Standards-Based Reflective Grading:

Students will be graded for each learning objective on a 4-3-2-1-0 scale with a [4] Meeting Expectations, a [3] Near Expectations, a [2] Below Expectations, and a [1] Needing Improvement or [0] No learning demonstrated, assignment not completed. In my classroom, the focus is on student learning and mastery of the content. For each standard, students will be required to explain their knowledge of the learning objectives related to a content standard and provide evidence of that knowledge by explaining what work they have done in class to meet the learning objectives. Their grade will come from their demonstration of mastery of the standards. The individual assignments in class will support the student in meeting the standard and can be used as evidence of the student meeting the standard but will not be individually graded.

How It Works

Step 1: Students participate in and complete in-class assignments that align with and help them master the learning objectives for each Content Standard.
Step 2: Students will grade themselves on a 4-3-2-1-0 scale with an [4] Exceeding Expectations, a [3] Meeting Expectations, a [2] Below Expectations, and a [1] Needing Improvement and provide evidence that shows they have met the standard at that level (evidence could be writing from class, quiz results, test results, etc).
Step 3: I will determine the student's grade based on evidence provided that shows mastery of the learning objective or content standard.

What if my student does not show mastery? Students who do not meet expectations or fail to provide evidence that they have met the expectations will conference with me in class to create an action plan to meet that standard. Students will be given another opportunity to master the learning objective or content standard. To be considered proficient, a student must receive a grade above a C- on the 4-point scale. Any assessment or assignment that receives under a 3 will need to be reworked and resubmitted.

What if my student does not complete an assignment? Incomplete or missing work will be met with behavior conferences and parent contact if needed. Again, individual assignments in this course are designed to help the student reach the specific learning objectives, if students do not complete them they will lack evidence to explain how they have mastered the objective.

How will my student know their current grade? Grades will be updated regularly in PlusPortals. Assignments will be listed with their grade, but their weight will be counted as zero, meaning they will not impact the final grade. Rather, a student's grade will come from the learning objectives also listed in Portals with the student's 4-3-2-1-0 score. Student's final grade for each theme will be based on their display of mastery at the END of the theme. This means that grades for each learning objective may change throughout the unit based on students' display of their mastery of the objective. The annotation and narratives section in Portals will also be utilized to help communicate action plans for students who score a C- or below and need to continue working on a learning objective.

How did you decide to use this method? I have spent the past few years researching ways to make mastery and learning the focus of my classroom. Some of the books that I read included Rethinking Grading by Cathy Vatterott, Hacking Assessment by Starr Sackstein, Assessment 3.0 by Mark D. Barnes, Teaching Students to Self-Assess by Starr Sackstein, and Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. It is my belief that this system is the most equitable form of grading and reporting students' understanding of the material learned throughout the course.

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Standards-Based Reflective Grading:

How It Works

MATI BARKER | SHE/THEY | EDUCATOR | MATHEABARKER@GMAIL.COM