2. There’s no difference. In my class (science) a student has a 3 if they’re at standard and a 4 if above. So for example one of my state (CA) standards has to do with solving problems involving speed, distance, and time. If they can do that 100% of the time, they’re at standard. In our case, we have a state test that defines what standard is. If they can solve harder problems than that (for example multi step problems) they have a 4.

2. If A means you scored superior to your peers then yes, you’re grading on a curve. You may not re-norm every test but if you go back and think “Too many kids got As on this test, I need to make it harder” then you’re using a bell curve. In SBAR, you’re graded in relation to the standards. As a teacher, there’s a huge mental difference between looking at all the As in your gradebook and thinking, “I’ve made the class too easy, I need to make it harder now” and in an SBAR system of thinking, “Look at all the As, I’ve succeeded in bringing everyone up above standard.”

3. The difficulty is not in your justification, it’s in others understanding the justification. If parents, students, other teachers, and future teachers don’t know what your grades mean, that hurts the student. I can’t look back at the grades of my students from in earlier years for help because I have no idea what went into those grades. I can’t help my kid because I don’t know why they have a C. I can’t help my current students in other classes because I don’t know what they need help with. And if I can’t do that, your students can’t do that.

4. I actually have no problem with subjective stuff as long as it’s made clear. If you report out academic achievement separate from non-academic than you’re ok. So my ability to write a persuasive essay is reported separately from my ability to not be disruptive in class.

5. It depends on the standards. If achieving standard is harder than most teachers demand then overall grades might go down. If it’s easier than it might go up. That’s the issue though. Grading standards vary from teacher to teacher. I read in Educational Leadership that a A in math in an urban school is equivalent to a D in a affluent one in terms of how the students performed on standardized tests. That’s from school to school. I bet every student in your school knows who the easy graders and the hard graders are. If I’m trying to be valedictorian, what incentive do I have to take the harder teacher?

6. Don’t confuse “what I’m used to” with simple. Traditional grading would be insane if we had never been raised with it. “Your teacher will decide how you are graded. Your GPA will largely be determined by random teacher assignment. Each teacher may decide to include whatever level of competency and mixture of things. As long as you achieve 90% of that random mixture you will excel. Some will give you extra credit for bringing kleenex. Doing the work is mandatory while learning itself is optional. If you are at an 89% but the teacher likes you, you might get bumped up to an A.” yes, that was a little snarky but not too far from the truth. To be less snarky, the problem that teacher was having was trying to do everything exactly the same but change the representation of the grades. SBAR requires a rethinking of how you approach everything.

7. Standards is not the same as standardized testing. The type of assessment itself is irrelevant as long as they can demonstrate the appropriate level of mastery. One of the joys of SBAR is you can use multiple measures.

Ultimately the issue is not whether or not SBAR is perfect, but whether it is better than the traditional model. Disagree with the number or depth of the standards we have? Go for it. Disagree with the whole standards-based movement? That’s a good conversation. But you will have a hard, hard time convincing anyone (student/teacher/parent) who’s really tried both that the traditional method is any any way better for learning.

All 3s and at least one 4 is an A
Minimum score 2.5 at least one 3 is a B
etc.

No averaging ever. I like this method because it forces students to address their weaknesses. In my class 4,4,4,4,1.5 would be a D. Sounds hard but in my view your strengths in other areas shouldn’t mask your weakness in another. You should have to work on that.

How the gradebook is setup.
I use Powerschool gradebook. I setup each Category as a Topic, so instead of Quizzes the category is Motion or Forces and Newton’s Laws. Once or twice a week there will be an entry that just says “Progress Check 1″ or “Progress Check 2″ under each active Topic and I put in a 0-4 score. Each Topic will also have an assignment created called “Topic Score” that I update each week based on what I feel is their current level of mastery. The Progress Checks are just their to monitor their progress. I only use the Topic Scores for the final grade.

I don’t enter individual assignments because not all students are doing the same things and really it’d just confuse parents to see all these blank assignment spots for their kids.

Percentages don’t work in a true SBAR system as was stated. Knowing 90% of anything is not meeting standard.

For individual assignments I generally score 1,2,3 or 4. When translating those assignments for a reporting period I average the accumulated work and use the scale above to translate it to a percent for the report card.

I love standards based grading as it helps highlight, on a regular basis, concepts each individual has mastered, and areas in which he or she needs improvement / practice / further learning, and more importantly, support. It allowed me to be specific with parents and my students at conferences, and I didn’t have to worry about backing up my grading decisions because they weren’t subjective, and I actually had more documentation than previously.

In my new job, I am forced to give a traditional letter grade aligned with a 100 percentage point system, and standards grades in the learning strands of each content area. The dilemma I have is that the two were NEVER meant to align for conversion. SB shows progress over time, and it allows us to show growth or lack thereof in material covered each grading period. It puts the responsibility on the student, and makes learning expectations explicit. Recording a 1 is meant to show that the students has shown limited progress in that one area, and is a red flag for further differentiation, support, and perhaps even assessment for LD.

True, no rubric is perfect, but that’s why WE are the trained professionals and learn how to read our students contributions. A 1 isn’t a D, it isn’t ‘not passing’ or passing, it’s an indication of a need for help or differentiation – period. We know not compare apples and oranges, so why try to compare sb with Trad grading systems. They don’t align. Now, back to my stupid report cards with what I perceive as far more subjective grading…

1 – No comprehension
2 – Comprehension with assistance
3 – Comprehension with application
3* – Comprehension with some extension
4 – Comprehension with extension

For reading, I’ve found that to be an excellent scale, other than the fact I feel there should be a 2* on there somewhere for kids who can comprehend with some application but still need assistance. You also have to give each child at least three opportunities per graded standard to show application (e.g. – 2 quizzes and 1 test or 2 guided reading responses and 1 quiz, etc.).
Anyways, I wanted to chime in there and I will be back to check out these comments because I am firm believer that standards based grading is a more balanced way to evaluate comprehension and growth.

1. I am inclined to agree with the common sense expression of the parent who posted above.

2. SBG seems to be coming out of an elementary/middle school perspective and I am not sure about the application to high school where content, as opposed to process, is appropriate.

3. I have no difficulty at all with justifying the pt. system I now use.
Every evaluative piece of work is assigned a point value; with exams having the highest pt. value. Pts. earned are divided by pts. possible and translated into a percent scale. 94% for an A down to 60% required to pass; where an A means SUPERIOR; B means ABOVE AVERAGE; and so on. I do not use a curve. Yes, the students are ranked in relation to the grades of their peers. So, if you earn an A that means you scored at a superior level for the course compared with your peers.

4. I agree, subjective factors ought not to figure into the grade. I am only interested in the students ability to demonstrate knowledge of the course content.

5. My impression is that most administrators like SBA because it will result in grade inflation and also result in more students passing; graduating; and it may help in MAKING IT APPEAR the performance gap between different student populations is closing.

6. Don’t complicate the simple: Most of what I have read above is to D_________ confluted to be useful. I read a description of the SBG system of a teacher in my building. It took 3 pages and I still don’t know how the students demonstrate their knowledge! Another staff member simply divided the 100% scale into 4s. Thus a student with 37% was getting a C. Another with 75% was getting a B! Absurd.

7. By the way; what do people do with 504 and special ed. students who claim test anxiety?

Cheers
Marcus