One of the things we know about leading second order change — such as when a school transitions to standards-based grading practices — is that it often involves an implementation dip (see McRel’s Balanced Leadership research). For example, we should anticipate that students will initially question the value of completing homework if there is no point value attached to it. After all, our schools have often (in the past) trained these very students to complete their assignments for the sole purpose of earning points: “Be sure to do this one, it is worth 50 points!”.

Accelerating out of the implementation dip

One question I am often asked by educators beginning to implement standards-based grading is “How do we help students accelerate out of this inevitable dip?” Refocusing the classroom and school culture on learning rather than earning takes time, but it can be done! *Below is one classroom action and one school action that may help students accelerate out of this dip.

• Ask students to self-assess their homework (i.e. using emojis or a Red(no idea), Yellow(still unsure), Green(got it!) before turning it it. After the teacher provides some narrative feedback, he/she will also assess the students’ learning using the same emoji or color scale before turning it back to the student the next day. This self-assessment and quick feedback strategy often adds value to the assignment from the student’s perspective. When teachers value an assignment, students are likely to value it as well.
• Hold students accountable (outside of the grade book) for not completing their homework assignments. Unfortunately, some students will need additional time and support to understand the nexus between completing purposeful assignments and learning the course standards. Some schools have created a catch-up time during or outside of the school day for students (see one example here) who frequently do not turn in their assignments. For example, if a student has not turned in any assignments for a course within a five day window, they may be required to attend catch-up time.

Interested in learning more about accelerating out of the implementation dip? Consider reading Making Grades Matter: Standards-Based Grading in a PLC at Work (2020, Solution Tree)

[*Author’s note: Unfortunately, there are students who do not choose to complete many assignments, regardless of the grading system that is used. Therefore, none of these strategies are intended to be all-inclusive or viewed as a “silver bullet” solution.]