Top 3 standards-based grading articles (2023)

Following the tradition of previous years here on the blog, it is time to sift through the list of published literature from the 2023 and highlight the top articles of the year.

The following is a list of what I believe are the top three articles from 2023 (in alphabetical order by lead author’s last name) related to standards-based grading. Following each citation is the article abstract or my summary of the abstract.

  1. Ketsman, O, & Reeves, T. (2023). Standards-based grading in a small, suburban district:               Teacher education, confidence, and implementation. Journal of School Administration Research & Development, 8(2), 65-75. https://www.ojed.org/index.php/JSARD/article/view/5565

    This examined K–12 teachers’ implementation of SBG practices in a small, suburban Midwestern school district, as well as their perceptions of and confidence in implementing SBG. The findings include teachers’ prior opportunities to learn about SBG practices formally and informally were variable. Participation in both pre-service and in-service opportunities to learn about SBG were moreover related to SBG implementation, and these relationships were partially or fully mediated by teachers’ confidence in implementing SBG practices.
  2. Larsen, A. (2023). Investigating the potential benefits of standards-based grading practices at urban secondary schools in Southern Utah: A qualitative study. Journal of Nonprofit Innovation, 3. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=joni 

    The participants in this qualitative research study included ten teachers, four parents, and two secondary school principals who have experienced both the letter and standards-based grading methods in recent year. Results from this study highlight the difficulty in transitioning to standards-based grading methods because letter grading is a familiar system rooted in tradition.
  3. Williams, M. J. (2023). Teacher perceptions of differentiated instruction in a standards-based grading middle school. Educational Research: Theory and Practice, 34(1), 129-150. https://www.nrmera.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/V34-1_9-Williams-Teacher-Perceptions-of-Differentiated-Instruction.pdf

    This qualitative study was designed to better understand teacher perceptions of differentiated instruction in a standards-based grading middle school. Teachers’ perceptions of differentiated instruction and SBG were mixed due to a multitude of reasons such as accurate implementations, perspectives of the educational system, student motivations, assessments, and student needs.

What grading articles from 2023 would you add to this list?

Also, see my previous “top” articles lists:

Implementing standards-based grading using Next Generation Science Standards

I teamed up with Jesse Wilcox (former science teacher and current science education professor) to write an article for NSTA’s Science Scope.

Standards-based grading (SBG) is an alternative approach to grading that uses standards, such as the NGSS, to communicate what students have learned. While SBG has increased in popularity in the last decade, questions still remain regarding what constitutes SBG and how to effectively implement it in science classrooms. Our article seeks to illustrate three commonly agreed-on core ideas for SBG and provide examples for middle school science teachers in how they might implement SBG using the NGSS.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08872376.2024.2314670

Moving beyond Initiative Fatigue through Establishing an “Avoid at All Costs” List

Some of the initiatives we experience in schools are imposed upon us by department of education requirements while others district and school leadership choose to embark upon. Regardless of the entity fueling initiatives in schools, many schools experience what Douglas Reeves calls initiative fatigue.

“The Law of Initiative Fatigue states that when the number of initiatives increases while time, resources, and emotional energy are constant, then each new initiative—no matter how well conceived or well intentioned—will receive fewer minutes, dollars, and ounces of emotional energy than its predecessors.” (Reeves, 2010, p. 27)

Whether your school is trying to improve based upon an ESSA designation or is being pressured to improve test scores due to perceived COVID-19 “learning loss,” nearly every school leader I know yearns to move beyond initiative fatigue.

Bill Ferriter, an experienced classroom educator who is now consulting with schools, recently suggested that schools develop an avoid at all costs list. In this list, school leadership teams consider Warren Buffet’s advice that “success is a matter of prioritization.” Schools leadership teams seeking to move beyond initiative fatigue would be well served to walk through Bill’s four steps to create an avoid at all costs list.

Step 1 – List all of the work that your school is currently doing.

