Standards-based Grading Research Articles

“PE Is More Than Playing Kick Ball the Entire Hour”: Using Standards-Based Grading to Elevate Physical Education’s Status Among Preservice Physical Educators

Purpose: This study sought to examine how preservice physical educators conceptualize and intend to use standards-based grading (SBG) after receiving a 1-hr workshop on implementing SBG into a physical education (PE) setting. Methods: Using a qualitative descriptive approach, the researchers utilized class reflection assignments, a perceptions survey, and interviews with 10 undergraduate physical educators at a Midwestern university. Findings: The SBG workshop positively influenced participants’ views of the importance of PE, enhanced their attitudes toward organized and meaningful instructional planning, and shaped participants’ perceived norms and level of control when implementing SBG in their future classrooms. Discussion/Conclusion: SBG provides a means for preservice physical educators to validate their field and area of study and to visualize the interconnectedness of teaching, learning, and assessment within PE.

Relating Consistent Improvement to Overall Performance in a Calculus I Course that Utilizes Standards-Based Grading

In this study, we analyzed student participation and success in a college-level Calculus I course that utilized standards-based grading. By measuring the level to which students participate in this class structure, we were able to use a clustering algorithm that revealed multiple groupings of students that were distinct based on activity throughout the semester. Additionally, we analyzed student progress, defined as the number of graded activities successfully completed each week. We found that students who progressed steadily throughout the semester, and thus had lower variability in the number of completed activities per week, tended to receive a higher overall grade. Students whose progress was less consistent, and thus exhibited higher variability in weekly activities completed, tended to receive a lower grade. Overall, this shows a relationship between understanding the expectations in standards-based grading and succeeding in a course.

Addressing inconsistencies in grading practices

School leaders struggle in their efforts to implement standards-based grading reforms in large part because they fail to address the inconsistency in grading practices among individual teachers. This article describes three crucial steps necessary to gain greater consistency in teachers’ grading practices: (1) Reaching consensus on a purpose statement for grading; (2) using grading scales with four to seven categories of student performance; and (3) reporting multiple grades to describe academic achievement and non-academic aspects of students’ performance separately. These steps provide the necessary foundation for successful implementation of standards-based and competency-based grading reforms.

The Long and Winding Road: standards- and attribute-based grading in vastly different first-year math courses

Standards- and attribute-based marking methods grade students according to specific learning objectives. These methods can be difficult to implement but lead to positive results for both students and instructors. This paper summarizes the experience of and results from two divergent grading systems, one that utilized standards-based grading for a small part of the grade in a very large class and another that used attribute-based grading for the entire experience of a small class. The instructors discuss the challenges in implementing their systems and how the benefits outweighed the accompanying difficulties. The results of the alternative marking led to greater student engagement and to changes in course curriculum. Suggestions for easing the use of these systems are proposed.

The Standard Answer: Considerations for Implementing Standards-Based Grading in an NGSS -Aligned Science Classroom

The Standard Answer: Considerations for Implementing Standards-Based Grading in an <i>NGSS</i> -Aligned Science Classroom

Standards-Based Grading in Ensemble Music

Nearly all music educators assign grades to students. However, not all methods for grading are equally effective at reporting student achievement. This article describes one approach to grading, standards-based grading, that has the potential to support music educators’ efforts to achieve grades that are honest, meaningful, and fair. General principles and specific recommendations for ensemble music teachers are discussed.

Concepts Most Successfully Learned and Most Challenging to Students in a Redesigned Pre-Calculus Course

Pre-Calculus is considered one of many gate-keeper courses for STEM college students (Viera Jr et al., 2019). To better support students in Pre-Calculus, various college-level institutions have redesigned their Pre-Calculus courses to address learning challenges and inequities faced by students. For instance, Jones Lanaghan (2021) redesigned the Pre-Calculus course to incorporate a standards-based grading system, active learning practices among students, and emphasis on developing a growth mindset. Students in their redesigned Pre-Calculus course passed the class at a higher rate than those enrolled in the traditional Pre-Calculus course, with a difference of 38.3% higher. Additionally, students in the redesigned Pre-Calculus course passed their Calculus I course at a higher rate, with a difference of 3.1% higher. Despite the overall improvement and encouraging outcomes to the course, further learning challenges still need to be addressed. This study seeks to answer the following research questions: 1) What concepts are most successfully learned by students in a redesigned Pre-Calculus course? 2) What concepts are most challenging to students in a redesigned Pre-Calculus course? Data from 59 students enrolled in all sections of a redesigned Pre-Calculus course in Spring 2023 were analyzed quantitatively, using descriptive statistics. Discussion, limitations, and future research for teaching will also be shared.

