Reply to Please no more skills based grading!

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Reply to "Please no more skills based grading!"

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[quote=Anonymous]Our district in the midwest adopted skills based grading about 5 years ago. There was a big parental outcry about it, but right when I got on board, they started walking it back. It definitely took some time to get used to it.  it is still used in MS ALONG with letter grades and not really used in HS, but is still used in elementary (K-5).

Our oldest were very high achievers, and it was initially frustrating to see them just get "3s" every report card (teachers generally couldn't give a 4, because they wouldn't test above grade level except in very rare circumstances.) So everybody on grade level or above just got a "3" on everything. They would also get separate grades for work habits, peer relationships, and adult relationships. What we learned is that we would get the real information at PT conferences.

There was a lot of hand wringing about how it would de-motivated high performing students, but everyone still knew who was acing the tests, who was working ahead of the pack in iReady, who was in the higher reading and math groups. You don't get "points" for handing in HW, or being behaved, or participating in class- your whole "grade" (which is not a grade) is whether or not you've learned the material (and our report cards break everything down standard by standard and give each thing its own number). We would tell our kids - if you keep getting good grades in work habits, peer relationships, and adult relationships, we will assume you are working to your potential. I definitely had to deprogram my competitive mindset a little and not worry about "how they stacked up."

On the flip side -If you have a SN kid, the standards referenced grading (at least how our district does it) is really helpful. My youngest struggles in school, and I am glad he doesn't get "bonus" points for handing in his HW and being respectful in class. I already know whether he is doing those things. But I like to see where exactly he is approaching (or at) grade level and where he is further behind so we and his resource teachers can target his weaker areas. It is also nice to be able to celebrate some accomplishments in areas where they are doing better. [/quote]

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