How to read a Standards-Based Report

Since I've moved away from traditional grades in favor of assessing students purely on our classroom standards, I've had quite a few parents and students express their frustration in understanding how well students are doing. This is completely understandable - the scores and feedback on classroom work looks completely different than what most of us have experienced in school.

 To get a clear picture of how students are meeting the standards, you'll need to look some reports that are a little different than what you'd normally check in PowerSchool. To make this easier, I've attached a document that will help you access reports that are designed to show how well your student is meeting our standards in Social Studies and Literature. Click here to access the document to help you see a standards-based report.

When you check to see how well your student is doing, try to pay attention to a few things besides their overall score ... this will give you a MUCH BETTER idea of how your son / daughter is doing in class. Here are things to look for when looking at a standards-based report:

• How well is my son daughter doing in each individual standard? Look to see which standards your son / daughter understands really well, and which they need to focus on.
• How well are they behaving and working? The Life Skills standards will give you feedback on your son / daughter's behavior, work ethic, group work, and participation.
• Are they turning their work in on time? I've marked each assignment that is missing and/or late. Missing and/or late assignments don't affect their scores on each assignment, but it's still important to know if they get their work in on time.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I'd be happy to answer them.

Midterms and Standards-Based Assessment

You may have noticed that your son / daughter didn't receive a traditional letter grade for their Social Studies and/or Literature courses this quarter. In Social Studies, students received a number score and an abbreviation ( 03.00, PR). Here's what those numbers and letters mean:

• 04.00     AD     = Advanced at the classroom standards
• 03.00     PR     = Proficient at the classroom standards
• 02.00     PA     = Partial Proficient at the classroom standards
• 01.00     BG     = Beginning to understand the classroom standards
• 0.00       RA     = Refused to complete classroom assignments.

Many students have asked how to convert those numbers and letters to grades. I've heard a lot of students ask, "Mr. Hammond - what letter grade is a 3.00?" or, "If I'm proficient am I earning an A?"

The simple answer to those questions is no - standards don't translate into letter grades. Instead, they simply tell if students understand the standards that I'm expected to teach in the 6th grade.

If you have any questions, or you'd like a handout to show you how to access a standards report instead of a traditional progress report in PowerSchool, let me know.

You can leave a comment on this blog, call me at school, or send me an email at rhammond@jcsd1.us . I look forward to hearing from you!

Standards Based Grading - It's Almost Here

First of all, I'd like to thank those of you who were able to make it to the parent night last Thursday. Your questions and comments really helped me think about how I can make the switch to Standards Based Assessment work for all of us.

I wanted to let you know that the recording system in Powerschool is almost ready to go, and you'll soon be able to see all of the student assignments in Powerschool. Based on your feedback, we've also decided to add behavioral standards (late work, group work, behavior, participation) as well - you should be able to check these on Powerschool as well.

Remember, this is a pilot program in our school and we're still working out some of the bugs - I want to say thanks for your patience ahead of time. As always, please call, email, or swing by if you'd like to talk to me.

Thanks!

Behavior Rubric

For those who could make it to Parent Teacher Conferences, it was great to visit with you. For those who didn't make it - we missed you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

I wanted to take a minute to explain how I figure grades in my classroom, and how the behavior rubric that I use compliments your child(ren)'s grades to give a complete picture of their performance in my classroom.

To begin with, I feel that grades should show how well a student is meeting the standards in our classroom - and nothing more. I think grades should show if a student understands the material and skill in a class, or if they're struggling and need some extra assistance. Unfortunately, grades don't always do this. If a student has a few missing assignments and/or late assignments, it can greatly affect their grade - sometimes, as much as a letter grade or two. For example, a student who's done "B" work but who has missed a few assignments will often receive a "C" or a "D" on the report card.

To avoid this confusion, I don't take points off an assignment if a student turns in an assignment late. I don't give students zero points if they miss an assignment as well - instead, I make them do the assignment. If they don't do it, they receive an "Incomplete" grade on their report card until they complete all of the assignments.

It would be easy to think of this grading policy as being soft or too lenient ... to think of me as a pushover, or as a teacher who doesn't value classroom behaviors such as completing work and/or finishing work by a certain deadline. That's certainly not the case - I value these skills, sometimes more than the subject matter in my classes. Students do need to learn how to behave, how to work in groups, how to complete their work on time, etc. - I just choose to separate these behaviors from their grade.

As a result, I created the behavior rubric to show how I feel your child(ren) are performing in the areas of participation, behavior, work completion, and group work. Looking at your child(ren)'s grades, along with the behavior rubric, should give you a better picture of how well your child is learning AND behaving/working in school.

If you have any comments, please leave them in the "comments" section below - I value your input, and I think that it's good for others to hear opinions on my classroom as well.