Grade Reform: The Need for

Standards Based Grading at HDHSJennifer L. CrawfordThe University of New England

Step One: Identify the Issue

Traditional grading practices reward effort, timeliness and quick learning.

Teachers present material, give assessments and assign grades.

Failure to complete work is penalized with loss of points and not learning the material is deemed a failure on the part of the student.

Students who struggle to learn can mask their deficiencies by putting forth a

consistent and cooperative effort.

In a traditional grading structure it is entirely possible to earn credit for a course without ever demonstrating mastery of a single concept or standard.

Step Two: Research I collected a variety of articles and books by various leaders in the field of education.

Leading Voices in Education

Standards based grading affords all stake-holders a clear picture of

student learning and precisely identifies areas in need of further

instruction. (Erickson, 2011; Jung and Guskey, 2007; O’Connor and

Wormeli, 2011; Scriffiny, 2008)

Traditional grading practices, which are often diluted by non-scholastic factors, fail to present a clear picture of what a student knows and is able to do. (Erickson, 2011; O’Connor and Wormeli, 2011; Scriffiny, 2008)

Step Three: Involve the Stakeholders During an in house professional

development day in October I pulled together a group of teachers to look at the issue of grade reform.

The group included members from each department team.

The group also included those who had been most vehemently opposed to grade reform in the past.

The Initial Activity In randomly selected groups we

conducted a jigsaw activity of six different articles on grade reform.

After the jigsaw the groups each made a list of the points and ideas that they all agreed with and a separate list of the points and ideas where they could not reach agreement.

Step Four: Building Staff

Leadership

In November the Principal, Curriculum Coordinator and I took a group of six teachers, one from each department team, to a workshop about Assessment Reform.

Staff PresentationThe team that attended the workshop created a power-point previewing the book The Teacher as Assessment Leader and presented it to the staff at the in-house professional development session at the end of November.Every member of the staff received a copy of the book and a chapter assignment for a jigsaw activity to be held during the December in-house PD session.

A key component of this book, edited by Thomas Guskey, is the need for standards based grading and assessment.

Step Five: School-Wide Rubrics

At the first faculty meeting in December the English Team is presenting a draft of the school-wide writing rubric.

All staff will practice utilizing the standards based rubric with a sample of student writing.

The goal is for universal use of the writing rubric by the second semester.

Next Steps

Re-evaluate and tweak the standards based grading program as needed.

After the December book talk, bring the October Grade Reform group back together to discuss the implications of the assessment work on grade reform.

Develop a standards-based grading pilot to test by quarter four.

Implement Standards-based grading across the curriculum by the fall semester.

Utilize a school-wide evaluation tool to monitor effectiveness

Why This Approach?Green (2013) emphasizes the value of listening and sharing ideas. Fully involving the staff in the process of grade reform is essential. In order for the reform to be successful and effective the staff must be fully involved in the planning and implementation. A top down approach will not produce good results.

Kouzes and Posner (2007) in the Jossey-Bass Reader talk about the importance of basing leadership on what you believe. It is my strong belief that standards-based grading is what is best for students.

References(2007). The jossey-bass reader on educational leadership. (2nd ed.). SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-

Bass Inc Pub.

Erickson, J. A. (2011). A Call to Action: Transforming Grading Practices. Principal Leadership,

11(6), 42-46.

Green, R. L. (2013). Practicing the art of leadership, a problem-based approach to implementing the

isllc

standards. (fourth ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Jung, L., & Guskey, T. R. (2007). Standards-Based Grading and Reporting: A Model for Special

Education. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 40(2-), 48-53.

O'Connor, K., & Wormeli, R. (2011). Reporting Student Learning. Educational Leadership,

69(3), 40-44.

Scriffiny, P. L. (2008). Seven Reasons for Standards-Based Grading. Educational Leadership,

66(2), 70-74.