Geofest Review: Standards-Based Grading Posted on October 16th, 2014 by Elisabeth Krane

Hello again, friends!

I don’t know how many of you attended the lecture at Geofest about Standards-Based Grading, but it was an excellent lecture. I’m still not sure how I personally feel about this method of assessment, but I am certain that with the push to hold teachers more accountable to standards, we will be experiencing some form of this method of assessment during our careers!

Here are some key ideas I learned:

• Standards-Based Grading (SBG) only assesses student learning, in relation to each Learning Target.
• A Learning Target (LT) is a statement, starting with “I can…”, that closely correlates to a benchmark (or part of a benchmark) for a standard.
• LTs are constantly revisited.
• Students also keep track of their scores and their progress towards each LT.
• The only scores recorded in the grade book are direct assessments for each LT.
• Students are graded by a rubric for each assessment for each LT.
  • 4–You have exceeded the LT
  • 3–You have mastered the LT
  • 2–You show some understanding of the LT
  • 1–You show very basic understanding of the LT
  • 0–You show no understanding of the LT
• Grading does not include classroom participation, study skills, or homework.
• Students may redo or retake assessments (with some evidence of study or practice) until they master the LT.

Here is a video about SBG.

If you want to find more information, click here or here. Feel free to ask me more questions about what I learned!

–Elisabeth