Standards Based Grading 101

Years ago, I was a competitive cheerleader. If you’ve ever been a cheerleader or been involved in the sport, then you know that there is so much more to cheerleading than the short skirts and sideline chants. Competitive cheer is a different beast than gameday cheering. My teammates and I trained endlessly for the two and half minutes we had to show the judges our excellence in tumbling, stunting, dancing, and cheering. As a driven high school student who always felt like I was trying to hit a moving target, I lived for the moments on the blue mat. I knew my purpose there, and I had clear targets. When I didn’t stick the landing of my tumbling pass, I knew I had to quicken my rotation, spot my landing, etc. If the stunt didn’t hit, I worked with my flyer and bases to reevaluate and adjust. The mat provided clear and instantaneous feedback. I could measure my progress easily and accurately, and it provided safety as I learned how to fail and get back up again.

During my second year teaching, I nearly graded myself to death. No, I’m not exaggerating. By the end of the first quarter, I had nearly 40 grades in the gradebook. My philosophy then was that I had to grade every single assignment my students completed. So, to survive, I lived by the check, check plus, check minus grade. I provided little feedback beyond the check I deemed appropriate according to the invisible rubric that lived inside my own brain. How could I leave meaningful feedback when I had so many assignments to grade each day?  And to teach responsibility, I had a penalty for missing assignments: the typical 10% deduction for each day after the deadline. The result was that my gradebook communicated that my students had completed numerous assignments, and in my inexperienced mind, that meant that I was teaching and they were learning. Except, as I reflect back on that school year now, I can’t confidently say my students learned anything other than how to turn in assignments. 

In the summer before my fifth year teaching, a colleague introduced me to standards based grading (SBG). I had heard of it but knew little; being the pioneer I am, I set out to explore the principles of SBG. After some research, my teammates and I decided to implement SBG with our English I students. Our motivation initially was to create differentiated pathways of learning for our students, and to do this, we needed a grading system that accurately communicated a student’s level of proficiency rather than their level of participation or compliance. To implement this system, we identified our essential standards: the skills we prioritized as necessary for moving beyond English I and into English II. We then determined our ranges of proficiency and created rubrics for each range. We used backward design to ensure that our summative assessments were aligned to our formative assessments and our formative assessments were aligned to our daily instruction. We created plans for intervention and enrichment. We fully embraced the process of implementing SBG because we believed we would see a positive outcome.

After consistently sticking to SBG for one year, we were using our gradebooks in ways that we hadn’t before; instead of an arbitrary numerical value next to the students’ names, we had numerical values that represented the level of proficiency each student had achieved for the English I state standards. We also noticed that students began to buy-in to the concept of learning as a process. Instead of settling for a passing score, we saw students working hard to achieve a higher level of proficiency; they learned how to reevaluate and adjust. They accepted that learning doesn’t happen in one day or one unit but that it is a continuous process. Ultimately, we found that when our students had clear targets and timely feedback, they were able to meet their goals. What started with one English team on my campus has expanded to nearly the entire English department and other departments as well. Standards based grading has completely changed what grades communicate to teachers, parents, and students. 

After implementing SBG for the past four years, I’ve finally gotten it down to a science. I’ve watched as our test scores have increased by 20%, but more than that, I’ve seen the culture shift among students: students working together to help one another succeed instead of competing against each other; students trying again and again until they’ve demonstrated mastery, and students celebrating when their hard work pays off. I’ve presented on this topic numerous times both on the campus level and district level, and throughout my journey, I have gathered a list of frequently asked questions. Here, I’ll provide my answers to those questions. In subsequent posts, I’ll take a closer look at the necessary components of SBG and provide insight into making SBG work in your classroom.

Question 1: What even is SBG?

Standards based grading is a grading practice that is based on standard/skill/objective rather than assignment. A rubric or proficiency scale is used to categorize students into four levels of competency: foundational, developing, proficient, advanced/masters. A numerical value is assigned to each level of competency; therefore, the students’ grades communicate their progress towards proficiency in the course rather than their compliance or participation.

In my classroom, I use four grades to communicate proficiency: 65%, 75%, 85%, and 95%. Occasionally, I’ll award a 100%, particularly on multiple choice quizzes. The lowest grade I put in the gradebook for any skill that has been attempted is a 65%. I’ll write a separate blog post about numerical grades and SBG in the future. In that post, I’ll also address how I handle missing or late submissions.

Question 2: How do you determine your levels of competency?

You have to consider your purpose for the different levels. You should also consider your alignment to your state assessments or course standards. When my team first implemented standards based grading, we had three competency levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Upon reconsideration, however, we found that it would be in our students’ best interests to add a fourth level of competency to reflect the STAAR assessment. The STAAR assessment categorizes students as not passing, approaching standards, meets standards, and masters standards. We agreed on the terms foundational, developing, proficient, and advanced. This helps us more accurately predict a students’ performance on the STAAR assessment and aids in differentiation of instruction.

If you’re teaching a non-tested subject, you will likely have a different purpose for your levels of proficiency. Perhaps, the three levels might work best for you, or maybe, you need a fifth level to clearly communicate what you intend to. Consider your “why” behind the implementation of SBG and then determine how many levels you need to adequately communicate with your students and their guardians/parents.

Question 3: Aren’t all the standards important? How do I assess all of the standards this way?

Not all standards are created equal. There will be standards that are more essential for your students to learn than others. Before implementing SBG, consider meeting with the teams that are vertically aligned with your coursework. Settle on ten standards that each grade level considers essential for the students to learn before moving to the next course. Commit to assessing these standards using SBG and tracking student progress. 

Question 4: How do you communicate your grading practices to students and their parents/guardians?

My messaging about the grading policies in my courses begins before the school year. During course selection, I provide students and their guardians/parents with a document that defines SBG. This opens the door for students and their families to start asking questions. Again, I’ll contact students and families via email as soon as I have my class rosters. This is also where I communicate any materials that students will need on the first day. Once school begins, I discuss SBG with my students; in fact, I have an entire mini-lesson that walks students through SBG and a practice activity that puts them in the teacher’s shoes. 

I have had several parents/guardians reach out about my grading policies; however, once I explain how SBG works, their concerns are alleviated. My advice to you is to know why you’re implementing SBG. If you have a clear purpose and you’re consistent, then you should be able to communicate the benefits of SBG to both families and students. If you do not have a clear purpose and/or you are not consistent in your grading practices, you will quickly encounter frustrated students and parents/guardians. Do not begin implementing SBG until you have clarity and can be consistent in your practice. 

Question 5: What effects have you seen on student growth since implementing SBG?

Before implementing SBG, my students were rushing through assignments for the sake of turning them in. They were more concerned about completing assignments than learning skills. When I made the switch to SBG, my students didn’t understand why their grades had plummeted; they had turned in the assignment, so didn’t that mean they should get a 100%? Unfortunately, we have conditioned students to think that as long as they turn in completed assignments they will pass our course. When you begin implementing SBG, you reveal the true proficiency level of students, and many times, the students who are completing assignments are actually not demonstrating mastery but rather compliance. 

After my students began understanding the rubrics and expectations for achieving a level of proficiency on their various assignments, students began taking their time and focusing on understanding the skills. They took advantage of the opportunity to come to tutorials for intervention and reassess the skill. Overall, student motivation increased. We also noticed significant growth in our state assessment score. In the past 3 years, our state assessment scores have increased by approximately 20%. While many factors have contributed to this growth, the implementation of SBG is certainly one of the most impactful.

I’ll be posting more blogs about SBG and addressing more of the concerns and questions I’ve encountered.

Be bold and be brave!