STANDARDS BASED GRADING PERCENTAGES HOW TO

STANDARDS BASED GRADING PERCENTAGES HOW TO

I also wonder if, once upon a time, an educator was instructed how to do standards-based grading and the instructions were incorrect, rendering the objective of SBG as a means to go “gradeless,” as ineffective as traditional grading practices from yesteryear. So, I wonder if the negative perception of SBG and the subsequent grades that are a result of such a practice, is because some educators have been exposed to harmful versions of it, perhaps practices that teeter on ethical malpractice or maybe are misaligned with what the intention of SBG should be, or there could be top down decrees that once pigeon-holed them into using SBG in ineffective ways and undermined their practice, resulting in a overall feeling that SBG is both ineffective and as abhorrent as points and grades in themselves. In fact, it is because I am implementing standards based grading practices, that generating a grade seems to have less stinging and more calming effects now. But I also know that when standards-based grading is implemented properly, the road to report card-ville has fewer potholes than before. I, too, have felt pangs of regret at report card time and wondered how I could be so cruel as to categorize students in such a way. I also sympathize with educators who must summarize all learning into a percentage or symbol at the end of learning. Now, I’m not going to judge anyone for wanting to overhaul a dangerous system in which letter grades are used as carrots and sticks to garner obedient behaviour from students. When rebuking standards-based grading is included in conversations about grading reform, it is going too far. While I agree that outdated and ineffective grading practices like using a 101 point scale, averaging assessments, and labelling work with letter grades needs to be chucked, it’s too bold to suggest that all grading is rotten and should be cast down in one gigantic swoop. There’s negative chatter about all forms of grading practices, including standards-based grading. Seems like on most days when I hit social media, I’m bombarded by the same chatter-grades are “meaningless,” “don’t measure learning,” and “are corruptive.”Īnd the comments don’t stop there.

Standards based grading percentages