Standards-based Grading in the Secondary Science Classroom

Presented by Tara Richersonfor

WERAMarch 27, 2008

Welcome! Please take a moment to complete the survey on the first page of the packet before we

begin.

Session Outline

• Overview of Motivation• Overview of Grading• Connections Between Motivation

and Grading• Classroom Implementation and

Challenges

What motivates students?

• Rewards (gold stars, good grades, free time, money…)

• Punishments (losing privileges, detention, loss of credit)

• Self-improvement (learn for the sake of learning)

What classroom behaviors would you see if motivation is positive and intrinsic?

Current Theories of Motivation

• Ability/Effort: I can succeed if I try. or It doesn’t matter what I do.

• Intelligence: I can make myself smarter. or People are just born smart.

• Goals: I learn for the sake of learning. or I learn in order to get a grade.

Mastery goals are most often desired by teachers.

• Mastery goals have been shown to increase the following behaviors:– Development of new skills; risk-taking– Trying to understand work– Improved level of confidence– Preference for challenging work– Intrinsic interest in learning activities– Increased time on task– Persistence in face of difficulty

Patterns of Adaptive Learning (PALS)

• Developed by Carol Midgeley, et al. from University of Michigan

• Designed to measure goal orientations

• Has strong presence in research literature

Interpreting Your Survey

Which goal orientation does your classroom reflect?

• You have a mastery approach if you believed that items 2, 4, 5, and 8 were true of your classroom.

• You have a performance approach if you believed that items 1, 3, 4, 7, and 9 were true of your classroom.

How do we communicate these goals to students?

Think-Pair-Share

In what ways are school staff either overt in their communication or “hidden” with their goal message to students?

Are we about mastery or performance?

The Hidden Culture of Evaluation

• “Often the most important and revealing behaviors in a culture are the least noticed” (Wiggins, 1988).

• Teachers guard their grading practices “with the same passion with which one might guard an unedited diary or ‘sacred ground’” (Kain, 1996).

Classroom Grading

• Norm-referenced practices are more common than criterion-referenced at the secondary level

• Many teachers have a “hodgepodge” approach…and are unwilling to let these go

Grading and Motivation

• If grading is based on rewards and punishments, which type of motivation are schools promoting?

• Are our classroom policies in congruence with our goals as educators? Why or why not?

Establishing Mastery Goals in Student Evaluation

• Communicate Your Philosophy

Ms. Richerson’s Philosophy of Grading

In this classroom, students are graded upon their progress toward meeting the state standards in science---specifically those identified by CKSD as being relevant for Biology. Grades will never be assigned while students are in the process of learning, although feedback will be provided. Finally, a more equitable grading scale will be used in order to apply the median scores and determine a final grade.

Establishing Mastery Goals in Student Evaluation

Communicate the Rules to Students and Practice with Them

Is there a difference in treating students fairly vs. treating them equally?

Establishing Mastery Goals in Student Evaluation

Communicate with Other Stakeholders:

• Parents• Counselors• Administrators

Record-Keeping

• Standards form the categories

• Scores of I(ncomplete), and 1 – 4 fill the boxes

• Summative assessments are tracked in boldfaced type

Grading, Like Life, Is Messy

• Grading will always be a subjective process, no matter how fair it is.

• There is no simple way to convert between a 1 – 4 scale and an A – F scale; but a grade is just a symbol.

• How do we deal with reporting?

Moving Forward

• One-way trip to best practices in grading

• Completion of doctoral study in Spring 2008

Questions/Feedback

• What are your questions?

• What would you like to share with others who are here? With your school or district?

• What would you like to tell me?