Handouts are available below

Big Idea

In my last post, I spoke about how I’m using Standards Based Assessment (or SBA) with my classes. Thanks to Kirstin Laird-Osterhout on Facebook, who posted “Thanks! Any tips for a district that still uses letter grades and percentages?” Today, I’m sharing how I’m using SBA with my Physics 11 and 12 classes while still reporting a letter grade and percentage for each student. Long story short, I’ve had to change the weighting system I use for grades, use my professional judgment to develop a scale that converts proficiencies to percentages, and conference with students more regularly.

Converting Standards Based Assessment to Percentages

Number 1: Change traditional grade or mark distribution from tests and assignments to proficiency in standards. For example, for my Physics 12 class, before SBA, student mark distribution was based on 20% labs and assignments and 80% tests and quizzes. Now, with SBA, student mark distribution is weighted equally across the 5 standards (process and analyze, communication, evaluation, apply and innovate, question and predict). By giving equal weight to all the standards, I am saying that all aspects – like scientific thinking, planning and conducting experiments, communicating scientific ideas using words, etc. – are equally important in Physics and not just the calculations or a handful of other things that appear on tests.

Number 2: Use professional judgment to develop a conversion scale that converts proficiencies in standards to percentages. For me, at the end of term, I give an overall proficiency for each standard. Then, I look over all the standards and convert this to a percentage. To me, a student who is proficient across all standards is a high B student (approximately 84%). A student who is extending in all areas is a high A (approximately 98%) student. A student who is developing across all areas is a high C+ student (approximately 70%). For students who are in between (for example, have some proficient and some extending), they would be a low to mid- A student (between 88% to 94%).

Number 3: Conference with students regularly when doing SBA. Conferencing allows me to clarify to students how they can improve to progress to the next proficiency level. Conferencing also allows students to reflect upon their own learning. For example, I’ve had students write a reflection for me at the end of term about their own learning – where they’re strong, where they’ve improved, and where they need to continue to work on. I also ask students to write down what percentage they feel they’ve achieved based on the proficiency scales and my conversion tables. And if I’ve done a good job communicating throughout the term about proficiencies and what to demonstrate at each level, students should be able to come up with a percentage on their own that is pretty close to what I would have assigned for them.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll talk science again soon.

Resources

Handout(s): Proficiencies to Percentages – Sample Conversions

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