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"If we see our role as an instructor, then we need to instruct the skill, not hope that students will become more consistent over time."

This section is important to me as a math teacher because when a student is struggling to grasp a concept (or skill) as the teacher we need to take time to support and reteach so that the student can develop a stronger understanding. When I was in school, the solution to not understanding was often times giving more practice problems as homework. Giving a student more work when they need more support is not going to help them build a stronger understanding.

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1. Levels of a Scale: All levels of the scale are worded in language that shows what the students CAN DO, not what they CAN'T do.

2. The language describing success is vague and subjective. The 1st two levels--rather than point out what a beginning student can do, it documents what's missing.

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"Our ultimate goal should be to get all students to the highest level of learning, and by clearly defining that level and providing benchmarks, we are much more likely to be successful with that goal."
- Ch. 3 pg. 47

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"We know that students learn best when working in their zones of proximal development, and scales help teachers and students plan for the variety of readiness levels in our classes by defining a continuum of learning."

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Scales use positive I can-type language; our rubrics usually used negative, deficit-based language. Scales show students how to improve on the scale.

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"We can have meaningful conversations with parents about where their children excel and where their children need additional support, with clear evidence to support our conversations. By separating all behavioral aspects from the academic grade, we have created data points, that to some, may be even more valuable than the academic grade."

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"We want students to see learning as a progression, not something that you either get or don't get."

This quote is important in building the understanding what learning looks like at all levels. A student at the elementary level is at a different point in their journey of learning. So, even if they don't understand something at the highest level, that doesn't mean they are wrong, they are just at a different point in the learning spectrum. I like how this learning philosophy focuses more on what the students know, and helps get them to the next level of understanding, and not primarily focus on what they are doing wrong.

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"Scales can work as narrative feedback as long as students aren't constantly translating them into numbers and seeing them as judgement; this takes time and practice, but students will start to use the language within the scale to ask questions and assess their work."

Create and give feedback to enhance skill growth of the student rather than them seeing numbers on a page.

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One important action or mindset that can be an immediate change is to focus on what students can do, not on what they can't do.

"Skills grow and continue to improve over time with practice"

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It is nice to grade them on what they know and not what they are missing. Rubrics/Grading Scales should be about what they kids can do and now always about what they are missing.

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"Our students know that if they don't get something the first time, they'll get another chance." 

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"Our students know that if they don't get something the first time, they'll get another chance." 

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I will be able to have an honest conversation with students about what they are struggling with so that they can focus in on that area of study. It also will allow me to be honest with the students about where I expect them to be and how they can get there.

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"Moving to a target-based approach allows for clarity on each of the target and allows teachers and students to plan the next steps in the learning path."

An immediate action that I can take (or begin taking on) is planning my lessons with this intention in mind. Planning this way will (hopefully) relief some stress from planning and give me AND the students a straightforward path on how to continue and grow together.

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Start to formulate a staircase. Mentally build what your scale will look like. Decide what is most important to build off of. What do we want students to master?

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Many teachers really struggle to define what success looks like at all levels of learning

I think this part of SBG challenges all teachers to know your students' skills individually

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-We are used to a 4 being the highest grade a student can ascertain. When in all actuality- this is the beyond.
-The older rubrics are for assessment and scales are for growth and feedback.
-Scales have positive language and provide growth and activities.
-Seeing the scale as a staircase-visual representation of the growth
-Build assessments off of a scale. This is a beginning and often the hardest part.

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"We want students to see learning as a progression, not something that you either get or don't get."

An immediate action from this takeaway would be to be patient with my students and understand their learning processes.

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"...high school students will be able to look at their grades in any given class and not only see for themselves but also possess the information that allows them to tell someone else what they know and don't know how to do."

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"Moving to a target-based approach allows for clarity on each of the targets and allows teachers and students to plan the next steps in the learning path." (pg. 70, Article "Grading for Impact")

- The immediate action that I will take is to collect documentation of students work so that I am able to give both students and parents clarity over the learning targets and the students grade. I am able to show the students individual trend throughout the unit and will allow both feedback and growth in the learning area/path.

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"We want students to see learning as a progression, not something that you either get or don't get. As we know from Carol Dweck's (2016) work, student mindset plays a much larger role in learning than much of what we do in class; if they believe they can improve and if they see learning as the result of hard work, students are more likely to dig in and make large gains. Think of the scales as a staircase, and each step is an achievement on its own, leading us to the next step. These steps allow students to experience success at each level and reinforce the effectiveness of the growth mindset."

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Articulating what achievement looks like

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Articulating what achievement looks like

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Excellence and rigor are too important to be left to chance or a students ability to read our minds.

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"...most secondary staff members preferred organizing the learning targets by unit based on their scope and sequence within their courses."

Ensuring there is not an over abundance nor a shortage of assessed learning targets.

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Did we really have a category on our rubrics called UH-OH?

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"...note the negative language in the first two levels-- rather than point out what a beginning student can do, it documents what's missing.  This may be helpful for grading, but it is not at all helpful when trying to figure out how to improve on the skill itself." (34) As a math teacher, this felt very relevant... I can easily see what mistakes were made, what steps to fix. But can I phrase the targets/scales in a way that shows what they do know?

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Learning scales have simplified our lives