Evaluating How Standard

Based Grading Affects

Students Studies

By: Diane Evans

Proposal
● There are multiple different grading systems used all over the
country. Two of the more common types of grading systems are
listed below

● One of the most common and traditional forms of grading systems

found in the United States uses overall percentages with
corresponding letter grades (90%-100% = A, 80%-89% = B,
70%-79%=C, 60%-69%=D, <60%=F) (Iamarino).

● Standard-based grading system that utilizes academic reporting

that is based on students demonstrating their understanding or
mastery on the state standards they are expected to learn as they
progress through their education (Townsley).
Criticism For Traditional Grading Methods:
● Grades may be misunderstood by parents and students due to the
arbitrary method and variety of ways traditional grading is assessed. In
one school, a certain percentage could be a passing grade for a student
and in another school that same percentage could result in a failing grade
(MacCrindle). Many teachers use grades to reward effort and time put into
learning instead of achievement of a standard.

● Points-based grading is preoccupied with numbers, rather than

communication. Final grades are sourced from gradebook points, and
there is often no comprehensive system in place to determine the
integrity of the methods through which those figures are collected. This
makes it difficult to determine whether or not the resulting final grades
are accurate reflections of student proficiency levels (Feldman).
Criticism For Traditional Grading Methods:

● Traditional grading systems do not encourage a continuum of

improvement and students are losing nearly all interest in improving work
once final grades have been calculated. Although students typically
comply with teachers’ specific revision suggestions, in too many cases,
there is no evidence of any advancement in learning. The student made all
of the corrections we requested, only to make the same mistakes again on
the next essay (Wilcox).

● The above is due in part to the fact that points, in addition to distracting
students from ongoing learning objectives, are also prone to masking (or
inappropriately compensating) for learning deficiencies, making it difficult
both for students to engage with course material, and for teachers to
identify and meet student needs (Wilcox).
Criticism For Traditional Grading Methods:

● In the following excerpt from her article, “Seven Reasons for Standards-Based
Grading,” high school teacher Scriffiny (2008) attests to how points-based
grades can mask actual levels of comprehension, obscuring the learning
process:I once thought it was essential to award points to students simply for
completing homework. I didn’t believe students would do homework unless it
was graded. And yet, students who were clearly learning sometimes earned low
grades because of missing work. Conversely, some students actually learned
very little, but were good at “playing school.” Despite dismal test scores, these
students earned decent grades by turning in homework and doing extra credit”
Praises For Standards-Based Grading Methods:
● With the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001, an accountability
system was established to monitor the educational progress of students
using standardized tests. The pressure to prepare students for
standardized testing caused many in education to question the
relationship between students’ performance in the classroom,
represented by their grades, with their performance on standardized
tests. Presumably, a student who can get good grades in a math class
should do well on standardized tests in the same subject. With
standards-based grading, a student is more likely to retain information
from the state standards rather than those who rely on homework
(Hochbein).
Praises For Standards-Based Grading Methods:

● Test anxiety has dramatically increased as the learning isn't over with the
test. Assessments are put into the gradbook by learning targets. As a result,
students and parents can pinpoint strengths and areas in need of
improvement quickly and accurately (Lehman).

● A large-scale study in the Denver area, for example, demonstrated a higher

correlation between grades and standardized test scores in schools with
standards-based grading versus those without. The scores on standardized
tests in schools with standards-based grading were higher than in schools
without. In the Omaha Public Schools as well, the number of students failing
classes decreased significantly when a standards-based approach to grading
was implemented. Also, in a study by Fisher et al. a school in San Diego that
implemented several components of standards-based grading saw their
performance on state tests increase as well as students’ GPAs (Scarlett).
Praises For Standards-Based Grading Methods:
● Research indicates providing feedback focused on what the student
needs to improve and how to improve is critical for student growth.
Students read the feedback because they actually use it to improve. The
assessments support students responsibility because the students are
responsible for coming in and improving their grades (Battistone).

● Standards-based grading can be a useful tool in teaching students how to

be accountable for their own knowledge and in the process help students
understand what it means to truly learn. Changing the way teachers
grade students is risky, but any change has some inherent risk. However,
students will take responsibility if teachers encourage them and they will
learn if teachers challenge them. I believe our students are worth the risk.
 Bibliography
MacCrindle, Amy Effective Change: A Case
Study of Implementation of a Standards Based Grading
Initiative. Research report no. 10276786, ProQuest
Dissertations Publishing, 25 Apr. 2017.
Iamarino, D. “The Benefits of Standards-Based
Grading: A Critical Evaluation of Modern Grading Practices”.
Current Issues in Education, Vol. 17, no. 2, May 2014
Feldman, Joe. "Beyond standards-based grading: Why equity must
be part of grading reform."Sage Publications, 29 Apr. 2019.
Townsley, Matt, and Varga, Matt. Getting High School Students
Ready for College: A Quantitative Study of Standards Based
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Wilcox, J. (2011). Holding ourselves to a higher standard: Using
standards-based grading in science as a means to improve
teaching and learning. Iowa Science Teachers Journal, 38(3),
4-11.
Hochbein, Craig, and Marty Pollio. “Making Grades More
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