Standards-Based Grading 

Click here for "Parent's Guide to the Standards-Based Report Card"

Standards-Based Grading (SBG) is a set of teaching and reporting practices that communicate how a student is performing against a predetermined set of expectations.  The purpose of the progress report is to give parents and students a clear picture of a child's academic progress and growth in relationship to the Diocesan courses of study.  Behaviors such as effort, attendance, participation, timeliness, cooperation, and attitude are removed so that the clearest picture of just student achievement can be shared.  

Principles of Standard-Based Grading: 

• The primary purpose of grade cards is to communicate to the student and parent what a student knows and is able to do based on the Diocesan Course of Study.

• The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. 

• Grades should be accurate, meaningful, consistent, and supportive of learning. 

• Grading and reporting are systems to support student learning at high levels. 

• Grading must include enough information so teachers and parents can provide the appropriate amount of support for the student. 

• The most accurate reporting systems are those that separate academic achievement from behavior reporting. 

• Students deserve multiple opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do after learning. 

• Good reporting is based on good evidence from a variety of sources.

• Learning is a process and where students finish is more important than where students start or how long it takes them to get there.  
  
  

WHAT ARE LEARNING STANDARDS?

Learning standards are concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. Learning standards describe educational objectives (i.e., what students should have learned by the end of a course, grade level, or grade span). Learning Standards are typically organized by subject area and there are usually multiple standards per subject. 

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL STANDARDS?

The term "essential standards" refers to a subset of the learning standards that educators have determined to be the highest priority or most important for students to learn. A team of teachers and administrators met throughout the 2016/2017 school year to develop the essential standards for K-8^th grade. It is important to note that essential standards do not preclude the teaching of other standards, and, in many cases, the other standards actually provide more detailed descriptions of what is required to meet the essential standards. For example, one of the essential standards for 3^rd grade is “Concepts of Multiplication.” The learning standards that are connected to it are: 1. Interpret products of whole numbers, 2. Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers, and 3. Apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide.  Achievement of all of these indicators must be met to meet the essential standard. For this reason, essential standards may be limited to only a handful of standards and are the only ones being communicated to parents on a regular basis.The essential standards are the standards reflected on the 2016-2017 report card.

WILL STUDENTS LEAVING MIDDLE SCHOOL AND AN SBG SYSTEM BE PREPARED FOR A HIGH SCHOOL THAT USES A TRADITIONAL GRADING SYSTEM?

As far as preparing students for colleges and universities (or high school), clearly the best preparation that any school can offer is to engage students in a rigorous and challenging curriculum and then do what is possible to guarantee that students learn excellently what that curriculum includes. A standards-based report card identifies the specific learning goals within the curriculum so that appropriate rigor can be ensured. It also communicates more detailed information about higher levels of success. These distinct benefits serve to prepare students well, no matter what type of learning environment they enter after they leave school.” (Guskey & Bailey 2010 7)

Schools use grades because it’s one of those things somebody once decided on and now everybody goes along with it. I don’t know where it started, but I know where it stops - in the real world. You don’t see supervisors telling their employees, “Great job, I’m going to give you an A.” Or, “You really screwed up here; that’s a C-.” No, in the real world, adults get real feedback and indications of where they need improvement.” (Littky & Grabelle 2004)

Identifying one’s strengths and weaknesses as a learner, being self-motivated to meet course objectives, developing strong study habits, and mastering course standards are all aspects of this system that will help students in high school.

The grades that students receive in high school will depend upon the degree to which they meet their teachers’ communicated expectations. Students who meet grade level content standards in grades 6-8 and practice developing scholarly skills reflected by the student attributes (such as taking responsibility and attending to detail), are potentially on track to perform very well and receive good grades in high school. Historically, students who pay attention, study and produce quality work find educational, career, and personal success no matter what the grading system.

HOW DOES STANDARD-BASED REPORTING AFFECT A HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT CLASS (ALGEBRA l)?

Currently, some of our students are enrolled in high school level courses such as algebra. Some students opt to apply credit in these classes towards their high school credits. Although all high school classes offered in 8th grade are using standards-based instructional practices, the reporting process for these classes will reflect traditional grading like the high school courses that align with them. Our plan is to move toward standards-based grading in the future; however, more work needs to be done. Our high schools are also engaged in reviewing their grading practices to be more standards aligned.

WHY AREN'T ALL OF THE STANDARDS LISTED ON THE GRADE CARD?

The purpose of the standards-based report card is to communicate with parents and students about the progress of the student. Teachers collect evidence on specific grade-level standards and use that evidence to make a decision about a grade to report. Although the teacher is collecting evidence on the standards, reporting every single standard at each grade level would most likely be overwhelming to parents and teachers. For example, in third grade, there are over 40 standards in ELA alone. Many of the standards are not taught in isolation, so listing them separately is not necessary.

BEHAVIORS SUCH AS DOING HOMEWORK, PUTTING FORTH EFFORT AND ORGANIZING WORK ALL LEAD TO STUDENTS BEING SUCCESSFUL ACADEMICALLY, WHY ARENT THEY INCLUDED IN THE GRADE?

Grades are a way of communicating what a student knows and is able to do. When we include behaviors such as turning in work late or not at all or the amount of effort or participation, we are not accurately communicating achievement. Grades should be as pure of measure of achievement as possible. Attendance, effort and work habits are very important areas, but are reported separately from the achievement information. Reporting these separately gives us a clearer picture of the student and how we can help them.  Grades are a way of communicating what a student knows and is able to do. Each school will have an effort report that will include feedback on the work habits and behaviors that have been proven to support successful learning such as turning in assignments, respecting others and working independently.

HOW DOES SBG AFFECT SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS?

Grades/achievement grades for students with disabilities on a written service plan or IEP should reflect progress in the general curriculum using the specified services, supports, accommodations and modifications identified in the individual plan. Students will demonstrate progress toward identified standards, whether grade level or alternative, with alignment to pertinent IEP/service plan goals in qualifying areas. Progress specific to the goals and objectives identified in the plan are reflected in the Progress Report not the report card.

Parent/teacher teams will determine how students will access grade-level content via accommodations or below grade-level content (alternative standards) via modifications to meet a particular standard. For example, a grade of M (Meets Standards), can be achieved via accommodations for grade-level content. A grade of M given on an alternative standard is achieved via modifications. Modified standards are clearly communicated on a report card through the use of an asterisk (*) identifying "Modified Standard."

HOW CAN MY CHILD EXCEED THE STANDARDS?

Another change for students is understanding the concept of exceeding the standard. Exceeding is not the equivalent of an A on a traditional report card. For example, if a fifth-grader received A’s on every math test during the marking period, he or she would probably receive an A on a traditional report card. If those math tests measured only the concepts fifth graders are expected to master, those A’s would be the equivalent of meeting the standard on a Standards-Based report card; the student is doing what he or she should be doing very well, but not necessarily more. Standards-Based report cards encourage students to demonstrate their ability to apply skills and knowledge beyond grade level expectations.  Performance is characterized by self-motivation and the ability to apply skills with consistent accuracy, independence, and a high level of quality.


Click here for a list of resources about standards-based learning and grading.