Standards-Based Grading
Standards-based grading (SBG) focuses on determining students' progress towards the course standards. Traidtionally, assignments are assessed individually with all marks averaged together to determine the student's overall mark in the course. With SBG, assignments are tied to one or more standards and the student's work is evaluated to determine how closely it meets these standards. The student's progress towards the standards is what determines their overall grade in the course. In my classes, student work is measured against the standards of the BC English and Social Studies curriculum, which are known as curricular competencies.
I have been using standards-based grading with my classes since 2018. I no longer use traditional letter grades or percentages to evaluate student work. Instead, I focus on:
I have discovered that this approach makes sense to students once they get used to it. Using the same proficiency scale to evaluate everything means they no longer have to wonder about the difference between a 3 out of 5 and a 35 out of 40. Focusing on providing detailed, individualized feedback helps them to truly understand their marks and how they can improve. Knowing their final mark is based on their progress is encouraging and motivating because they feel they will be rewarded for their efforts to improve. Their mark is no longer an average that combines what they currently know with what they use to not know. Once standards-based grading becomes a familiar part of their learning, students quickly see that it is a fair and accurate way to determine their mark in the course.
I, personally, made the switch to SBG because it supports the development of a growth mindset, an important set of beliefs about learning that are key to life-long success. A growth mindset encourages students to see learning as a process of trial and error. It helps them to understand that failure is part of success and that we only improve with consistent practice, effort and self-reflection. A growth mindset emphasizes the rehearsal-performance dynamic. If we want to improve at something, we need to practice. No one sits down at a piano and plays a song perfectly on their first try. They rehearse the piece of music many times over several practice sessions until they are ready to perform the song for others. The same is true with academic learning, but sometimes we forget that. Learning something new requires time, patience and effort. It often involves making mistakes, learning from them and trying again.
The traditional approach to grading does not encourage a growth mindset, and it does not support the rehearsal-performance dynamic. It treats every assignment, test and project as a performance. Mistakes that are made along the way end up as part of the student's mark. If a student works hard to improve and finally does well on an important assignment, they may only see their grade increase by a tiny amount because their improvement is averaged with their earlier struggles. The learning and improvement that occur during the rehearsal phase of learning are punished and not rewarded in this system. This situation can be incredibly discouraging. Because this approach to grading turns every demonstration of learning into a high-stakes situation, students and their families often expect high scores on every assignment and forget that learning is a process that involves both success and failure. Students end up competing for high marks or feeling like failures who can never succeed instead of appreciating their own growth and progress.
With Standards-Based Grading, I calculate marks and provide feedback in a way that encourages students to embrace the rehearsal-performance dynamic. Early learning opportunities are no longer factored into a student's grade if that student improves over the course of the year. This method allows students to try new things, develop their skills, experiment, take risks and make mistakes over the course of the year without hurting their final mark. As long as they keep learning from their mistakes and improving, their performance in the class will also improve. This new approach to grading is a great fit with the new BC curriculum, and it promotes a growth mindset approach to learning. It rewards students who make the effort to improve, which helps motivate students to do their best in class.
This new approach to marking is unfamiliar to many of us. To help you better understand it, I have pulled together the following resources:
I have been using standards-based grading with my classes since 2018. I no longer use traditional letter grades or percentages to evaluate student work. Instead, I focus on:
- Providing feedback that helps them identify their strengths and areas for potential growth
- Connecting the feedback on each assignment to their understanding of the course's Big Ideas and their development of course Skills
- Using the same proficiency scale to give feedback on everything
- Encouraging self-reflection, so students better understand their own learning
- Calculating their final marks based on their overall progress
I have discovered that this approach makes sense to students once they get used to it. Using the same proficiency scale to evaluate everything means they no longer have to wonder about the difference between a 3 out of 5 and a 35 out of 40. Focusing on providing detailed, individualized feedback helps them to truly understand their marks and how they can improve. Knowing their final mark is based on their progress is encouraging and motivating because they feel they will be rewarded for their efforts to improve. Their mark is no longer an average that combines what they currently know with what they use to not know. Once standards-based grading becomes a familiar part of their learning, students quickly see that it is a fair and accurate way to determine their mark in the course.
I, personally, made the switch to SBG because it supports the development of a growth mindset, an important set of beliefs about learning that are key to life-long success. A growth mindset encourages students to see learning as a process of trial and error. It helps them to understand that failure is part of success and that we only improve with consistent practice, effort and self-reflection. A growth mindset emphasizes the rehearsal-performance dynamic. If we want to improve at something, we need to practice. No one sits down at a piano and plays a song perfectly on their first try. They rehearse the piece of music many times over several practice sessions until they are ready to perform the song for others. The same is true with academic learning, but sometimes we forget that. Learning something new requires time, patience and effort. It often involves making mistakes, learning from them and trying again.
The traditional approach to grading does not encourage a growth mindset, and it does not support the rehearsal-performance dynamic. It treats every assignment, test and project as a performance. Mistakes that are made along the way end up as part of the student's mark. If a student works hard to improve and finally does well on an important assignment, they may only see their grade increase by a tiny amount because their improvement is averaged with their earlier struggles. The learning and improvement that occur during the rehearsal phase of learning are punished and not rewarded in this system. This situation can be incredibly discouraging. Because this approach to grading turns every demonstration of learning into a high-stakes situation, students and their families often expect high scores on every assignment and forget that learning is a process that involves both success and failure. Students end up competing for high marks or feeling like failures who can never succeed instead of appreciating their own growth and progress.
With Standards-Based Grading, I calculate marks and provide feedback in a way that encourages students to embrace the rehearsal-performance dynamic. Early learning opportunities are no longer factored into a student's grade if that student improves over the course of the year. This method allows students to try new things, develop their skills, experiment, take risks and make mistakes over the course of the year without hurting their final mark. As long as they keep learning from their mistakes and improving, their performance in the class will also improve. This new approach to grading is a great fit with the new BC curriculum, and it promotes a growth mindset approach to learning. It rewards students who make the effort to improve, which helps motivate students to do their best in class.
This new approach to marking is unfamiliar to many of us. To help you better understand it, I have pulled together the following resources:
