Standards Based Grading
What is Standards-Based Grading?
"Standards-based grading is a system of assessing and reporting that describes student progress in relation to standards"(Marzano).
As a department (Science, English, History, etc.), the teachers give students a grade based on how proficient they are in the standards for that content area.
Students only receive grades based on their progress towards that standard.
Student behavior (tardiness, late homework, sleeping in class, etc.) is not part of their academic grade.
Watch this video about Standards-Based Grading and why we use it at Salem Junior:
Why do we use standards-based Grading?
Robert J. Marzano is a researcher in education. He provides an explanation as to why Standards-Based Grading is a better way to grade than the traditional grading system:
"In the traditional system, students acquire points for various activities, assignments, and behaviors, which accrue throughout a grading period. The teacher adds up the points and assigns a letter grade.
A variation on this theme is to keep track of percentage scores across various categories of performance and behavior and then translate the average percentage score into a letter grade or simply report the average percentage score (for example, 62.9 percent).
These practices provide little useful information about a specific student. A student might have received an overall or "omnibus" letter grade of B, not because he had a solid grasp of the target content, but because he was exceptionally well behaved in class, participated in all discussions, and turned in all assignments on time. Likewise, a student may have received a percentage score of 62.9, not because she displayed significant gaps in understanding regarding the target content, but because she received a zero for tardiness on assignments or for disruptive behavior. In addition to this lack of specificity, one teacher's criteria for assigning a letter grade of A, for example, might be equivalent to another teacher's criteria for assigning a letter grade of B, or even lower.
In an effort to cure the ills of current grading and reporting systems, many schools and districts across the United States have attempted to implement a standards-based system"(Grades That Show What Students Know).
Here at Salem Junior High, we wanted all teachers and stakeholders to be clear on what students needed to learn and what it looked like to be proficient in what they're learning. Standards-based grading helps all of us keep better track of what students know and understand.
Reading your student's report card
In your student's report card, you'll see two grades for each class - one that reflects their knowledge of the content and one that reflects their behavior in class.
Content Knowledge
For each class, you'll see a class grade. When you click on the class, you'll see two types of work: Learning Targets and Work Completion.
The Learning Target category is for tests/assessments. Notice that they aren't called "Unit 1 Test" and that's because each learning target title should be a description of what the student should understand (for example, "I can solve a system of inequalities").
The Work Completion category contains any work the student does to help them understand the learning targets. Sometimes the work is labeled with a letter/number that corresponds with the learning target it helps them to understand.
In a true Standards-Based Grading scenario, all of a student's grade is based on learning target proficiency, but here at Salem Junior, the grade is based on a mix of work completion and learning targets. Work Completion can be worth anything from 20 - 30% of a student's grade and Learning Targets can be worth anything from 70 - 80% of a student's grade.
Whether it's a learning target or work completion assignment, students should be able to click on it and know how to complete it.
Behavior / Citizenship
For each class, you'll see a Citizenship grade. This grade is NOT tied to their academic grade.
Citizenship is broken down into categories of behavior listed by the teacher, such as participation, late work, group work, etc. All students begin with 100 points at the beginning of each term, but may be docked points for behaviors that detract them from learning or others' learning.
All students start out with an "S," which means their behavior is fine in class.
When behavior starts to affect student learning or the learning of others, points can be subtracted till the student reaches a grade of "N," which warrants in an email home. A continuation of negative behaviors will lower the grade to a "U," which will result in a phone call home to discuss what can be done to help the student be successful.
Any citizenship points can be made up if the student comes and works out a solution with their teacher.
Retaking learning targets
In every class, if students are not proficient in a specific learning target, they are allowed to retake a learning target to show their teacher that they are proficient.
Students may have some requirements before they are allowed to retake a learning target. Each teacher has decided what those requirements will be.