Standards-Based Grading and College/University Admissions (Summary) (2024)

FAQs

Standards-Based Grading and College/University Admissions (Summary)? ›

Letter grades and transcripts based on standards are acceptable, if not preferable, by admissions folks, with a few caveats. When universities receive profiles/transcripts from schools with alternative grading/reporting systems, these students receive equal consideration.

In SBG, grading is based on demonstration of mastery. Students attempt standards-aligned activities (projects, worksheets, quizzes, essays, presentations, etc.). Teachers assess the student output and choose the appropriate mastery level that was demonstrated.

Standards-Based Grading: Allows students to practice mastering standards without the penalty of receiving a poor grade. Provides teachers a consistent understanding of what each student should know and be able to do. Allows teachers to use ongoing assessment to guide classroom instruction.

But in reality, the flawed implementation of standards-based harms learning and instead incites greater anxiety for students. In standards-based grading, students are not defined by a numerical value and the focus is shifted off of the grades themselves and onto the actual understanding of the course.

Standards-based grading reports an overall letter grade for each course, so it does not have any impact on your student's grade point average or transcript. If we change school districts, how will my student's grade be transferred if the new district does not use standards-based grading?

Letter grades and transcripts based on standards are acceptable, if not preferable, by admissions folks, with a few caveats. When universities receive profiles/transcripts from schools with alternative grading/reporting systems, these students receive equal consideration.

Standards-based grading measures your student's mastery of a set of clearly defined learning targets called standards. It communicates how well your student understands the course material. Within a class, the material covered in each unit is divided into identified standards and learning objectives.

While anyone can attempt to learn the “standards” of a test, a one-time test isn't a holistic indicator of a student's long-term success. Despite SBG having some benefits, our education system must still better assess what students do and do not know.

Standards-based grading measures academic achievement against specific content standards, offering students multiple opportunities to demonstrate knowledge. It still involves assigning grades, but these grades are based on students' mastery of the content, making the process more transparent and individualized.

Standards referenced grading measures how well an individual student is doing in relation to the grade level/course standards, not the work of other students. A standards-based grade reporting system is designed to inform you about your child's progress toward achieving specific learning standards.

Why switch to standards-based grading? ›

In a standards-based grading system, grades are feedback that show specifically what needs to be re-learned. Rather than having to retake the entire course or test, learners have the opportunity to focus on individual competencies or standards where they haven't yet demonstrated mastery.

Grading by standards requires the teacher to know where their students are on the learning continuum and thus, be able to determine how to address individual student needs. Some students fail assessments early in the unit and then give up; with standards-based grading, the door remains open to achieving the standards.

Decaying Average

This formula is calculated based on an average with more weight given to the most recent scores. The higher the decay rate, the more heavily recent assessments are weighed. For example, if there are two assessments, the most recent assessment gets 65% weight, and the first gets 35%.

In recent years, a growing number of schools have adopted a standards-based approach to grading. Rather than simply averaging a student's scores on tests and assignments, standards-based grading takes into account the specific skills and knowledge that a student has mastered.

For example, if the student receives 8 scores for a learning target, then the median is the average of the 4th and 5th score. The student would receive a 2.5 (the average between 2 and 3).

A standard can be most easily described as what a student knows – and a competency is what they do with what they know. Competencies are applicable across multiple content areas and/or learning experiences, whereas standards tend to be about just one content area.

First, add the number of standard points the student earned. Then, divide that sum by the total number of points possible. Once you have that percentage, you can convert it using a traditional grading scale as pictured above. This method works for the common 1-4 scale as well as for 1-3 or 1-5 scales.

Standards-Based Grading Grades should reflect students' proficiency in clearly defined learning objectives. Specifications Grading Grades should reflect students' completion of work to clearly specified levels.

The Standards-Based Grading Scale is as follows:

Earning a “3E” means the student has advanced understanding and exceeds grade-level expectations. A “3E” is difficult to obtain and indicates unusually high achievement. Earning a “3” means the student has proficient understanding and meets grade-level expectations.