Bill suggests writing it all down. Every single project, program, priority or rollout that is currently happening. Then, have the building or district leadership team review it for accuracy.

Step 2 – Choose the five most important items on your current list of projects, programs and priorities.

Some of these projects and programs are more important than others. The corollary of Reeves’ law of initiative fatigue reminds us that fewer priorities will be able to receive more energy, resources and dollars. Bill recommends asking questions such as “Which will have the most direct benefit on student learning?” and “Are there some mandates that can’t be ignored?” during this prioritization process.

Step 3 – Invest EVERYTHING into your five most important priorities.

According to Bill, every purchase, every schedule change and every faculty meeting should be tied to one of these five priorities! Every.single.one!

Step 4: Develop your Avoid at All Costs list.

In addition, create a list of initiatives that should be avoided at all costs until the five priorities established in Step 2 have been met. What initiatives and projects will be stopped immediately? This is the Avoid at All Costs list!

If these steps resonated with you, I hope you’ll check out Bill’s free avoid at all costs list working template found here.

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Note: This content was originally published in Volume 23, Issue 1, of the Iowa ASCD e-newsletter “The Source.”

Standards-based grading articles published in 2022 by Dr. Matt Townsley

In 2022, I published three new articles related to grading. The references and abstracts/summaries are below, and when possible, a link to the full article is also provided.

Inequitable grading practices produce inequitable results.

Griffin, R., & Townsley, M. (2022). Including homework and employability skills in class grades: An investigation of equitable outcomes in an urban high school. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 27(1). https://scholarworks.umass.edu/pare/vol27/iss1/27/  

Dr. Griffin and I sought to determine how employability and homework scores within traditional points and percentages weighted grading models impact grades from an equity lens. This study analyzed 779 students’ semester math grades at an urban high school to see if students’ grades were inflated or deflated due to including homework and employability scores in the grade. The results revealed clear
divides between white students and black/Hispanic students as well clear differences for high and low socioeconomic students. Also highlighted from this study was that final grades were mostly inflated for all subgroups when homework and employability scores were included.

A three-category model for emergency remote learning grading guidelines for K-12 schools.

Townsley, M., & Kunnath, J. (2022). Exploring state department of education grading guidance during COVID-19: A model for future emergency remote learning. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 30,(163). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.30.7448 

Dr. Kunnath and I explored the components of state department of education (DOE) grading guidance during the Spring 2020 school shutdown, along with the patterns of guidance across states. We applied a grounded theory approach to systematically explore the equivalent of 1,444 pages of documents from 48 state DOE guidelines. The document analysis resulted in three primary categories that influenced state DOE grading guidance: guiding principles, student advancement, and determining grades. We presented and discussed a three-category model for emergency remote learning grading guidelines for K-12 schools. In the event of another pandemic temporarily affecting the delivery of education to students, policymakers may use this model as a starting point for future recommendations.

Debunking standards-based grading implementation myths in secondary science classrooms

Wilcox, J. & Townsley, M. (2022). Debunking myths of standards-based grading: Addressing the concerns and providing some strategies for implementing alternative grading practices. The Science Teacher, 90(1), 29-33. [Available online]

Dr. Wilcox and I wrote this practitioner-friendly article for NSTA’s The Science Teacher. In our experience, some science teachers may be hesitant to implement standards-based grading. The purpose of this article is to address seven implementation myths and provide strategies for effectively implementing SBG in the science classroom.

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Looking ahead to 2023, I have a handful of articles and books in progress and look forward to sharing them with you in this space!

Top 4 Standards-Based Grading Articles (2022)

As 2022 comes to a close, it time to sift through the list of published literature from the past twelve months. This year’s list is surprisingly short, but I will leave it up to readers to speculate why! Note to returning readers: Once again this year I chose not to include any articles that I authored or co-authored, and will instead highlight those separately in the near future.

