Standards-Based Grading

Standards-Based Grading (SBG) allows parents and students to see an accurate, meaningful, and consistent report of grades. Standards-Based Grading is designed to provide specific feedback on what students are achieving and really know plus show their progress and growth over time.

It will help teachers to understand where students are struggling, so they can provide alternative ways to help students learn and understand what is being taught. It also gives teachers a chance to provide enrichment if students are excelling in a particular standard as well.

SBG provides a picture of the student’s knowledge without outside influences such as behavior or extra credit. Much more "real world," SBG focuses on the summative achievement of students rather than how quickly they learn or how many times it takes them to master essential standards.

In our traditional grading system, we had a chronological collection of points or percentages which may include behavior, completion grades, and other factors that may or may not demonstrate the knowledge of a student. In the old system, parents may not have been given an accurate picture of what his/her child may know.

"Of all the things we do as teachers, few have the potential for creating more problems and miscommunication than grading."

Stiggins, et al. (2004) p. 304