I've realized that it's good for the slacker kids who don't care because instead of getting D's they basically automatically get B's. But what happens to the A/A+ students? We get mixed in with the rest of the cursed B's in this class.
This says so much more than it means to say. Those three sentences scream out all of the reasons why I do standards-based grading:
1) I do it so students can focus on learning, not points or effort.
2) I do it for students who take longer to make their own meaning; those same students that often get plowed under in the points-chasing game school often is.
3) I do it for students who may be considered "slackers," but who still deserve a fair shot at showing me evidence of understanding. (And often times, those are the students that do understand it, without having to do a lot of "busy work" outside of class.)
4) I do it so students can reach true understanding, because I believe every student has the ability to do this.
5) I do it so students considered "high-achieving" can refocus on the true purpose of school.
6) I do it so students can stop categorizing and judging each other according to the letters A, B, C, D, and F.
I do it for students.