Strategies for Performance-Based Education and Marking: Your Strategic Roadmap for 2024
In a move towards a more focused approach to education, several districts are adopting standards-based grading (SBG). This method emphasizes student learning of core content, rather than engagement or student effort.
Kelly Ronnebeck's district, for instance, has shifted its focus to SBG, providing clear pictures of student learning to parents, teachers, and students. The district starts the transition with a group learning process, including book studies and curriculum committees representing various grade levels.
Similarly, Eddie Oakley's district has also embraced SBG. Oakley communicates the shift to parents by explaining the meaning behind traditional grades and using social media. The district requires students in 5th, 8th, and 12th grade to defend their learning to progress to the next grade level.
Jay Meadows, on the other hand, realised that traditional grading practices weren't asking students to think about 21st-century real-world problems and develop 21st-century skills. Meadows emphasises the importance of working backward from assessments to design instruction that aligns with standards.
Barbara Geibel's district has also begun implementing SBG, starting with early grades and gradually rolling it out to older grades. Geibel's district uses Otus to ensure accountability and consistency in aligning assessments with state standards.
The movement towards SBG has been in motion for over 30 years. A recent Tech & Learning roundtable webinar discussed SBG and its practices. Panelists included Eddie Oakley, Kelly Ronnebeck, Jay Meadows, and Barbara Geibel.
Best practices for aligning curriculum, assessments, and instruction with SBG involve starting with clear academic standards, developing specific learning targets, and creating transparent grading criteria that reflect levels of mastery. Communication strategies with parents and students focus on clarity and ongoing dialogue about expectations and progress.
Some key practices include beginning with academic standards, breaking standards into learning targets, designing assessments aligned to standards, developing a mastery-based grading scale, separating academic and behavioral grades, using multiple opportunities to show mastery, and collaborating among teachers.
For communicating these practices to parents and students, it's important to clearly communicate expectations from the start, explain the meaning of grades, use transparent reporting, provide ongoing, formative feedback, host informational sessions, and educate families about how SBG works and how to interpret grade reports.
In summary, aligning curriculum, assessments, and instruction with SBG revolves around explicit, standards-focused objectives, clear mastery criteria, and formative support, while communication with families centers on transparency, ongoing dialogue, and education about the grading shift. This approach promotes equity, motivation, and a shared understanding between educators, students, and parents.
The webinar was sponsored by Otus. Barbara Geibel's district started meeting as grade levels to align assessments and report cards with essential standards last year. Meadows suggests that focusing on big ideas in math can increase student engagement and foster a consistent set of expectations from K through high school. Oakley's district built summative assessments first, then built toward the standards, and created a portrait of a graduate with six pieces: global citizen, lifelong learner, inspired innovator, critical thinker, responsible collaborators, effective communicators.
- Kelly Ronnebeck's district, like many others, has transitioned to standards-based grading (SBG), providing a clear picture of student learning to all parties involved.
- Eddie Oakley's district, similarly, has adopted SBG and communicates the shift to parents using social media and explanation of traditional grades' meaning.
- Barbara Geibel's district, in line with SBG practices, began aligning assessments and report cards with essential standards last year.
- Jay Meadows emphasizes the need for instruction that aligns with standards, working backward from assessments to design 21st-century-focused learning.
- Best practices for SBG involve starting with clear academic standards, creating transparent grading criteria, and communicating expectations and progress effectively to parents and students.
