Frequently Asked Questions About Standards Based Grading
I hope this page clears up any questions. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns.
How does Standards Based Grading help my child?
1. Standards Based Grading makes sure your child's grade is a true record of his/her knowledge and abilities. No more fluff from homework or extra credit that doesn't truly show knowledge. No more grading used as a punishment or reward.
2. It helps me track your child's progress more adequately. I can see specifically where each student's strengths and weaknesses lie to more effectively help them. See a visual explanation of my gradebook for more information.
3. Since everything is designed for mastery, students have retake opportunities. These aren't free. Students will have to take several steps to earn a retake that are designed to ensure that the second score will be significantly higher than the first. See my Retake Ticket to see the process in more detail.
What are the Standards?
The Standards are the core fundamental concepts that every unit revolves around. There are multiple standards in a test that all demonstrate different components of knowledge in that unit.
A. Continuity and Change
B. Government
C. Geography
D. Economics
E. People, Groups and Cultures
F. Literacy Skills (mostly focused on analytical reading)
G. Communication Skills
H. Academic Responsibility
How is my child's grade determined?
Everything is based on the 8 core standards. The score on each standard is averaged together to make the final grade. This is then converted to a grade based on the SIS Conversion Chart. Every grade in my class is based entirely from major summative assessments, basically tests and projects. Other work is scored and given feedback, but will not factor into the final grade.
Can you help me understand how you keep track of grades since Parent Portal only shows me the current grade?
I've put together a quick summary of how my version of the gradebook works. Click here to view a visual explanation of my gradebook. I've found that when a parent sees the gradebook as I see it, the whole system makes more sense.
I just looked at Parent Portal and have no idea what I'm looking at. Help!
Parent Portal will show two main things to help you track your child's progress.
Any Assignment starting with HWK
These are assignments that do not count in the student's overall grade. These include homework, practice or diagnostic quizzes to show progress. Since they do not tally into the grade, I enter the raw score (somewhere between 0-4) to give an exact count of your child's progress toward the goal of the standards assessed in that assignment. Please ignore the percentages assigned to these scores. Parent Portal is stuck on points so it sees 2 on a 4 point scale and thinks 50%, although to me it really means "C". Please refer to the SIS conversion chart to see what each number truly indicates.
The only column labeled TP
This is the student's current grade, based on tests, projects and summative assessments. As a students complete tests, projects, etc, this will be adjusted to reflect their current average. This score has already been converted using the SIS conversion chart so the score you see is their current grade in my class. Remember, the percentage seen here is not important, only the letter grade that it represents
Why do you have to enter grades like this?
SIS is still in a traditional "Get me more points!" mindset, and is currently developing a Standards Based gradebook. Therefore, I ask that you be patient as we have to accommodate the program's limitations. These conversions will allow you to view a close estimation of your child's current grade. Rest assured, all progress report grades mailed home contain the precise grade your student has at that time. You can always contact me to request a current update of your student's progress.
Is it true that homework doesn't mean anything?
I do not assign homework often. When I do it has a clear purpose. All homework is designed to give practice or reinforcement of the topics at hand. Homework also directly prepares students for related test questions. However, homework does not directly impact a student's grade. It is practice, and will receive feedback to ensure that students have knowledge of how they are progressing in the standards.
Why should my child do their homework if it doesn't affect his/her grade?
1. Homework is targeted practice designed to help students reinforce certain topics
2. All assignments correlate closely to the tests. Therefore practice on homework allows you to gain feedback to ensure success on the assessments that do affect the grade.
3. Failure to complete work when the practice is clearly needed will result in students receiving other consequences such as mandatory SWAT or ZAP.
What's the Deal with Retakes?
If a student is unhappy with his/her performance on a major assessment, they can apply for a retake using the the Retake Ticket. Retakes are given only for the requested standard, will be slightly different from the original assessment and will TOTALLY REPLACE the previous grade. However, students must do additional work to earn the retake. The specific tasks will be individualized for each situation and will require at least two meetings with me prior to taking the retake.
