Standards Based Grading and Assessment

STEM Institute, September 17, 2013

● Pull up as far as possible

● If you want to park and walk your child, park in the lot on Military & Walker

Parking

● Ask your child to sign in○ Can work at home○ See progress

● 45 minutes per day in school

ALEKS

● Approximately 2.5-3 hours per day○ Translates to 18-21 hours of work time in the

last week● Roughly 80 facts for research by the end

○ About 4-5 facts per hour● Needs to be cited

○ Correctly○ From actual resources

Research

● Purpose of Grading and Reporting at STEM Institute: ○ Communicate academic progress and learning to parents and others

● Grading is not essential to instruction or learning.○ Without grades, teachers can still teach and students can still learn

and do.○ Kids need detailed analytical expectations to be successful, not just a

letter grade.

● Checking on student knowledge and progress is essential○ Teachers are advocates for students.○ It’s all about student progress.

● Assessments themselves do not matter. It’s what teachers do with the assessments.

What Standards Based Grading Is

What Standards Based Grading is not about……● the letter grade● making report cards confusing

Standards Based Grading Explained

Would you rather have your student earn an “A” and learn only a little, or have your child earn a “C” and learn a lot?

Think about this

● Meeting with mentor teacher to discuss projects○ What they want to learn○ What standards fit○ What they unexpectedly learn○ Using their standards spreadsheets

● Standards are located on STEM Institute webpage

● Discussions with mentor groups about what standards & learning is happening with all students

How does my child know what they are supposed to learn?

● Talk to your child and ask about what they are learning with their projects○ Be aware that they might not articulate the standards soon○ Have your child discuss why they chose their topic ○ Ask your children about their mentor meetings

● Check out the standard spreadsheets to view student learning● Remember, the most important pieces

○ Your child should be at a “3” - proficiency - by the end the of the year

○ A “4” is mastery and many students may not achieve this yet

○ Students have the year to improve their learning ○ If students score a “1” on their rubrics, they will be

required to redo that piece until they show a clear understanding of that topic

How do I know what my child is learning?

● By having conversations with students● Through the final paper, presentation, and

assessment with mentor teachers○ Using the rubrics for the projects○ Using rubrics for our school goals on

■ Communication■ Collaboration■ Critical Thinking

● Using the standards spreadsheets to track student progress and growth

How is this assessed?

My child doesn’t understand something and earns a “1” or a “2”?● We work individually with your student

○ to suggest questions to research to increase knowledge○ to improve a specific skill○ to create goals to reach proficiency

● We provide short workshops/group meetings for very small groups to○ teach a specific skill○ hold discussions on similar topics to help increase

knowledge

What if….

● Using the Standards Spreadsheet

● Every six weeks, you will receive a copy of the Standards Based Report Card.

How is this reported?