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TRANSCRIPT
INTRODUCTION TO STANDARDS-
BASED GRADING Kris VerSteegt
For Des Moines Public Schools
October 25, 2013
WHY CHANGE THINGS?
“A grade can be regarded as an inadequate report
of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and
variable judge of the extent to which a student has
attained an undefined level of mastery of an
unknown proportion of an indefinite material.”
--Paul Dressel
THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
Where am I now?
Where am I going?
How do I close the gap?
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
We are probably taking a lot of data
We know what our kids know, what they understand,
and what they are able to do
We are probably reporting out a grade
This is likely norm-referenced.
“Johnny correctly classified all the instruments in the
concert band. Most kids only got 75%. Johnny gets an A.
Most kids get a C. Suzie only got half the questions right.
She gets an F. My grades are DONE! Woo hoo!”
Without some serious sleuthing on the part of the
parents, they don’t really have any idea what
their kids know, understand, or are able to do in
music
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Standards-Based Grading allows parents,
students, and other interested people the ability
to know exactly how the student’s work compares
to the standard.
It is criterion referenced.
“Johnny correctly classified all the instruments in the
concert band. He has met the standard. The rest of the
students need more instruction to meet the standard. But
how much more? I should do a needs assessment.”
HOW DO WE CLOSE THE GAP?
We determine the big ideas
National Standards and Achievement Standards
We “unpack” those standards to determine what
kids should know, understand, and be able to do
at each grade level for each standard
These KUDs should be the same regardless of contact
time or frequency, district-wide
We determine success criteria--what we will
accept as evidence that the standard has been
met
Should also be the same regardless of contact time or
frequency, district-wide
HOW DO WE CLOSE THE GAP?
We assess where are kids are now in relation to that
success criteria
We create lesson learning targets and share those with
the kids
Doesn’t have to be “up front”
We fill our lessons with activities designed to hit targets
this will look different in every school depending on time
We formatively assess whether ALL our kids have
reached those targets or not
NOT GRADED
If ALL students didn’t hit the target, then we need to re-
assess and plan to close the NEW gap
This will look different in every class
DOES IT REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
The research about instruction and assessment
practices that accompany standards-based
reporting overwhelmingly show that students
learn their subjects better and perform better in
later education levels
HOW IS STANDARDS-BASED GRADING
DIFFERENT?
The reported information more accurately
represents the progress toward mastery of
standards, rather than summarizing many
varied components in one letter grade
Subject areas are divided into big ideas related to
standards and their respective learning targets
that students need to learn or master
Each target is assessed formatively to guide
further instruction
Scores from activities that are provided solely for
practice will not be included in the final
assessment of the learning target
WHY IS IT BETTER?
The learning targets are clearly articulated to the
students throughout instruction
Ongoing formative assessment provides students
up-to-date information about what they need to
do to reach the learning target
Parents can see which learning targets students
have mastered and which ones need re-teaching
I HEAR WE AREN’T AVERAGING GRADES
ANYMORE.
The goal is for all students to be secure on the
required standards at the end of the course
Averaging all scores dilutes the information and
negates the growth the student has made toward
the standard
ARE THERE ANY OTHER BENEFITS?
Students with special needs are still provided
accommodations, but they are measured against
the standard like every other student
While you will be working on expression, vocab,
and tonal and rhythmic skills all year, you should
only report out when you have completed
summative assessments
In Ankeny, we were allowed to mark only “performs
alone and with others using appropriate musical
expression” in first term and leave all others “not
assessed.”
“OKAY. YOU SOLD ME. BUT, IT SEEMS LIKE A
TON OF WORK SO WE BETTER GET STARTED.”
NAfME has already done a lot of leg work for you
including content standards, achievement
standards, assessment suggestions, and three
levels progress toward standard (basic, proficient,
and advanced)
Few of these involve paper and pencil
http://musiced.nafme.org/resources/performance-
standards-for-music/grades-k-4/
Much of your own rubrics and checklists can be co-
constructed with the kids
HOW DO I INVOLVE THE KIDS?
Find examples of strong, medium, and weak
work.
Have students determine which is which AND
why.
A CHECKLIST EMERGED:
Note heads all about the same size
Note heads on the correct side (left)
Notes properly spaced
Note heads all colored in completely
Dots smaller than note heads
Dots and flags appear on the right hand side
Stems are all about the same length
§ beams touch all three stems
Stem stops at note head
e flags appear solid
DISCUSSION
UNDERSTANDING BACKWARDS DESIGN
Start with the standard
Write essential questions:
How are musical ideas created and conserved?
Figure out KUDs
Decide what you would accept as evidence that
students had accomplished the KUDs
“Success criteria”
Do a needs assessment
{ Choose activities that will help fill the gap for
most students
Formatively assess }
Conduct summative assessment
Standard Term 1 Term 2 Term 3
Performs whole, half, quarter,
eighths and dotted half notes
on instrument
2 2 3
Performs rhythm in simple
meter on instrument 2 2 3
Understands/performs ti-sol
in the key of concert Bb and
Eb on instrument
2 2 3
Demonstrates characteristic
timbre on instrument N 2 3
Demonstrates musical
expression/interpretation N 2 2
Understands and
demonstrates instrument
basics
3 3 4
Comments
FURTHER RESOURCES
Embedded Formative Assessment by Dylan
William (Solution Tree Press, 2011)
Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning by
Jan Chappuis (Pearson, 2009)
Integrating Differentiated Instruction and
Understanding by Design by Carol Ann
Tomlinson and Jay McTighe (ASCD 2006)
MEJ, March 2012, vol. 98/3
http://musiced.nafme.org/resources/performance-
standards-for-music/introduction/
FROM OUR FRIENDS AT
Music exalts the human spirit. It enhances the
quality of life. It brings joy, satisfaction, and
fulfillment to every human being. It is one of the
most powerful, compelling, and glorious
manifestations of human culture. It is the essence of
civilization itself. Music learning would deserve to
be included in the curriculum even if it could not be
assessed. But music learning based on explicit
standards can be assessed. Music should never be
neglected in the school merely because its
assessment may be difficult, time-consuming, or
costly.