Traditional grading is very subjective, and standards-based grading is one way to address that. Standards-based reporting is designed to only reflect true evidence of learning, parents get a clear picture of what the student has or hasn’t mastered without the influence of other factors, such as effort and attitude. Standards-based grading (SBG) is a system of education which focuses on student learning and grades based on demonstrated understanding of specific concepts. Instead of a simple letter, students receive grades in multiple different learning targets and can see which concepts they understood well and which they need to improve on.

Standards-based grading provides explanations of the concepts and material that students should know at each point in their education. These are called learning standards, which provide a baseline that is consistent across all students at this education level. Teachers’ instruction is guided by these standards, and they work to make sure their students learn all of the expected standards they need to before leaving their class. When students receive report cards, they receive a list of learning standards and a grade (on a .5-4 scale) on each standard of how well they mastered the material.

 Summative Assessment Scale for each priority standard: 

Problem-Solving, Making Good Choices, and Responsibility

It is important to remember that students’ first priority in middle school is to learn! Social skills can greatly enhance their chance of having a positive environment in which to learn. Efforts and choices will directly affect grades, opportunities to participate in sports and/or other extracurricular activities, peer interactions, and relationships with adults both in and out of school. Part of growing up and gaining independence involves gaining the trust of both teachers and parents. To do so, students must demonstrate responsibility and the ability to make good choices across settings. The students’ ability to problem-solve and choose positive ways to interact with parents, teachers, and peers will aid in making their middle school experience successful.

Making/Choosing Friends

One of the cool but scary things about middle school is seeing all of the new faces. Knowing how to make new friends will be extremely important in the middle school setting. Several different elementary schools feed into one middle school, and students are assigned randomly to teams. As a result, students may not be on the same team with their friends they may have had while in elementary school. Some students might already know a lot of students from their old elementary school, but many students do not know anyone at all because they were the only ones from their elementary school to come to a particular middle school. Going to middle school is a great opportunity to make new friends. Some tips for making new friends are:

• Get involved in school activities
• Introduce yourself to students who sit around you in your classes
• Choose different partners during group work assignments in your classes
• Sit with different groups of people at lunch
• Make an appointment with the school counselor/psychologist for help with making friends

Peer Pressure

Middle school is a time of great transition emotionally, physically, and socially. All of these changes can either be nurtured or hindered by peers. Remember, peer pressure can be either positive or negative. Examples of positive peer pressure might include encouraging friends to study by offering to study with them or motivating them to work hard at a sport. Examples of negative peer pressure might include someone encouraging students to spread rumors, be disruptive in class, or skip school. In order to best handle social pressure, the following tips might be helpful:
• Find friends with similar interests, values, and beliefs
• Be assertive—tell friends what you like/don‘t like
• Don‘t use alcohol or other drugs
• Avoid situations in which you know that you could get into trouble
• Learn to handle conflicts in a positive way
• Talk with trusted adults about situations that you don‘t understand and/or that make you feel
uncomfortable

Bullying

Bullying is unfair (meaning the -bully uses some sort of power over his/her victim), is one-sided (meaning only one person or one group of people are engaging in bullying behavior in the situation), happens on purpose with the intent of hurting, frightening, threatening, or leaving someone out on purpose and it happens repeatedly. Bullying can include behaviors such as:

•Physical violence and attacks
•Extortion and theft
•Taunts, name-calling, and put-downs
•Peer group exclusion
•Threats and intimidation
•Cyberbullying  

Help is available to students who feel that they are being bullied. If a student witnesses a bullying situation, they have the power to be part of the problem or part of the solution depending on their reactions to the situation. They can exacerbate the situation by doing nothing, encouraging the bully, or pretending not to see. Students can help the situation by immediately reporting the situation to an adult, by helping the victim to get out of the situation and encouraging the victim to get help.

Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying occurs when students use a data device such as a computer or cell phone to bully or harass other students. This may occur in various ways including text messaging, using social network sites to message each other, and via email.

Peer-Conflict vs Bullying

It’s important to know the difference between peer-conflict and bullying.