Decaying average and weighted grading advancing k12. Power grading is a proficiencybased grading system that matches language ability with student grades and accurately and efficiently informs instruction. However far they choose to go, administrators and teacher leaders can turn to charting a course to standardsbased grading for the quick wins and longterm support and guidance they need to make the trip well worth the effort. Development of proficiency scales to guide instructional planning. No matter the content area, evidence based grading puts student growth at the heart of the classroom. Educational equity means ensuring just outcomes for each student, raising marginalized voices, and challenging the imbalance of power and privilege. Policy spotlight on new england how selective colleges and. Marzano resources a teachers guide to standardsbased. The model, which communicates the specific skills that students can.
Challenge traditional grading practices and adopt a new, more effective grading model for students. So, using the proficiency goal rubrics to grade most student work, will save you many hours better spent practicing ci strategies, understanding what interests your students, delivering compelling spoken and written messages, and not grading countless assessments based on lateacquired accuracy. Though the agency has provided school districts with resources on the topic, including a 2018 research brief on proficiencybased grading practices, grading is. Live by them and your students abilities will be well reflected in their grades without inflation or deflation. In her alternative education classes for atrisk students, the mantra is youre not passing yet. Traditional grading practices have promoted the idea of uniformity. Standards based grading sbg is an intentional way for teachers to track their students progress and achievements while focusing on helping students learn and reach their highest potential. Confront traditional, ineffective grading practices. This book equips any educator from technical to fine arts with the tools and support to make the shift to focusing on standards and competency. This book equips any educator from technical to fine. The chart below, adapted from ken oconnors book, how to grade for learning p. Getting started with proficiencybased grading proficiency.
Grading and reporting for educational equity great. Separating habits of work from academic proficiency ensures that a students good. Development of sample assessments and scoring rubrics for teacher use. Proficiencybased learning definition the glossary of. No other book provides contentspecific examples of putting proficiencybased grading into practice in ways that help build student. Although many districts adopt standardsbased grading in addition to traditional grades, standardsbased grading can and should replace traditional pointbased. Proficiencybased grading takes effect in maine schools. That final piece, removing numbers from the grade book, allowed a shift in thinking to happen.
Daniel woestman discusses why the district believes in proficiencybased grading, how it train staff to adopt the new system and what has been the reaction from students and parents. Moving away from letter grades, which many educators say dont really provide information on what students know and are able to do, school districts across the country and now some states have increasingly adopted proficiency or standardsbased grading practices. As a teacher using standardsbased grading in my classroom, i found myself saying yes. Comparing traditional grading practices and proficiencybased grading traditional grading system proficiencybased grading system 1. At woodstock union middle school and high school in vermont, letterbased grades were changed this year to proficiency grades of beginning, approaching, proficient and. With this userfriendly resource, k12 teachers will discover how to close the gaps between assessment, curriculum, and instruction by replacing outmoded assessment methods with proficiency based assessments. Only summative assessment grades counted toward the final grade. Proficiencybased grading systems report work habits, behaviors, and character traits separately from academic achievement, making it much easier for educators and parents to diagnose learning weaknesses and behavioral issues so that students can get the help they need to succeed. According to, proficiencybased grading is a system of grading that is 1 connected to clearly defined learning objectives.
Standardsbased grading involves measuring students proficiency on welldefined course objectives. In sbpe, the learning often happens through movement as per sound physical education pedagogy, and it definitely does not settle for movement with no purpose or connection to learning. Beth arsenault, who has taught in portland high school since 1996, has practiced many of the habits of proficiencybased learning for years letting students retake tests and keeping her grade book open, for example. Regardless of the name used, this form of a grading system is aligned to the common core state standards ccss in english language arts and literacy and in math, which was established in 2009 and adopted by 42. We endeavor to closely align teaching, learning, and reporting practices so that teachers, students, and families all benefit from this information.
Proficiencybased grading in the content areas reibel. Proficiencybased learning is the system of instruction, assessment and grading based on demonstration of skills that meet performance standards or proficiencies. The new standardsbased grading system currently used throughout the u. Ken oconnor has written a number of books and articles geared toward practitioners. Today, i want to share some thoughts on what types of grades we want to include or not include. Proficiencybased grading in the content areas goodreads. It is based on students showing signs of mastery or understanding various lessons and skills. Proficiencybased grading within this document refers to a system of identifying where a student is along a continuum of learning, often with a fourpoint scale e.
Pathways to proficiency takes an indepth look at developing new grading practices that draw on student evidence of learning. This paper describes the evolution of oregons state policy credit for proficiency to a k12 proficiencybased teaching and learning system focused on teachers instructional practice and student learning. As the sometimesdubious letter grade falls out of favor, the search for more effective ways to measure growth and proficiency is ramping up, and few. Seven reasons for standardsbased grading educational. Inside maines disastrous roll out of proficiency based. Standardsbased grading and reporting is about levels of proficiency, accurate information, and a reorganization of evidence. Inclusion of proficiencybased grading practices in trainings.
