Julie Frerichs and Veronica Topp (Hart MS World Language Department)
With the guidance of Oakland Schools, the research of several teachers in the county, and the hard work of Julie Frerichs and Veronica Topp, standards-based grading has been implemented in Spanish and French classes at Hart Middle School. Standards-based grading is about assessing students on what they can do with what they learn and how they can apply it to real-life situations.
Traditional grading models rely on students to fill in blanks, match terms, and provide some short-answer responses. The traditional model also grades on compliance, such as whether or not students are participating and doing their homework. Standards-based grading relies solely on what the student can do with the language, not the practice of how they got there. It is up to the students to do the “compliance” activities in order to promote their achievement.
The Hart language classes now have students speaking to each other without scripts, responding to emails, creating videos, and writing three paragraph essays, just to name a few. The remarkable point is that these are Level I students achieving these goals with just a semester of instruction.
Students are assessed holistically using rubrics created by Oakland Schools. Another advantage of Standards-based grading is that students have the opportunity to redo assessments without penalty on which they do not show achievement. This allows the student to revisit the material and show mastery.
Instead of seeing the overall grade, standards-based grading enables students to see their strengths and identifies areas in need of improvement. Students are provided with a choice—the opportunity to choose what they are saying and writing, instead of what the teacher is instructing them to put on the assessment.
“All in all, this [standards-based grading] has been a great movement for the students as well as the teachers,” said Hart Principal Allison Roberts. “This will prepare our students to be better critical thinkers and students will have more ownership in their own achievement.”
Traditional grading models rely on students to fill in blanks, match terms, and provide some short-answer responses. The traditional model also grades on compliance, such as whether or not students are participating and doing their homework. Standards-based grading relies solely on what the student can do with the language, not the practice of how they got there. It is up to the students to do the “compliance” activities in order to promote their achievement.
The Hart language classes now have students speaking to each other without scripts, responding to emails, creating videos, and writing three paragraph essays, just to name a few. The remarkable point is that these are Level I students achieving these goals with just a semester of instruction.
Students are assessed holistically using rubrics created by Oakland Schools. Another advantage of Standards-based grading is that students have the opportunity to redo assessments without penalty on which they do not show achievement. This allows the student to revisit the material and show mastery.
Instead of seeing the overall grade, standards-based grading enables students to see their strengths and identifies areas in need of improvement. Students are provided with a choice—the opportunity to choose what they are saying and writing, instead of what the teacher is instructing them to put on the assessment.
“All in all, this [standards-based grading] has been a great movement for the students as well as the teachers,” said Hart Principal Allison Roberts. “This will prepare our students to be better critical thinkers and students will have more ownership in their own achievement.”