'Traditonal' vs. 'Standards-Based' Grading Practices: Where Do I Align? by Amy Ackley

Middle School Science

2025-05-19 02:26:07 UTC

My current action moving forward is to get rid of the + and - of my grading. I like how Rick said there where to many levels either you (the student) is in the level or not. There should not be 'you're almost here ___'.

From: Krystal H.

Middle School Science

2025-05-19 02:29:50 UTC

My current practice of grading is not standard-base grading. I am currently using the 100 point scale and use zeros for missing work or even point deduction for late. However, after this weeks readings and videos I see the importance and need to shift my approach. I think the hybrid approach would be best suited for the age group of students and curriculum.

Middle School Science

2025-05-19 02:31:33 UTC

Here is a link I found that talks about the 4 point scale instead of the 100 point scale.

Michelle McKenzie

2025-05-19 17:54:49 UTC

My grading practices do have the standards-based scale on the rubric and in the back of my mind as I'm grading and teaching. Do they get it? What will I do for the ones who don't understand yet? But the district did not embrace standards-based grading so all of that is on hold. The rubrics my ELA team create do have a 4 point scale along with ABCD. F means no evidence.

Michelle McKenzie

2025-05-19 18:03:26 UTC

Moving forward, I will use the language of standards-based more often, especially in class or when commenting on student work.

Michelle McKenzie

2025-05-19 18:10:08 UTC

This article shows rubrics, which really help when grading standards-based, for many subjects. There are freebies too!

9/10 ELA

2025-05-19 18:11:50 UTC

Currently I am in the midst of developing a standards-based mindset. I have come to a hybrid model between traditional and SBG. Each of the grades in the book are directly linked to a standard. They are scored with a rating scale or rubric. Students are given multiple opportunities to assess. I have been working on this for the last year and a half. Each semester I am tweaking and fixing, making improvements.

Next year my plan is to focus on one standard a week. Then in between units, provide a reassessment week. My district has adopted a policy of not accepting late work after the tutoring Friday has passed. So my reassessment week works within the policy that the school has asked me to have. Also by having one standard focusing on a week then I have grades updated weekly which is another thing I have been asked to do.

Elementary Resource Room

2025-05-19 20:42:43 UTC

As a resource room teacher I don't provide grades for my students. I have observed how my colleagues grade using a standards based mindset. Our teachers all use a scale of 1-4. On the report card it comes out as Standard Exceed, Standard Met, Standard Developing, and Standard Not Met. I think having it translate into clear words is helpful for parents when interpreting the grades.

Approach

2025-05-19 20:44:26 UTC

As someone who does not provide grades for my students this is challenging. I have reflected on how I can help parents better understand the relation between their child's report card and their progress report. I would like to further expand on my first artifact to make more of a connection to progress reports.

Moving Forward

2025-05-19 20:53:49 UTC

I am advocating for myself and going to my district to get PD money to go to a conference/training in St. Louis this summer. The opportunity was brought to me by our SPED director. She has been encouraging me through my process, especially as I have been doing it on my own. She got the book Humanized Education, which focuses on Mastery-Based Education. Between this class, the contacts I made at the IETA Conference back in February, this class, and the chance to go to St. Louis, I am doing everything I possibly can to become a master of standards-based grading.

Rating Scales

kbaker102 — 2025-05-19 21:24:34 UTC

Here is the link to a school district website that has all the rating scales for ELA, Math, and Science standards broken down and made into student-appropriate versions.

Documents | Sweetwater County School District #2

2025-05-20 16:59:46 UTC

For the most part, I find myself aligned with the principles of standards-based grading. However, I must acknowledge that I still wrestle with certain aspects of the paradigm, not due to a lack of evidence or merit, but because of the deeply ingrained beliefs and practices shaped by my own educational experiences. The traditional grading system is so embedded in my academic upbringing that fully detaching from its influence requires intentional reflection and unlearning. This cognitive dissonance underscores the broader challenge of educational reform: meaningful change demands not only new systems, but also a fundamental shift in mindset, both individually and institutionally.

2025-05-20 17:02:36 UTC

One concrete step I am currently taking to advance toward a standards-based approach is the intentional deconstruction of each standard into clear, measurable success criteria. By articulating the discrete components of a standard, I aim to create transparent learning targets that guide both instruction and assessment. This practice not only clarifies expectations for students but also supports more precise feedback, allowing learners to understand where they are in relation to the standard and what specific steps they can take to progress toward proficiency.

