Frequently Asked Questions
A. Using the app does not work for standards based grading. Use only the website to see the accurate information of your child’s grades.
A. Teachers use the Kansas Academic Standards set forth by the Kansas Department of Education to plan lessons, drive instruction and assess student learning.
A. In Standards Based Grading, the goal that students are aiming for is to meet the standard (i.e. 3). This can be a shift in mindset from our experiences with the traditional grading system when students were aiming to get an A through point accumulation. To help your student, review the standards for their grade level and practice those skills.
Keeping the standards in mind will lend focus to the work that students are doing in the classroom and serve as a checklist for skills and knowledge that students should possess before promoting to the next grade. A 4 is the result of showing superior knowledge and synthesis skills.
A. SBG is reflective of real world situations. Students must master specific skills in the real world and are given multiple opportunities to ensure mastery. For example, as a teenager you are given multiple opportunities to take and pass a driving exam. If you were not proficient the first time, you would set goals, study more and practice prior to taking another exam. This cycle would repeat itself until you were considered proficient. You can probably think of many opportunities in the workforce today that adults are provided several opportunities to improve on skills. We want students to have that same mindset as they grow into adults. The real world is not an accumulation of points, but rather a place where we experience and learn new skills, put them into practice, accept feedback, set goals, and then try again to improve. Standards based learning and grading sets students up for success in life after school.
A. Standards-based grading measures a student’s knowledge of a grade level standard over a period of time by reporting the most recent level(s) of performance. For example, a student may struggle at the beginning of a grading period with new content but by the end of the grading period the student is able to demonstrate mastery. In traditional grading, the student’s performance for the entire grading period would be averaged. Early assessment scores that were low would be averaged together with proficient assessment scores. The result of the scores averaged would be a lower grade. When a percentage system is applied, it can be misleading about a student’s mastery of standards and learning. In standards-based grading, a student who reaches proficiency would be reported proficient, and the grade would reflect current performance level.
Letter grades do not tell parents which skills their child has mastered or whether he or she is working at grade level. The standards-based report card measures how well an individual student is doing in relation to the grade level standards, not the work of other students. This gives parents a better understanding of their child’s strengths and weaknesses, and encourages all students to do their best.
A. One of the biggest adjustments for students, parents and guardians is that standards-based report cards focus on end-of-the-year learning goals. This means that in the first or second assessment period, instead of getting A’s for trying hard and doing well on tests a high achieving student might have several marks indicating that he or she is not yet proficient in some skills. Although this is normal, since most students will not meet all of the year’s goals in the first quarter, it can be disconcerting to parents and students who are used to seeing all A’s.
A. Standards Based grading and the state test scores are both aligned to the Kansas Standards. By using Standards Based Grading, students' scores are all calibrated in the exact way that test scores are calculated.
A. The learning standards for all students are generally the same. Students with an IEP have personalized learning goals and specific accommodations and/or modifications that provide support to better access the standards, by providing scaffolding and support necessary for that student to access and demonstrate knowledge of a standard. Parents will still continue to receive quarterly feedback from the Instructional Support teacher about specific progress toward the goals outlined in the IEP.
A. A student’s performance on a series of assignments, tasks, and/or assessments (both formative and summative) will be used to determine a student’s overall grade in a course. The following indicators will guide a teacher's ability to measure student progress.
There are four levels of performance noted on the Standard Based Grade Card using a numeric indicator system (4,3,2,1 and blank) to describe progress and growth over time. A descriptor for each indicator is provided below:
4- A “4” indicates that the student has advanced faster or learned more deeply the concept that is being taught. In other words, the student has demonstrated an advanced understanding of the standard and has been able to apply that understanding in ways that go beyond grade level expectations. Given the very high standard for demonstrating a “4”, very few students will be at this level of performance.
3- A “3” indicates that the student has demonstrated an independent and secure understanding of the end of the year learning standard. This student requires no additional support or assistance in successfully demonstrating the concept learned and met grade level learning standards. A student with a “3” has met all expectations of learning at that grade level.
2- A “2” indicates that the student is developing an understanding of the learning standard and still requires intermittent support and assistance to meet the requirement of the academic standard for his/her grade level.
1- A “1” indicates that the student is developing an emerging understanding of the grade level standard at this time. His/her current level of progress/growth is characterized as requiring consistent teacher support to make progress/growth.
N - An “N” indicates that the standard has not been adequately introduced, covered, or assessed during the marking period. Boxes left blank can be different from class to class and student to student. All standards on the Standard Based Grade card will be addressed by the end of the school year.
Please contact your child’s teacher or principal should you have any questions regarding Standards based learning and grading.