The following is a list of what I believe are the top four articles from 2022 (in alphabetical order by lead author’s last name) related to standards-based grading. Following each citation is the article abstract or my summary of the abstract.

  1. Fergus, S., & Smith, C. P. (2022). Characteristics of proficiency-based learning and their impacts on math anxiety in the middle grades. Research in Middle Level Education Online, 45(4), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404476.2022.2045810

    This study analyzed the relationship between specific characteristics of proficiency-based learning and middle school students’ anxiety about mathematics. The authors found that reassessment was the characteristic of proficiency-based learning most closely associated with alleviating students’ anxiety. They also found that math anxious students can benefit from effective feedback and clear learning objectives, particularly when presented simultaneously.
  2. Guskey, T. R. (2022). Can grades be an effective form of feedback? Phi Delta Kappan, 104(3), 97-108. [Available online]

    Although grades are often portrayed as detrimental to students’ motivation and interest in learning, closer analysis of the evidence indicates that when used appropriately, grades can be a meaningful and effective form of feedback. Thomas R. Guskey clarifies how studies on grades are frequently misinterpreted, explains how grades offer important but insufficient information on students’ learning progress, and describes conditions that must be met for grades to serve as a meaningful and effective form of feedback for students.
  3. Link, L.J.. & Guskey, T. R. (2022). Is standards-based grading effective? Theory into Practice. [Available online]

    Although many schools today are initiating SBG reforms, there’s little consensus on what “standards-based grading” actually means. As a result, Guskey and Link propose that SBG implementation is widely inconsistent due to an array of factors, including varying and uneven guidance provided by SBG proponents. The researchers conclude that there are three essential criteria necessary to define SBG.
  4. Morris, S. M., & Barton, A. L. (2022). Can offering more grade control improve middle school students’ motivation? The Clearinghouse: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2022.2051416

    In this mixed-methods, quasi-experimental study, the authors compared specifications grading (SG) with traditional grading methods among 69 low-income, 8th grade math students. Results indicate that students in SG classes have greater anticipation of success, greater interest, and trended toward a greater sense of self-efficacy than those in traditionally graded classes. Qualitative remarks from SG participants indicate a greater sense of control and decreased stress in math, as well as an emphasis on learning over performance. Although further research is needed, the results offer instructional implications regarding ways to offer students more control through grading systems.

What grading articles from 2022 would you add to this list?

Also, see my previous “top” articles lists:

Grading reform (including standards-based grading) is not a “teachers vs. administrators” issue

In Jay Mathews’ November 27, 2022 column entitled “Why don’t teachers complain to bosses about infuriating policies?“, he starts off by noting his observation:

Many teachers have complained to me about what they consider the harm done by new policies called standards-based grading. These are designed to reduce stress for struggling students. The reforms include prohibiting any grade below 50 percent and banning deadlines for homework.

Jay then goes on to share the perspectives of teachers who have (or should) bring their perspectives to administrators with the hope of overturning these new grading policies.

I find this teachers vs. administrators perspective to be problematic for several reasons.

The NEA (national teachers’ union) has positively promoted grading changes on their website, so this cannot possibly be some type of top-down and administration-only ideology.

Yet, as a former teacher and administrator, I can relate to the following:

  1. If time/support is not being provided for teacher implementation then admin should step up.
  2. If inconsistent implementation is problematic then admin should step in, and also:
  3. Some “grading reform”changes are only half baked at the onset.

Here’s my thesis: It is time to move forward with effective grading practices that meaningfully communicate learning rather than pitting teachers vs. administrators (and vice versa).

Note: Mr. Mathews, we have corresponded via email several times during the past year, and if you are reading this column, thank you for taking the time to do so.

Debunking myths of standards-based grading: Addressing the concerns and providing some strategies for implementing alternative grading practices

In this paper, we address concerns and provide some strategies for implementing alternative grading practices in secondary science classrooms.