In public schools, proficiencybased systems use state learning standards to determine academic expectations. What is the difference between standardsbased grading or. Transition to more effective instructional strategies and use standardsbased grading and assessment methods to better measure student learning. Within these pages, you will find valuable information on why traditional grading fails our students as well as ideas that will inspire you to create an evidencebased grading system that focuses on supporting students in the cycle of learning. Risc was initiated in alaska and implemented in california and colorado. In the first two installments of our proficiency based grading series, we discussed how i came to use a proficiency based grading system and ideas on how to set up a proficiency based grade book. Designed for teachers and administrators of grades 612, proficiencybased grading in the content areas details a fivestep approach for implementing evidencebased grading and maintaining its effectiveness over time. This book equips any educator from technical to fine arts with the. In this way, a proficiencybased model is geared for differentiated instruction for each student. In the first two installments of our proficiencybased grading series, we discussed how i came to use a proficiencybased grading system and ideas on how to set up a proficiencybased grade book. This book provides the pathway for implementing evidencebased grading practices in schools through a straightforward, fivephase creative model. The authors intent was to offer a map for others migrating toward proficiencybased instruction to follow. In fact, many districts across the country have embraced the idea for decades.
I want to share a few topics you need to consider when making the shift to a more proficiency based grade book. This is a brief look into where i started on my path to proficiencybased grading. Proficiencybased grading in the content areas reibel, twadell. In accordance with vermont law act 77 and the vermont education quality standards, students in the class of 2020 and beyond will be able to demonstrate proficiency in the following areas. Ken oconnor, how to grade for learning over the course of a few years, my colleagues and i came up with a proficiency based grading system that we felt truly reflected how our students were able to use the target language. Proficiencybased learning refers to systems of instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting that are based on students demonstrating that they have learned the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn as they progress through their education. Proficiencybased grading is intended to encourage looking at students as individuals and honoring a range of learning styles and ways of demonstrating what students know. Prior to the law, it was introduced on a large scale with the pilot program, reinventing schools coalition risc.
See the book s table of contents and read excerpts. Designed for teachers and administrators of grades 612, proficiency based grading in the content areas details a fivestep approach for implementing evidence based grading and maintaining its effectiveness over time. A standardsbased grading system may be called competencybased, masterybased, outcomebased, performancebased, or proficiencybased. Elementary report card committee made changes to elementary report card to support move towards pbg.
Before we can fully implement standardsbased reporting we need to develop a new way of thinking about. Visit or like the neverbore llc facebook group for more information. After many different iterations of a proficiency based grade book, we were finally happy with what we had. A change to proficiencybased grading has changed students approach to studying and learning. Whats the deal with proficiency based learning duration. Proficiencybased grading tries to simplify the process of assessing what students have learned, but the reality is that learning is incredibly complex, and measuring students learning is even more so.
Proficiencybased learning and graduation requirements. Proficiencybased grading is one way that schools ensure that students. Standardsbased grading has become an attractive option for district leaders because it offers a robust, clear picture of what each student is capable of by the end of the grading period. This book equips any educatorfrom technical to fine artswith the tools to make the shift to focusing on standards and competency. The 6 dos and donts of a proficiencybased grade book.
Agree that the percentage system is a flawed grading model 27. Here in maine we began the process in earnest toward proficiency based education with passing ld1422 in 2012. In short, a students academic grade is based on both their tests results summative 80% and formative homework and practice tests 20% formative assignments weighted at 20% in grade book. Granite school district proficiencybased grading model. Principles of power grading a proficiencybased grading.
Grading and reporting for educational equity great schools. After many different iterations of a proficiencybased grade book, we were finally happy with what. Within these pages, you will find valuable information on why traditional grading fails our students as well as ideas that will inspire you to create an evidence based grading system that focuses on supporting students in the cycle of learning. Martha rush is a teacher, blogger, author and speaker. Put together 15 minute presentations for professional development that highlight the 15 fixesand created the proficiency continuum to present to teachers ms and hs secondary administrators became proficient in the philosophy through discussions and a book study. Proficiencybased grading in the content areas by solution tree.
Although proficiency based grading makes logical sense, and is indeed in common practice in other aspects of our lives such as driver license testing or other professional licensing tests, it is a departure from more than a century of school practice. Grading and reporting are important components of a proficiencybased learning system. The movement toward proficiencybased learning is gaining momentum at secondary schools across new england and beyond figure 1. Tom schimmer assessment grading leadership student. Proficiencybased teaching and learning is intended to encourage a shift in thinking away from a grade with much more of a focus on how each student demonstrates learning. Proficiencybased grading in the content areas by solution.
Proficiencybased grading in the content areas provides educators with relevant and actionable steps to help shift their grading practices from a transactional model to one that focuses on learning outcomes. If a student fails to meet an expected learning standard, a teacher knows how to target additional instruction or practice time. This is a short informational video about proficiencybased grading. Based on multiple assessment methods quizzes, tests, homework, projects, etc. This can be reading assignments, projects, book work, notes, drawings, diagrams, formative assessments, notebooks, etc. Standardsbased physical education assumes that student learning is the primary objective of the course. Proficiencybased grading in the content areas book. A proficiencybased model uses standardsbased grading in order to report on how well students have met a standard. No matter the content area, evidencebased grading puts student growth at the heart of the classroom. Design grade book categories in such a way that they will yield the most. Standardsbased reporting involves reporting these course objectives rather than letter grades at the end of each gradingreporting period. Designed specifically for k12 teachers, this guide provides a sequential approach to implementing standardsbased education in the classroom. I want to know more what is proficiencybased grading. Discover a clear path for implementing a proficiencybased grading evidencebased grading system where student growth is at the heart of every classroom, in.