2025-05-20 20:58:35 UTC

My current grading practices have nothing to do with standard-based grading. I feel like a lot of parents push back against that and I am uneducated (at least right now) in the type of grading that standards-based grading requires. Hopefully, after this course, I will have a better idea of what it means and I will be able to better accommodate my students.

2025-05-20 21:00:43 UTC

I am really leaning into this class. I feel like I have a lot to learn and creating artifacts with peer help is giving me different perspectives on what standard-based grading means to different educators.

Krista Francis

2025-05-21 03:26:42 UTC

I don't grade, but I'm working toward using a standards-based mindset when revising policies and procedures in the student services division.

Krista Francis

2025-05-21 03:32:46 UTC

I rewrote our institutional Academic Standing procedure with a standards-based mindset. I'm presenting the changes to the rest of the leadership team next week. The changes will help students better understand expectations, inform them about resources if they are struggling, and be less threatening. I will continue evaluating and revising the policies and procedures with a standards-based mindset.

2025-05-21 04:03:58 UTC

I got this from a friend who is an 8th-grade special ed math teacher who implemented standards-based grading about 5 years ago.

Mariza Fernandez

mfernandez376 — 2025-05-22 01:34:18 UTC

While my assignments align to standards, my grading practices don’t fully reflect a standards-based mindset. True standards-based grading requires grades to be tied directly to clear learning targets and supported by evidence of mastery—not just points for participation or completion.

Craig Messerman’s video explains how students often focus on “the game of school”—chasing points and avoiding zeros—rather than mastering learning goals. His use of a four-point scale that minimizes zeros and allows students to improve grades anytime promotes flexible, mastery-focused assessment. Rick Wormeli reinforces this by showing that traditional grading scales are “nonsense symbols” without clear evidence descriptors. My current reliance on point systems doesn’t clearly communicate proficiency levels, limiting grade clarity.

I avoid punitive zeros by marking late work as Incomplete, but I know I don't have accountability routines which causes students to panic when incompletes are removed a month before the semester ends. Schimmer writes that “redefining accountability requires a more sophisticated approach than simply deciding what to do when a student doesn't follow through.” Effective grading systems must thoughtfully address why students struggle and how grading affects motivation. Without structured behavioral supports and clear communication, my current practices fall short of meaningful accountability and accurate mastery reflection. Essentially, my grading needs to better focus on evidence of mastery without fluff and include supportive accountability routines to truly reflect learning and encourage progress.

Mariza Fernandez

mfernandez376 — 2025-05-22 02:05:41 UTC

I plan to revise my grading routines by eliminating participation (turned it in) grades and enhancing accountability through more frequent checkpoints and a refined reward system. Rather than awarding points for timely submission of work, I will use the existing sticker/reward system I have in place—which already effectively reinforces positive behaviors—to reward students for meeting deadlines. I also will incorporate additional checkpoints throughout the semester before student support days. Although we offer student support days on weekends for makeup work, these are not consistently attended. Establishing regular in-class checkpoints before Friday schools will help provide timely feedback and interventions, ensuring that students receive the support they need before the end of each semester.

2025-05-22 22:58:51 UTC

Yes, in our district, we are highly encouraged to use the 4-point scale. I moved to the 4-point scale exclusively last year. It has been amazing for clarity and transparency. Students and parents argue grades far less frequently as the students understand what each point on the scale is saying about their knowledge/ performance.

2025-05-22 23:03:09 UTC

As a SpEd resource teacher, this is a hard one to address, as our classes are pass/fail, and we have both no standards and ALL of the standards. An action I am planning on taking to move towards a more standards-based approach would be to track the students' IEP goals as they align with standards within their individual classes. This will allow me to track progress towards goals based on in-class performance as well as to assist the GE teachers with meeting standards.

2025-05-22 23:08:58 UTC

This book. A previous district PLC/book study-- a game changer. Feldman walks you through the entire argument and decision-making process with case examples and real data. Highly recommend if you have a staff member or colleague who is holding on to 'the old ways'.