The Impacts of a Standards-Based Grading System Emphasizing Formative Assessment, Feedback, and Re-Assessment: A Mixed Methods, Cluster Randomized Control Trial in Ninth Grade Mathematics Classrooms

We investigated the impact in ninth-grade mathematics classrooms of Proficiency-based Assessment and Reassessment of Learning Outcomes (PARLO), a standards-based grading system. Key components of PARLO are basing student final grades on the number of learning outcomes on which the student is high-performance or proficient, providing students with formative feedback, and encouraging students to reassess for full credit after further study. Our mixed-methods study employed a cluster randomized control trial with 2,736 participating ninth graders at 14 Treatment and 15 Control schools. Data included student achievement tests, interviews with 35 teachers, and student surveys. The program improved student performance on end-of-course algebra and geometry tests by a statistically significant 0.33 SD but did not impact students’ value of or expectancies for success in mathematics. However, treatment effects on mathematics performance were moderated by these psychological antecedents of motivation, such that students with higher math expectancies and value benefited more from the treatment. Furthermore, teacher interviews suggested that PARLO may have also had positive effects on growth mindsets, mastery goals, autonomy, and relatedness.

K-12 Teachers’ Implementation of Standards-Based Grading in the Classroom: A Quantitative Study

Standards-based grading (SBG) is a grading system in which each student is given a set of grades, each reflecting their proficiency in relation to a specific skill. The present study examined K-12 teachers’ implementation of SBG practices in a small, suburban Illinois district, as well as their perceptions and confidence in implementing SBG. It also examined these teachers’ prior formal and informal opportunities to learn about SBG, and how both pre-service and in-service opportunities to learn relate to their implementation of SBG grading. Results provide evidence of mixed levels of teacher SBG implementation, mixed teacher perceptions of SBG, and mixed teacher confidence in implementing such practices. In addition, the study finds that teachers’ opportunities to learn about SBG practices were extremely limited. However, both pre-service and in-service opportunities to learn about SBG related to SBG implementation and these relationships were mediated by teachers’ confidence in implementing SBG.

Visualizing Digital Communities of Practice

In 2021, forty art, design, and media educators throughout a midwestern state in the United States critically examined their lessons through the lenses of social-emotional learning (SEL), standards-based assessment, research-informed practice, and culturally responsive instruction. During the program, teacher-learners recorded their reflections, which are condensed in a presentation-as-art-installation, highlighting dialogic self-reflection in a community of practice. In the video, originally conceived as a 2-channel installation, teachers discuss SEL; equity, diversity, and inclusion; research-informed practice; and standards-based grading, looking at the camera by themselves and reflecting on their daily practice as they incorporate new learning into their teaching. The text discusses how these transformative conversations took place, the necessary conditions for dialogic self-reflection in a community of practice, their impact on their professional practice, and sharing classroom experiences.

Implementation of Alternative Grading Methods in a Mathematical Statistics Course

Alternative grading methods, such as standards-based grading, provide students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the learning outcomes in a course. These grading methods allow for more flexibility and help promote a growth mindset by embracing constructive failure for students. Implementation of these alternative grading methods requires developing specific, transparent, and assessable standards. Moving away from traditional methods also requires a mindset shift for how both students and instructors approach assessment. While providing multiple opportunities is important for learning in any course, these methods are particularly relevant to an upper level mathematical statistics course where topics covered often provide an additional challenge for students as they lie at the intersection of both theory and application. By providing multiple opportunities, students have the space for constructive failure as they tackle learning both a conceptual understanding of statistics and the supporting mathematical theory. In this article we share our experiences—including both challenges and benefits for students and instructors—in implementing standards-based grading in the first semester of a mathematical statistics course (i.e., focus primarily on probability). Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

Standards-based Grading in Difficult Times: Precalculus Student Perceptions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Standards-based Grading in Difficult Times: Precalculus Student Perceptions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Assessing the impact of standards-based grading policy changes on student performance and practice work completion in secondary mathematics

We report upon an intervention study conducted over two academic calendar years involving high-achieving, grade 8 and 9 students (n = 122 and 123 respectively) enrolled in a year-long geometry course. The study assesses the impact of a change in grading policy, namely removing practice work from grade computations, on student performance levels and behaviors. After the change in grading policy was implemented, findings reveal that performance decreased on some, but not all, standards assessed. Completion rates of practice work also decreased overall. Potential causes are discussed as well as implications for implementing aspects of standards-based grading systems in secondary mathematics classrooms.

Debunking Myths of Standards-Based Grading

Debunking Myths of Standards-Based Grading

Is standards-based grading effective?

