Standards-Based Grading

Let’s talk about Standards-Based Grading! SBG (how Standards-Based Grading will be referenced for the rest of this post) is when grades given to students are based on their understanding of specific concepts and skills. Traditional letter grades are not used. For example, instead of getting a “B” in ELA, a student’s report card may look like this:

Reads grade-level texts with fluency and accuracy: Y

Comprehends grade-level texts: Y

Makes connections between texts: N

In SBG, there is very little confusion for students and parents and it helps students get a clear understanding of what they still need to work on and where they should focus their efforts. Likewise, this information is beneficial for teachers as well, because it provides a clear path for future instruction and reteaching. Josh Work from Edutopia agrees. He states that “under standards-based grading, our teachers have created an opportunity for students to persevere in the face of challenges. Students are measured on their proficiency of content standards. Some demonstrate early mastery and are able to move on to more difficult concepts, while others may require reteaching. Teachers are able to easily identify those students who may need some support in order to demonstrate proficiency. Students are beginning to understand and value the process of learning, rather than just earning a grade (2014).”

So the big question is, could this work in your classroom? Well, every classroom, school, and district is different, so I can’t speak to whether or not this will work for you, but I can reflect on whether or not this would work for me in my own classroom. I actually used to work in a district that implemented SBG shortly before I left. To be honest, there was some push-back from parents and students who were comfortable with letter grades and didn’t know how to measure achievement without that coveted “A”. But after the first SBG report card was sent home, most of those parents and students breathed a sigh of relief when they realized how easy it was to understand. There were other added benefits, too, which Naomi Shak from Edulastic shares. She says, that “students become more self-motivated – With the goal of SBG being student mastery and understanding rather than getting the most points, students become more motivated to truly understand the material. The “Will this be graded?” question is slowly replaced with earnest questions to better understand the material (2018).”

So my answer to the big question is “yes” SBG could definitely work in my first-grade classroom. Most of our current report card is already Standards-Based, so it wouldn't be much of a change. But even if it was, I love everything about SBG and the benefits it provides for students, parents, and teachers. 

One question that still remains for me after researching SBG is, “Can SBG be effectively used from K-12?” High school especially seems like a tough nut to crack. High school grades are used for class placement, college admission, and scholarships. It seems to me that if high schools moved to SBG, it would present far more complications that if elementary school and even middle school were to switch over. What are your thoughts?