2025-05-23 00:09:19 UTC

Are they currently reflective of a standard-based mindset? I would say I have part of the culture of the mindset but not the actual practice. I focus on what I believe the student has learned and give opportunities for redoing assignments if the haven't achieved proficiency. We still employ the traditional 100 pt. grading scale for 6-12, and do a O, S+, S, N (Outstanding, satisfactory, needs improvement) scale for K-5 which could be a lot better. I don't take points off for late work, though. That being said, I have taken zeroes off cheating, so in a sense it's better not to turn it in than to cheat on it! Work in progress

2025-05-23 00:12:51 UTC

We are going to pilot a Standards-Based Grading system, myself and our other k-3 grade teacher, next year. We are going to work over the summer to establish the standards and what we need for rubrics to be successful. I think we're going to do a hybrid trial at first, to familiarize and bring parents on board with standards-based, and so that we know what works or doesn't when we present the idea to the higher grades in following years.

2025-05-23 00:34:24 UTC

My current grading practices are not reflective at all of a standards-based mindset. We can talk about everything, which is almost always graded, using the A-F system, and giving 0s for work not completed on time. Not that I am not working on moving away from these, it is just trying to figure out how to make it all work and not just completely shock parents and even my district.

Brittany

bpriddy6 — 2025-05-23 00:43:47 UTC

My current action that I am planning on taking as I move forward towards having a more standards-based approach on grading is 1) get rid of my 0 policy and policy on not accepting late work. 2) Explain to both students and parents that not everything is going to get a grade. That some homework/classwork that is formative is going to be for feedback, so I can see where students currently are and be able to help them move to proficiency. I would like to get students away from the game of school and to truly want to dive into the material and learn it.

Brittany

learning targets

2025-05-23 02:32:42 UTC

We use success criteria and learning targets but do not assess on a 4 pt scale. We use the traditional 100%. When we grade projects we do a 4pt scale. So we have mixed message scoring.

Tanya Gunter

2025-05-23 02:35:50 UTC

My action plan is to talk with my department with incorporating SBL. I have to talk with other departments and see what they are doing to get tips how to start incorporating it more and not just with projects.

Elementary Music - Bradley Curtis

2025-05-23 04:13:03 UTC

My current grading system uses standards to assess students. My students can get 100% in music and receive a Standard Exceeds. My job is to grade on two standards, and they range from standard exceeds, standard met, standard developed, and standard not developed. This can be confusing to parents as there is not percentages like they are used to.

Elementary Music

2025-05-23 04:17:18 UTC

A step I am taking to move toward standard based grading is to not grade students on behavior. One of my standards grade how students behave in the classroom and in the content this week, it is stated grading should only be on things students have learned.

Standards-based

mwuori2 — 2025-05-23 21:07:47 UTC

For math and ELA - absolutely! We are not there with science and social studies, but I would hope to get there some day! Right now, I use participation mostly for their grades in those subjects. I'm an all-subjects 5th grade teacher.

Chocolate chip cookie rubric lesson

mwuori2 — 2025-05-23 21:10:26 UTC

This is a lesson that introduces students to the idea of a rubric and how they could use it to help them. It's really great for middle school students!

Middle School Math

rbrewer29 — 2025-05-26 03:42:20 UTC

Several of my current practices are reflective of a standards-based mindset.

Each unit, and subsequent assignment within that unit, are contributed to a specific math standard; that math standard has a rubric 0-5 that goes along with it. Mastery within that rubric is how a student’s grade is determined on that given unit.

Students are allowed and encouraged to show me what they know in any number of ways, understanding that each way they show me their mastery gives the opportunity to increase their grade on that unit. Level 5’s always involve an element where the are teaching, and showing DOK 3-4 mastery.

If a student shows increase of mastery, they are not penalized for previously struggling on an assignment or assessment.

Middle School Math Rubrics

rbrewer29 — 2025-05-26 03:44:44 UTC

Currently my 0-5 rubrics have been entered in the grade book as the following percentages 1=55, 2=65, 3=75, 4=85, and 5=95. In the past, 0’s have only indicated that work has not been turned in and is missing. Instead, I’d like to change my practice for 0=45 and the overall grade in the grade book to be marked as “INC” until the student provides some evidence that I can use to determine their mastery.

