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Dependent upon the district decision relating to a standards-directed grading policy, the collection of data for feedback by standard may also be translated into a grade. To be able to give feedback or grade by standard (or topic, or benchmark), a grade book's organizing structure must be according to the standards (topics/benchmarks). For example, instead of having the name of the tests written in the grade book columns, the standards (topics/benchmarks) will be used. As assessments are given and data collected, scores may be placed in multiple columns to represent a student's achievement on different standards (topics/benchmarks).
Grading is one of the most “sacred” and personal traditions in education so will take a lot of discussion to come to a consensus as to the type of policy and operating procedures that will be acceptable for a district and community. If a district stops short of this final step, the students and faculty will exist in two different worlds! In order to be able to implement this portion of a standards-directed system, values and beliefs about grading need to be addressed.
Reporting in a standards-based system will look very similar to our present reporting system in elementary. Efforts will need to be made to align the report with standards and benchmarks so that students and parents can see a direct correlation between what a teacher says a student will learn and what they are reported. In elementary, this report will likely be by benchmark. The question may be whether or not it is reported this way for all content or if the reporting by benchmark is for only reading and mathematics. This is again a decision for the leaders of a school district. At the secondary level, the report will likely be by standard. The recommendation from national experts is that a letter grade be given for the course as well as the achievement level for each standard. It will be necessary for a district to schedule a series of discussions to determine how this grade is figured, what is included in this grade, and assure the grade is reflective of and aligned to the standards.
It is important to note that research will support grading and reporting by standard as one of the greatest impacts on student achievement. Even though this will be one of the most difficult undertakings in the entire transformation, it is worth the effort! |
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