Handouts are available below

Big Idea

An issue some teachers using Standards Based Grading (SBG) are grappling with is that there are no percentages, no cumulative points, no tests out of 50 or 100 or whatever in SBG. Instead, we use proficiency scales and rubrics that assess whether a student’s current level of proficiency is emerging, developing, proficient, or extending. But, how do we determine what’s developing, proficient, or extending? Turns out, we can look to our old standardized exams – especially their answer keys – to help us construct our proficiency scales.

Episode Notes

• Many old standardized exams have answer keys that show exactly what steps students need to provide for an extended response question to get partial or full marks (see handouts for a sample). From what was told to me, those who marked these standardized exams first spent a day discussing what steps students needed to show in order to get each mark out of question that was out of multiple marks.

• With regards to proficiency scales and standards based grading, we need to sit down with our colleagues and discuss what students need to demonstrate at each proficiency level for each competency, skill or practice so that we know and the students know the expectation at each proficiency level.

• One way we can do this is by having a group marking session where we take test questions and have everyone mark the same question by themselves and then sharing out what proficiency they felt the student had achieved. It’s through these conversations with our colleagues where we can hash out exactly what is proficient, developing, or extending. It doesn’t have to be complicated – you can take a test that you’ve already given students and pass around a few responses for colleagues to discuss.

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

Resources

Handout(s): Ep58 Handouts – One Way to Create Rubrics for SBG Using Old Standardized Exams

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