s professional judgment is the most important component of grade determination.

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Determining Grades

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• Grading is connected directly to our curriculum maps

TeacherEase (Gradebook)

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TeacherEase Navigation Overview

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The Role of Homework

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The Role of Homework

We believe homework completion should not be incorporated into the academic grade.

• Students learn at their own pace and some students need more time to master a standard.
• Students should not be penalized academically for their practice along the way.
• Natural benefits and consequences can serve as a motivator to completing homework as we aspire for students to make the connection between homework completion and their success in meeting standards.
• We want every homework assignment to carry specific meaning and to connect back to the standards the students are working to meet.

Homework completion is an important behavior that should be measured by our habits of success grades.

• The aim of any homework your child brings home in Fremont School District 79 is to be meaningful and to advance their learning.
• If we ever miss the mark in pursuing that aim please provide feedback to your child’s teacher so they can integrate that information into future learning opportunities.

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Reassessment Practices

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Reassessment Practices

Students should be given multiple opportunities to reach a standard. Our focus is on what a student learns rather than the speed in which they learn.

There are some limitations to reassessment as teachers are bound by certain timelines and systems that require a “final” grade to be reported at certain times in the year. Ultimately, we want to know what a student knows and we honor the fact that students do not all learn at the same pace in the same way.

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For a real-life parallel, we know that not everyone passes their driver’s license exam the first time they try. Thankfully, the Department of Motor Vehicles embraces the concept of reassessment. Not everyone passes their driver’s license exam the first time and they are allowed to further prepare and take the exam again. Absent of this reassessment opportunity public transportation and bike lanes would take on a far more dominant role in our collective lives.

Unlike the DMV, our FSD79 educators require that some specific elements are in place to ensure students are making the most of their additional opportunities. In order to be provided the opportunity to reassess, students should be asked to show evidence they have done something additional and different to prepare. This additional commitment should also serve to motivate students to give their best effort the first time. These opportunities must also be reasonable in regards to the teacher availability to reteach, review, or reassess.

Reassessment Practices

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Report Cards

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Report Cards

• Our gradebook are organized by the 4-6 strands identified for each course.
• This reporting of specific strands replaces the traditional overall letter grade.
• Not all strands are reported each academic term in all subject areas.
• Academic grades are reported separately from habits of success grades.

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Special Education

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Special Education

It is important that students receiving special education services receive clear and accurate grade reporting.

• Accommodations vs. Modifications
• Accommodations do not change learning expectations
• Modifications are changes in what students are expected to demonstrate

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Additional Resources

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Key observations from our research

1. Contacts at profiled institutions report standards-based grading systems do not impact a student’s standing in the admissions process.

2. While use of standards-based grading does not impact admissions decisions at profiled institutions, contacts acknowledge several pros and cons associated with the grading system.

3. Admissions staff at all profiled institutions prioritize a student’s academic record when reviewing applications.

4. Like admissions decisions, standards-based grading does not affect scholarship allocation at profiled institutions.

Please fill out our survey :)

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