Especially parents.
Besides the fact that I had drifted much too far from the comfortable norm of the traditional perception of grading last year, I did not do enough to try and get parents to understand what I was doing using standards-based grading and why I was doing it. So this year I have been overcommunicating to my heart's content, having my own presentations at parent nights, sending emails home, having information available at conferences...you name it, I've done it all this year--including using our online gradebook that parents can access as a vehicle to explain my SBG system.
While I know that not all parents in our community have internet access (and some of those that do have access never take advantage of the fact that the gradebook is online), I know that a large percentage do--especially at those unfortunate times that I have to sum up all of the different types of learning students have done into one uninformative letter. So, in order to help spread the SBG word to parents, I have hijacked something called "Class Events" in our gradebook in order to make any grade-related announcements throughout the year. This feature puts my grading "events" on the front page of the home version of our online gradebook so parents can see them right after logging in.
Doing this has saved me countless phone calls, e-mails, and other generally unpleasant encounters. How do I know? Because every time I attempted to explain my scoring system to parents after putting these little announcements in the online gradebook, all I heard was, "Oh yeah--I read that in the gradebook. I understand."
So what exactly did I put in these "events" for parents to read? I have copied the one I put in at the beginning of the year for you below. It's a fairly simplified explanation, but there is something to be said for simple being better. If you're interested in using SBG, please feel free to use and/or modify anything you'd like. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment or contact me.
Mrs. E uses a grading system called Standards-Based Scoring. In this system, tasks such as "quiz" or "test" or "homework" will not appear in the gradebook. Instead, the objectives, or "I can statements," are listed, and a score is given for each of those. These scores indicate to you and to students about how well they have mastered that objective. Each objective is worth 10 points. Use the scale below to see what your students' score means:
5 = No evidence of knowledge or understanding
6 = Starting to know it
7 = On my way to knowing it
8 = Almost know it
9 = Know it & own the learning
10 = Know it, own it, & can use it in many different ways and situations.
Students can receive "halves" between each score.
The reasoning behind using this system is that it puts the focus of scores back on what students know and can do, rather than having students do things just for points (and not for learning). Also, this means when you look at your student's score for any objective, you automatically can see what your student is having trouble with in class.
Also, when we first start learning an I can statement, scores in the gradebook will most likely be low at first. However, students will receive multiple chances to assess on each I can statement, so they will always have multiple opportunities to improve their scores and show their most recent evidence of knowledge. While not every I can statement will be given the opportunity for students to demonstrate a 4.5 or a 5 (because some I can statements do not delve into that type of thinking ability), every student will have the opportunity to achieve a 4 on each I can statement.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. E. Also, please see your student's class website and click on "Scoring System FAQ" for more information.
Physical Science: www.sites.google.com/site/mchsps
Biology: www.sites.google.com/site/mrsebiology97