ABSTRACT This analysis explores the essential criteria necessary to define standards-based grading (SBG) and to judge its effectiveness. Findings reveal that although many schools today are initiating SBG reforms, there’s little consensus on what “standards-based grading” actually means. As a result, SBG implementation is widely inconsistent due to an array of factors, including varying and uneven guidance provided by SBG proponents. Without precisely knowing what defines SBG and the clear criteria for judging its effectiveness, uncertainty, confusion, frustration, and resistance are leading educators to abandon SBG efforts altogether. The researchers conclude that there are three essential criteria necessary to define SBG and to judge its effectiveness in schools. When these criteria are discussed, applied, and met consistently, findings indicate that SBG can effectively serve its primary purpose—as an important tool for communicating students’ performance with students and parents.

Impacts of Standards-Based Grading on Students’ Mindset and Test Anxiety

Standards-based grading is an alternative grading method with many claimed benefits. This paper reports on quantitative studies investigating several of these oft-made anecdotal claims, such as reducing students’ test anxiety and fostering a growth mindset. We found that standards-based grading did reduce students’ test anxiety; moreover, the typically found difference in test anxiety between male and female students was eliminated in standards-based grading courses. We found no change in students’ growth mindset, but that students’ mastery avoidance goals were reduced.

The Impact of Behavioral Nudging in Economic Theory on High School Grading Policies and Student Achievement

This research paper examines the implications of neoclassical economic theory and behavioral economic nudges on high school teachers' grading policies and the motivation and academic achievement of students. I further develop the literature in education economics to investigate various grading policies chosen by teachers and the impact on student motivation and educational outcomes. I highlight teacher preferences which include a traditional grading policy or five-point system, using the letters A-E/F. On the other hand, students prefer grading systems that evaluate what they are learning, allow for effort-based achievement, and consider classroom participation, as opposed to homework and exam scores alone. I examine the benefits and detriments of different grading policies within my high school, Menlo-Atherton High School including traditional grading, standards-based grading (SBG) and pass-fail grading. First, I review the current literature and analyze the major differences between the approaches of neoclassical versus behavioral economics including nudges. Specifically, I examine factors that contribute to a student’s academic achievement and review the literature on grading. Second, I focus on student behavior and motivation that help to incentivize greater academic achievement. Third, I interview several teachers to characterize their grading policy and overall student motivation. Last, I compare the student and teacher findings and the associated behavior and motivation. Overall, my findings and analysis appear to support directionally that a new educational policy focused on a standards-based grading (SBG) policy combined with various behavioral nudges impact student decisions, motivate high school students, and improve educational outcomes.

Characteristics of Proficiency-Based Learning and Their Impacts on Math Anxiety in the Middle Grades

Math anxiety can have an extraordinary impact on middle level students’ ability to learn. However, certain classroom practices may be able to mitigate this impact. In terms of assessment practices, proficiency-based learning, also called competency-based learning or standards-based grading, may help establish a learning environment that either prevents the development or decreases the influence of anxiety for middle level mathematics students. The present study analyzed the relationship between specific characteristics of proficiency-based learning and students’ anxiety about mathematics. Using a multiple case study design, we examined the practices in two middle level mathematics classrooms and how they related to the experiences of five students in those classes who self-identified as having math anxiety. We focused specifically on the practices of establishing clear learning objectives, implementing assessment for learning, providing effective feedback, promoting reflection, and providing opportunities for reassessment. Data collection included interviews of students and teachers, in-class artifacts, and class observations. We found that reassessment was the characteristic of proficiency-based learning most closely associated with alleviating students’ anxiety. We also found that math anxious students can benefit from effective feedback and clear learning objectives, particularly when presented simultaneously.

Developing and Comparing Data Mining Algorithms That Work Best for Predicting Student Performance

Learning data analytics improves the learning field in higher education using educational data for extracting useful patterns and making better decision. Identifying potential at-risk students may help instructors and academic guidance to improve the students’ performance and the achievement of learning outcomes. The aim of this research study is to predict at early phases the student’s failure in a particular course using the standards-based grading. Several machines learning techniques were implemented to predict the student failure based on Support Vector Machine, Multilayer Perceptron, Naïve Bayes, and decision tree. The results on each technique shows the ability of machine learning algorithms to predict the student failure accurately after the third week and before the course dropout week. This study provides a strong knowledge for student performance in all courses. It also provides faculty members the ability to help student at-risk by focusing on them and providing necessary support to improve their performance and avoid failure.

Improving Teacher Evaluation: Walking the Talk of Standards-Based Grading

Teachers and school leaders frequently express a disconnect in the purpose and importance of teacher evaluation, particularly as it relates to educator growth. At the same time, some schools are beginning to communicate student growth through a standards-based grading philosophy. One way schools might “walk the talk” of their grading reform efforts designed to communicate student growth is through the use of proficiency scales to prioritize growth in teacher evaluation. This paper describes implications of simultaneously utilizing a growth model for teacher evaluation and a student growth model via standards-based grading.