Handouts are available below

Big Idea

What is the One and Done Myth? If you’re using Standards Based Grading (or plan to), you may have encountered it already. It’s a popular misconception, and, today, I dive a little deeper into what it is and how to fight this myth.

The “One and Done” Myth

One and Done is not true because a student is only considered proficient or extending if they can consistently demonstrate that ability. Note: the key word is consistent. For example, let’s say a student’s assessment summary shows this for the skill of questioning and predicting (like writing hypotheses and asking questions), which was assessed in the chemistry unit. Even though the student scored proficient on the first assignment, the rest of the assignments show developing – so the student is developing for this skill. In other words, we are taking the most consistent marking and not the highest mark. Also, it’s also helpful to see the type of assignment the student got proficient in. For example, the student scored developing on a quiz question – which may be more representative of the student’s ability because on a quiz, a student must answer the question without help from others.

With regards to a final assessment, a colleague of mine – shout out to Tanya Virani – suggests looking at the proficiencies across units. This addresses the argument that some science areas are more difficult than others – thus, if we look at the same skill assessed in different content areas, we can get a clearer picture of the ability of that student. In this case, the student is Extending in Q&P because they are able to do this consistently across different content areas.

Note: there may be other things that go into determining a student’s proficiency – like perhaps an upward trend in the student’s performance, which would make me consider the more recent assessments as opposed to the earlier ones.

Thanks for reading, and let’s talk science education again soon.

Resources

Handout(s):  Ep50 – One and Done

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