Jennifer Bell: 6th-Grade ELA

2026-05-25 21:53:20 UTC

My school currently uses standards-based grading. I feel like I have a mixed mindset, but I am beginning to understand the importance of fully committing to standards-based grading. I think there are areas, like Artifact 1, where I need to provide a rubric that is more aligned with standards-based grading.

6th-Grade ELA

jenniferbell8 — 2026-05-25 21:54:10 UTC

Mastery-Based High School - Mekaela Fowers

2026-05-26 16:01:18 UTC

The grading practices at my school are entirely standards-based. Our model allows for different paces of students, which traditional schools often don't get. It can be challenging to stick with a true standards-based mindset when you are restricted by pacing guides, and you have to move on to the next unit, but you know some of your students aren't fully understanding. Fortunately, my school has no set time limits for students; they can be in a class for two weeks or two semesters (or more if needed!).

Mastery Based High School

2026-05-26 16:03:25 UTC

Right now, we have a 12-level scale. One of the videos we watched suggested that less is really more. Right now, most of our teachers go by twos (2,4,6...) and we don't typically use the odds. When we do, it can be subjective. We either need to calibrate much more, OR we need to get rid of the odds and call it like it is, a 4 or a 6, not a 5.

Mastery Based High School

2026-05-26 16:07:32 UTC

I have linked an example of our ELA continuum! Each student must complete each competency (and each skill within the competency) multiple times. At a freshmen level, they must show each skill twice, at a level 7 (meaning they have hit ALL of level 6 descriptors and at least have at least a level 8).

High School Science & Art

2026-05-26 18:00:51 UTC

My current grading practices include a hybrid approach. I work very hard to align each learning target to standards. I then offer both formative and summative assessments, projects, etc. that give an overall picture of the grade the student has earned. While we have a weighted 100 point scale, when I grade assignments I measure them against the standards and convert it to a set point range. Once put in the grade book , it converts it to a percentage.

High School Science & Art

2026-05-26 18:03:05 UTC

A current action that I will be taking next year is to continue aligning assignments with standards. Also, creating a new rubric form for projects.

High School Science & Art

2026-05-26 18:06:01 UTC

Here is great link that has updated current examples of school districts successfully shifting to the Standards Based Mindset. They also discuss Mastery Based Grading.

Current Grading Practice

christopherpaskvan — 2026-05-27 02:41:29 UTC

My grading practice is still a tradidtional grading system with letter grades and percentages. This year I would also use zeros for students who didn't turn work in. After our readings and the videos we've watched so far, I will be switching to a hybrid model next school year.

High School Shop

christopherpaskvan — 2026-05-27 02:44:47 UTC

I created some small engine 'standards' for artifact 1. I am planning to use those next fall. I am also planning to come up with more standards for the entire semester to move closer to a standards-based grading system. The school will still use standard grades and percentages, but I plan on grading only for standards.

Link about standards-based grading

christopherpaskvan — 2026-05-27 02:48:40 UTC

Here is an article on standards-based grading.

Jennifer Bell-Action

2026-05-27 16:33:15 UTC

My current action plan for standards-based grading is to become more standards-based-minded. My school already uses standards-based grading; however, I still find myself evaluating more traditionally. I think it will benefit my students and me if I am all in rather than having one foot in traditional grading practices.

McKay Kasper

2026-05-27 19:20:22 UTC

I would say that my current grading practices do not reflect a standards-based approach because I am so new to this concept. Although I will definitely be adding this approach to my toolbox and am excited to do a bit more exploring of the standards-based mind and grading.

McKay Kasper

2026-05-27 19:24:07 UTC

A current action I will take is to learn as much as possible about the standards-based approach to grading. So, when I do have my own classroom, I can implement it with ease. to learn the ins and outs of it, so I can make it as beneficial for my students right off the bat.

Alisa Martin - 7th Math

2026-05-27 19:30:37 UTC

Jumping from 3rd grade to 7th grade math, I am still shaping what my grading will be. Within the traditional grade book, I hope that I can find the right balance and implement the important thinking behind standards-based mindset.

Alisa Martin - 7th Math

2026-05-27 19:42:21 UTC

As I enter my new classroom, I hope to ask a lot of questions how the district and school view grading. Then, I plan to get feedback from my math team and ask them specific questions about aligning to standards and how we can communicate very clearly with parents about where their child is at.