Standards based reporting

One of the most significant improvements of the new curriculum is its focus on standards. Many of our schools use standards-based reporting to communicate with parents and students about performance.  We are asked in our gradebooks to assign “categories” to our assessments based on standards.  In the former curriculum, this was difficult as the ERQ responses assessed a range of skills and knowledge.  It wasn't easy to report on standards discreetly.

Why does this matter?  When communicating with parents and students, conversations are more meaningful when we discuss the student’s research skills or critical thinking, rather than discussing their “Paper 1 performance.”  The grading of full papers often makes it difficult for students to get a holistic picture of what they need to improve.  They focus on feedback specific to an exam question rather than considering their overall conceptual understanding or critical thinking skills.

Giving feedback on standards is especially important in our new curriculum as we will not have markbands until the fall of 2027.  Therefore, giving composite grades on a “paper 1” is rather problematic.  However, giving feedback on the rubrics with regard to their level of achievement for each of the standards should give students a reliable indication of their academic skill and growth.

For more on what this will look like in my gradebook and examples of rubrics that can be used to communicate about the four standards, please see here.