Myth 1: “The real world isn’t like this.”
Myth 2: “Grading this way will decrease the rigor of my science classroom.”
Myth 3: “Grades should be a motivator in my classroom.”
Myth 4: “I can use my old ways of grading and just modify it a little bit.”
Myth 5: “It will take too much time.”
Myth 6: “SBG does not promote college and career readiness.”
Myth 7: “Parents and students will not understand the new grade book.”

Wilcox, J., & Townsley, M. (2022). Debunking myths of standards-based grading: Addressing the concerns and providing some strategies for implementing alternative grading practices. The Science Teacher, 90(1), 29-33.  [Available online via NSTA]

Including homework and employability skills in class grades: An investigation of equitable grading outcomes in an urban high school

Abstract: Historically, race and poverty have been contributing factors when considering gaps among students in their academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine how employability and homework scores within traditional points and percentages weighted grading models impact grades from an equity lens. This study analyzed 779 students’ semester math grades at an urban high school to see if students’ grades were inflated or deflated due to including homework and employability scores in the grade. Final grades which included homework and employability points were compared to each student’s overall summative assessment scores to determine grade inflation or deflation. We then analyzed if including homework and employability points in the grade helped or hurt student’s grades based on race and socio-economic factors. In comparing grading results based on students’ socio-economic statuses, there were statistically significant differences.

Griffin, R., & Townsley, M. (2022). Including homework and employability skills in class grades: An investigation of equitable outcomes in an urban high school. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, 27(1). https://scholarworks.umass.edu/pare/vol27/iss1/27/  

Using Making Grades Matter as a book study in White Swan, Washington

When Nathan and I wrote Making Grades Matter, we envisioned it not only being useful for individual teachers or school leaders but also for teams of educators. The end of (nearly) every chapter includes “Assessment Tools for your Journey.” With the help of these tools, departments, leadership teams and entire schools can use the self-reported levels of implementation for each standards-based grading guideline to plan their next implementation supports.

A small public school on the Yakima Indian Reservation in White Swan, Washington, is one of several teams we know across the country using Making Grades Matter to help guide their school’s grading work.

Is your school or team using Making Grades Matter as a book study? If so, let us know in the comments below.

Leaders are readers! (But what are they reading?)

One of my educational leadership mentors once told me that “leaders are readers.” That is, if educators desire to model the same lifelong learning disposition we desire to help our students become, our learning as adults should never end! While there are a growing number of educational blogs, Twitter chats, and podcasts available today to learn from, a colleague and I recently sought to identify the types of educational journals practicing superintendents read. Through a *survey of 233 public school superintendents across ten states, we found many superintendents are reading publications provided by professional and trade organizations rather than peer-reviewed journals. Below is a list of the top five journals public school superintendents indicated they are reading:

1) Educational Leadership
2) School Administrator
3) Education Week
4) American School Board Journal
5) NASSP Bulletin


School superintendents, like all other K-12 education staff, are busy planning for, implementing and managing the day-to-day operations of the educational system. Therefore, they are more likely to read publications that are written using language that speaks to their day-to-day dilemmas and celebrations. Furthermore, busy school superintendents are more likely to access publications provided by professional and trade organizations, because they often included with the membership dues and land directly in their mailbox or email inbox. Spoiler alert: My colleague and I also asked public school principals what journals they are reading, and the results were strikingly similar!

Reflection:

  • What educational journals are you reading this school year? How do you access these journals?
  • What makes an educational journal worth picking up to read on the weekend or after your ownkids go to bed?

I would love to hear from you!

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*To access the article describing this research study, “Leaders Are Readers: What Journals Do Public School Superintendents Read?” written by Matt Townsley and Benterah Morton, click here for a PDF of the Summer 2022 issue of AASA’s Journal of Scholarship & Practice.

**This article summary originally appeared in Iowa ASCD’s The Source e-newsletter (September 2022).