TL;DR:
- Standards-based grading is like shrimp scampi: great when done right, frustrating when done poorly.
- It is essential to understand what stands-based grading is if we are going to use it to make a difference.
- Insist on quality professional learning and ongoing support to make sure SBG is implemented with integrity.
One of my wife’s favourite dishes to order whenever we go to an Italian restaurant is shrimp scampi. This is a simple dish in which shrimp are cooked in a sauce made with garlic, butter, white wine, and lemon. It is often served with pasta but can also be served as just the shrimp in the sauce.
The recipe for shrimp scampi seems simple.
We have been somewhat surprised to discover how often the dish can be imbalanced. Sometimes it is because there is too much butter or not enough. Sometimes the balance of garlic and lemon is off. And sometimes it tastes more like shrimp cooked in oil and then simply walked past a clove of garlic and a lemon that is on a table across the room.
Despite the disappointment when the dish is not up to her standards, she continues to order it when given the chance because she knows that, when prepared properly, it is a delicious dish that brings her a great deal of joy.
First and foremost, grading is the last part of the process. To be more accurate, this approach should be referred to as standards-based teaching, learning, assessing, grading, and reporting. Click To TweetUnderstanding Standards-Based Grading
Standards-based grading has become something of a buzzword among professional educators, set up as the opposite of traditional grading. Lines have been drawn in the sand, with very passionate defenders and detractors on both sides. Because of this, I have found it necessary to establish terms so that we can all discuss this topic with the same understanding.
I began my full-time professional teaching career in 2011. At this time, the district was transitioning from traditional grading practices to standards-based practices. After seven years in the classroom, I changed districts when I took a position in a Curriculum and Instruction department as the Curriculum Coordinator for 21st Century Teaching and Learning. Much like my previous district, my current district had already adopted standards-based grading practices at the elementary level and has been working on shifting to a standards-based focus at the middle and high school levels. As a result, my entire professional career has had me working in classrooms, schools, and districts that have used standards-based grading.
To start, I want to establish what standards-based grading is not. It is not a system that removes accountability for students or teachers. It is not a loose approach to teaching and learning that relies on the subjectivity of teachers. And it is not a one-to-one replacement of traditional letter grades (A, B, C, D, F with E, M, N, W, X).
Standards-based grading is about more than just report cards!
So what is standards-based grading? First and foremost, grading is the last part of the process. To be more accurate, this approach should be referred to as standards-based teaching, learning, assessing, grading, and reporting. But SBTLAGR is a bit of a mouthful, and so it is often abbreviated as standards-based grading or SBG.
It is an approach that starts, not surprisingly, with standards—often standards set by state boards of education (or their equivalent) or by industry professionals (particularly true for career and technical education courses). Teachers using this approach spend time doing a deep dive into the standards, designing or using rubrics that establish what is expected for a student to meet and exceed the level of knowledge or skill associated with the standard, as well as what is meant to be approaching the standard. (Some also establish what it means to not meet the standard or to be well below the level of expectation.)
After the teachers understand the standards, they plan instruction so that students are able to succeed in meeting these standards. Assessments are designed based on the standards. These assessments may include practice problems, written responses, oral responses, portfolios, etc. Assessment is not a one-time event, but rather, an ongoing process through the unit or course. Student work is assessed based on established rubrics and grades reflect the rubrics and the standards. Lastly, the levels of proficiency for targeted priority standards are reported on a report for students and families.
Standards-based grading can be done with traditional letter grades.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that, except for this very last step, all of this can be done when teachers are using traditional grading or not. A teacher can understand their standards, design instruction and assessment around the standards, assess work based on the standards, and still give students an A, B, C, D, or F. On the other hand, a teacher can choose to do none of these things and simply grade homework, quizzes, and tests on a 100-point scale and give a report that uses any assortment of letters or symbols. (I once had a high school teacher suggest that we replace the traditional letter grades with emojis, but this never quite took hold.)
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What happens when the dish you order is not as expected?
Imagine going to a restaurant that has shrimp scampi on the menu but what it serves the diners is a dish with shrimp in an oily sauce that has a small amount of garlic and lemon in it. Or maybe it is the pasta that was cooked with garlic, butter, and lemon but the shrimp itself was just cooked without any embellishments. While it might still qualify as shrimp scampi, a discerning diner will notice if shortcuts have been taken or if certain components have been omitted, impacting the overall quality of the dish. When this happens, can you imagine someone looking at the dish and saying that it is the dish itself that is the problem and that is the diner’s fault for ordering it?
“Stop serving shrimp scampi!” they may yell at the diner. “Coconut shrimp is better! Or even shrimp cocktail! Stick with the tried-and-true recipes and give up this quest for the ‘perfect’ shrimp scampi! How many times do you have to get a disappointing dish before you just accept that shrimp isn’t meant to be cooked in a garlicky butter sauce with lemon?!”
Don’t blame the approach!
As silly as this would be, this is exactly the kind of argument that I see on a regular basis when it comes to standards-based grading. Instead of focusing on whether or not this approach is being done correctly, detractors say, “Stop using SBG! It doesn’t work! Look at all of these schools that changed their report cards but didn’t change anything else! It is SBG’s fault that test scores are bad and students are still being promoted.”
If you are in a school or district using standards-based grading and you are noticing problems, consider whether or not the approach has been implemented with integrity. If you are teaching in a setting that is exploring the transition, ask questions about what it will entail. What kind of professional learning will teachers and administrators receive? Will that learning include long-term partnerships or will it be a once-and-done workshop? Are you willing to engage in independent professional learning? (The Teach Better Academy has a great course on standards-based grading and the Teach Better Blog is chock-full of resources!)
Just as my wife will never give up on ordering shrimp scampi, even if the dish at one restaurant does not meet her level of expectation, we too should not give up on teaching practices that we know are worth doing right!
About Alex T. Valencic
Alex Valencic is an educator, former small business owner, Boy Scout, volunteer drug prevention specialist, unrepentant bibliophile, and a geek of all things. He worked as a substitute teacher for three years before achieving his lifelong dream of teaching fourth grade, which he did for seven years in Urbana, Illinois, before accepting his current position as the Curriculum Coordinator for 21st Century Teaching and Learning in Freeport, Illinois, where he not only supports innovative educational practices in the classroom but also oversees social studies, science, and nearly all of the elective courses in the district.