How does Standards Based Grading help my child?
1. Standards Based Grading makes sure your child's grade is a true record of his/her knowledge and abilities. No more fluff from homework or extra credit that doesn't truly show knowledge. No more grading used as a punishment or reward.
2. It helps me track your child's progress more adequately. I can see specifically where each student's strengths and weaknesses lie to more effectively help them. See a visual explanation of my gradebook for more information.
3. Since everything is designed for mastery, students have retake opportunities. These aren't free. Students will have to take several steps to earn a retake that are designed to ensure that the second score will be significantly higher than the first. See my Retake Ticket to see the process in more detail.
What are the Standards?
The Standards are the core fundamental concepts that every unit revolves around. There are multiple standards in a test that all demonstrate different components of knowledge in that unit.
A. Continuity and Change
B. Government
C. Geography
D. Economics
E. People, Groups and Cultures
F. Literacy Skills (mostly focused on analytical reading)
G. Communication Skills
H. Academic Responsibility
How is my child's grade determined?
Everything is based on the 8 core standards. The score on each standard is averaged together to make the final grade. This is then converted to a grade based on the SIS Conversion Chart. Every grade in my class is based entirely from major summative assessments, basically tests and projects. Other work is scored and given feedback, but will not factor into the final grade.
Can you help me understand how you keep track of grades since Parent Portal only shows me the current grade?
I've put together a quick summary of how my version of the gradebook works. Click here to view a visual explanation of my gradebook. I've found that when a parent sees the gradebook as I see it, the whole system makes more sense.
I just looked at Parent Portal and have no idea what I'm looking at. Help!
Parent Portal will show two main things to help you track your child's progress.
Any Assignment starting with HWK
These are assignments that do not count in the student's overall grade. These include homework, practice or diagnostic quizzes to show progress. Since they do not tally into the grade, I enter the raw score (somewhere between 0-4) to give an exact count of your child's progress toward the goal of the standards assessed in that assignment. Please ignore the percentages assigned to these scores. Parent Portal is stuck on points so it sees 2 on a 4 point scale and thinks 50%, although to me it really means "C". Please refer to the SIS conversion chart to see what each number truly indicates.
The only column labeled TP
This is the student's current grade, based on tests, projects and summative assessments. As a students complete tests, projects, etc, this will be adjusted to reflect their current average. This score has already been converted using the SIS conversion chart so the score you see is their current grade in my class. Remember, the percentage seen here is not important, only the letter grade that it represents
Why do you have to enter grades like this?
SIS is still in a traditional "Get me more points!" mindset, and is currently developing a Standards Based gradebook. Therefore, I ask that you be patient as we have to accommodate the program's limitations. These conversions will allow you to view a close estimation of your child's current grade. Rest assured, all progress report grades mailed home contain the precise grade your student has at that time. You can always contact me to request a current update of your student's progress.
Is it true that homework doesn't mean anything?
I do not assign homework often. When I do it has a clear purpose. All homework is designed to give practice or reinforcement of the topics at hand. Homework also directly prepares students for related test questions. However, homework does not directly impact a student's grade. It is practice, and will receive feedback to ensure that students have knowledge of how they are progressing in the standards.
Why should my child do their homework if it doesn't affect his/her grade?
1. Homework is targeted practice designed to help students reinforce certain topics
2. All assignments correlate closely to the tests. Therefore practice on homework allows you to gain feedback to ensure success on the assessments that do affect the grade.
3. Failure to complete work when the practice is clearly needed will result in students receiving other consequences such as mandatory SWAT or ZAP.
What's the Deal with Retakes?
If a student is unhappy with his/her performance on a major assessment, they can apply for a retake using the the Retake Ticket. Retakes are given only for the requested standard, will be slightly different from the original assessment and will TOTALLY REPLACE the previous grade. However, students must do additional work to earn the retake. The specific tasks will be individualized for each situation and will require at least two meetings with me prior to taking the retake.
Files that may help!
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