Creating a Standards Based Classroom
How to create a grading system that encourages both transparency and student mastery.
Description
Grades, by their very nature, are subjective. That is a fact of education. Because of this, we need to be able to do everything we can to make sure the expectations for those grades are as transparent as possible.
Enter in Standards Based Grading. Standards Based Grading is a way to use mastery scales to help give meaning to the grades we put into our gradebooks. It ultimately removes behavior from the gradebook, instead focusing on communicating to students, parents, and other educators exactly what the students do and don't know about the content in your class.
Like every classroom change, it takes effort to implement the method. There are growing pains as behaviors are pulled away from the gradebook. Without some guidance, it can feel overwhelming. That's what the purpose of this course is. I want to help other educators navigate the implementation process of Standards Based Grading, so that they can focus on the most important aspects of it: Creating the materials and scales needed to help transition the class clearly and effectively.
When you are done, I hope that it brings meaning and transparency to your gradebook, and that it brings students closer to both mastery and success in your classrooms!
What You Will Learn!
- To be able to evaluate your grading system against your own teaching philosophy.
- To be able to create learning scales, the core of a standards-based classroom.
- To be able to create assessments and rubrics that effectively measure student progress on a learning scale.
- To be able to create 4.0 material for scales. To be able to guide students through a growth minded learning progression.
- To be able to set up a gradebook using Mastery Scale grades.
- To be able to update communication materials . To be able to communicate grades and policies clearly and professionally.
Who Should Attend!
- Educators interested in learning about the implementation of a standards based classroom from the lens of someone who has implemented it from the ground up in his own classroom.
- Education Administrators who are interested in learning about the implementation of a standards based classroom from the viewpoint of a teacher who has gone through the process so you can offer strong informed support for your educators.
- My lens is often from a high school perspective; the content is generally transferrable across grade bands.