"My students spent two weeks on this project, so it should be worth a lot of points."
"If Sammy had to take the test a second time, he must not have studied. He does not deserve full credit on a second attempt."
"In the real world, there are no second chances."
"Students won't do the homework if we don't grade it."
These are phrases we have likely heard—or said—when discussing student grades. Such beliefs about grades as compensation have been the unquestioned norm for students, parents, and educators for well over a century. In more recent years, educators have begun emphasizing learning over earning when grading student work. This was Megan's experience throughout her time as a secondary special education and English/language arts teacher. In her fledgling years, she viewed grades as compensation for hard work and high achievement. However, she eventually transitioned to a standards-based grading system that better communicated student learning. Standards-based grade books encompass three big shifts.
1. Communicate learning rather than tasks.
In standards-based grading, teachers communicate learning in relation to the course outcomes rather than by activity (homework, quiz, project, essay, etc.). For many years, the default means of communication has been points in the form of "14 out of 16 on Quiz 4.5." However, this does not tell students nor parents what they have learned or need to improve upon. With standards-based grading, teachers organize gradebook entries by learning outcomes (often called "standards"), rather than tasks.
While teaching 8th grade English, Megan's professional learning community originally graded from a points-based mindset. Student summaries were graded as follows:
3 points (1 each) - Topic sentence includes text type, title, and author2 points - Topic sentence includes accurate central idea3 points - Three accurate main ideas1 point - SummaryTOTAL = 9 points
Within this system, the team realized that some students' verbose and mediocre summaries earned nine points (100 percent), while others' eloquent and concise summaries earned five points (55 percent) because they failed to conform to the prescribed format. The points-based system did not provide accurate feedback to determine a student's level of understanding and plan appropriate next steps.
The team's 'aha' moment led the teachers to stop asking, "How many points should this task be worth?" and start asking, "What does proficiency look like for this skill?" The team considered a student summary proficient if it was "objective, well-written, and included the most important details from the text," rather than adhering to a checklist of arbitrary requirements. This change made communication much clearer between PLC members, students, and parents, as well as teachers in other classrooms, because the focus shifted from points to learning.
2. Adopt a mastery mindset.
In standards-based grading, teachers have a mastery mindset. Classroom structures and routines such as scoring assessments are set up to maximize student learning, regardless of when they learn it. Classroom teachers think about learning as dynamic (written in pencil) rather than static (written in ink) within a reporting period. When students demonstrate a higher level of understanding using an alternative form assessment, teachers revise marks in the grade book accordingly (regardless of students' perceived 'motives' for reassessing).
If a student demonstrates a weak understanding of citing textual evidence on a research paper, her alternative assessment may involve rewriting several paragraphs rather than reworking the entire essay. A student in physical education class may digitally record himself demonstrating a locomotor skill at home rather than doing it in person again for the teacher.
One of us (Matt) used to teach high school math with the mindset of "no second chances" and only occasionally provided extra credit to students who requested it. After considering how well the gradebook accurately communicated student learning, Matt allowed students to complete an alternate assessment after completing a relearning plan. A student's plan might include finishing any previously missed homework assignments and practicing another set of problems specifically prescribed to help her. Matt then erased previous levels of learning and updated according to students' progress.
3. Repurpose homework to encourage practice.
In standards-based grading, teachers repurpose homework and checks for understanding as ungraded practice. Students should have opportunities to make and learn from mistakes, and teachers should use this assessment information to drive instruction. Specifically, students turning in practice-oriented homework assignments should receive narrative feedback rather than points, with teachers diagnosing mistakes and prescribing next steps.
As classroom teachers, both of us initially assigned points for every assignment (regardless of its purpose). After shifting to standards-based practices, homework and checks for understanding received feedback instead of points, and students began to self-regulate their learning.
In the example below, Matt's students indicated their perceived level of understanding (in pencil) for each standard assessed immediately following the completion of a mid-unit math quiz. Question numbers aligned with each standard, and Matt provided feedback to the learner (in red) the next day.
Rather than penalizing students who practice poorly, standards-based grading uses homework and checks for understanding (such as quizzes) to inform the student and teacher how to address learning gaps. Students' excitement levels increased when quizzes were handed back, because they knew they would be provided with feedback "as if the test was today" to make improvements before the summative learning demonstration.
An Optimal Time to Make the Shift
As school leaders reimagine education in the midst of a pandemic, now is perhaps the most opportune time for teachers to shift their grading practices. Remote and hybrid learning options have already led some schools to provide pass/fail grades instead of letter grades and percentages. With students learning independently, with caregivers, or with tutors, it is increasingly important for teachers to communicate students' strengths and weaknesses on specific skills; posting vague assignment scores leave distance learners at a loss for how to improve and teachers wondering which learning gaps they need to fill when students return face-to-face.
In remote and hybrid environments, there are myriad reasons to provide second chances on assessments and to give feedback instead of a grade for practice work, since students vary in their learning styles, self-regulation abilities, adult support, access to the Internet and other resources, and expectations for at-home responsibilities. Regardless of how the rest of the year unfolds, these three shifts for standards-based grades are valuable.
