Blended ContentThis interactive session will connect attendees with the tools, knowledge, and strategies needed to implement equitable grading practices within their school. Attendees will engage in inquiry-based activities as they reflect on their respective grading systems and examine ways that they can integrate standards-driven assessments, feedback, and monitoring systems to increase the transparency of grades, thereby helping students, teachers, and parents gain a better understanding of which standards need improvement.
This presentation will include the following components:
Overview of Standards-Based Grading (10 minutes): We will begin by reviewing the historical roots of traditional grading practices and navigating the inherent challenges they introduce when applied to today’s educational landscape. We will facilitate a constructive dialogue about the limitations of these practices and the extent to which they may inadvertently stifle creativity, discourage critical thinking, and contribute to an unequal and narrow representation of students’ abilities. We will then offer a brief discussion of current theories of grading and assessment in order to provide a theoretical framework to inform practices within the classroom and inspire teachers to reimagine their approach to assessment design, grading, and reporting. During this portion of the presentation, we will have attendees examine a traditional gradebook and a standards-based gradebook and discuss their differences with regard to transparency and insight. Further, we will review research such as Guskey’s (2014), Wormeli’s (2018), and Feldman’s (2022) work on the importance of ensuring that grades accurately communicate student progress, thereby empowering students to take ownership of their learning process and growth. During this time, we will distribute an extensive annotated bibliography of supportive technologies that we use to support standards-based assessments and grading.
Virtual Gallery Walk (10 minutes): During this portion of the presentation, attendees will use their devices to engage in an interactive gallery walk where they will explore teacher designed standards-based assessments, assessment data, and gradebooks from a wide range of subject areas including mathematics, history, language arts, science, and world languages. In addition, they will gain exposure to a wide range of educational technologies and tools that can be used to support standards-based assessment, data analysis, and grade reporting such as Edulastic, Actively Learn, Canvas Quizzes, LinkIt!, Formative, and more! In doing so, participants will gather instructional materials and assessment ideas through their interaction with the curated artifacts featured.
Exploration of Standards-Based Assessment Data & Grading (10 minutes): We will provide an overview of digital platforms that can be used to support standards-based assessment across all subject areas and will model how to align and tag questions with standards within any given platform. Moreover, we will review snapshots of data from various standards-based assessments and discuss how this information invites students and their families to engage more deeply in the learning process as well as how it can be used to inform future instruction. At this time, we will also introduce and examine multiple methodologies for calculating and reporting student standard mastery, such as recency, top performance, and consistency, to ensure that grading and reporting is equitable for all learners.
Action Planning & Resource Building (20 Minutes): In this portion of the presentation, participants will engage in peer-to-peer discussions to identify challenges and share strategies for implementing equitable grading practices. They will select a focus area—classroom, department, school, or district—and collaboratively outline an action plan that includes concrete steps, a timeline, and key stakeholders. Attendees will leave with a personalized plan tailored to their context, as well as access to resources such as articles, technology tools, and assessment templates to support equitable grading reforms.
Roundtable Question and Answer (10 minutes): We will conduct a roundtable question and answer session on how participants can implement standards-based assessment at the classroom, school, or district level to suit their curriculum as well as students’ needs. Attendees will receive digital resources that include technology tutorials and standards-aligned assessments that they can adapt for use within their schools.
By the end of the session, attendees will strengthen their understanding of standards-based assessment and grade reporting through the gallery walk and discussion. In addition, they will gain exposure to various platforms that analyze student progress and mastery. Ultimately, our goal is for attendees to be better prepared and equipped with the tools and strategies they need to turnkey the use of standards-based assessments and grading within their respective schools.
Gagnon, J. C., & Maccin, P. (2007). Teacher-reported use of empirically validated and standards-based instructional approaches in secondary mathematics. Remedial and Special Education, 28(1), 43-56. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325070280010501
Guskey, T. R. (2014). On your mark: Challenging the conventions of grading and reporting. Solution Tree Press.
Guskey, T. R., Townsley, M., & Buckmiller, T. M. (2020). The impact of standards-based learning: Tracking high school students’ transition to the university. NASSP Bulletin, 104(4), 257-269. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636520975862
Knight, M., & Cooper, R. (2019). Taking on a new grading system: The interconnected effects of standards-based grading on teaching, learning, assessment, and student behavior. NASSP Bulletin, 103(1), 65-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636519826709
Lehman, E., De Jong, D., & Baron, M. (2018). Investigating the relationship of standards-based grades vs. traditional-based grades to results of the scholastic math inventory at the middle school level. Education Leadership Review of Doctoral Research, 6, 1-16.
Scarlett, M. (2018). "Why did I get a C?": Communicating student performance using standards based grading. Insight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 13, 59-75. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ118948.pdf
Wilxox, J. & Townsley, M. (2022). Addressing the concerns and providing some strategies for implementing alternative grading practices. National Science Teaching Association.
Wormeli, R. (2018). Fair isn't always equal: Assessing & grading in the differentiated classroom. Stenhouse Publishers.
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