1. Grading Practices Study Group Trigg County Board of Education November 19, 2015

2. What is our purpose?  The Board of Education established the Grading Practices Study Group to  Examine our current grading practices  Standards based grading, mastery learning, and rigor.  Analyze our data and study best practices  Present findings and recommendations for the Board’s consideration  Consider policy, procedures, and practices  Timelines  Support needed

3. The Essential Question How confident are you that the grades students get in your school are:  consistent  accurate  meaningful, and  supportive of learning? If grades do not meet these four conditions of quality they are “broken” i.e. ineffective.

4. Knowledge Kentucky Core Academic Standards (KCAS) Kentucky Occupational Skills & Standards Essential Competencies (Financial, Economic, Business, & Entrepreneurial; Health; Environmental; Information & Media) Skills Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Collaboration Communication Creativity & Innovation Self Awareness  Think about your own thinking  Learning how to learn Study skills Organizational, time, and goal management Dispositions/Habits Agency (think, question, pursue, create)  Curiosity  Initiative  Perseverance Adaptability (Flexibility) Leadership Ethical behavior & civic responsibility Social Awareness & Empathy (Perspective) Takes pride in work well done (fulfilment, satisfaction )

5. Purposes for Grading A Communicate the achievement status of students to parents, (students), and others. B Provide information that students can use for self-evaluation. C Select, identify, or group students for certain educational paths or programs. D Provide incentives to learn. E Evaluate the effectiveness of instructional programs Guskey, Thomas R. (Editor), Communicating Student Learning: The 1996 ASCD Yearbook, ASCD, Alexandria, VA, 1996, 17

6. Our Work  Reviewed multiple articles related to grading practices  What is a grade?  Toxic Grading Practices  Types of Learning Goals  Standards Based Grading  Surveyed staff during Spring 2015 to determine current grading practices

7. Three Types of Learning Goals  Product – describe the academic learning outcomes being sought – What students should know and be able to do at a particular point in time  Process – learning activities and classroom behaviors – how students got there – responsibility, work habits, effort, class participation, turning work in on time  Progress – how much student gain from their learning experiences – how much improvements has been made over a period of time

8. Recommendations  Educate all stakeholders (teachers, students, and parents) as to the purpose of grading and the types of learning goals  Each SBDM Council should review their policies related to grading practices and share with district committee  Examine practices that distort achievement and remove these from use  Separate Non-Academic habits and Academic Learning  By July 2016, identify the Process Goals to be reported  By July 2016, determine the district wide rubric(s) for performance indicators for process goals  Transition to standards based grading practices district-wide with full implementation in the 2018 – 2019 school year  Determine the reporting standards for each content area over multiple years  By Fall 2016, identify the number and description of performance levels for academic/product goals  By Fall 2016, identify one content area for implementation in Spring 2017 and have a district committee to determine the reporting standards for the area and specific grade level reporting standards  By Fall 2017, determine reporting standards for 2 additional content areas  By Fall 2018, determine reporting standards for remaining content areas

9. Educate Stakeholders  Provide focused professional learning discussions regarding grading practices and types of learning goals  Develop multiple methods to educate students and parents about the purpose of grades and learning goals

10. SBDM – By mid-February  Review policies related to Grading, Homework, Curriculum, Instruction, and any other policies that might be impacted by standards based grading  Examine current initiatives with Standards- Based Grading to share  What grade levels or content areas  What scoring rubric is used  Sample of reporting method

11. Examine practices that distort achievement  Homework  Zeros  Bonus points  Grading on a curve  Group scores  Attendance What is current practice within classrooms/school

12. Separate Non-Academic Habits and Academic Learning  Identify the Process Goals (work habits, punctuality of assignments, attendance, etc)  Report these behaviors separately beginning in Fall 2016  By July 2016, identify the behaviors that will be reported  By July 2016, determine the district wide rubric(s) for process

15. Transition to Standards Based Grading Begin Fall 2016 with Full Implementation 2018-19  Determine the reporting standards for each content area over multiple years  By Fall 2016, identify the number of performance levels  By Fall 2016, identify one content area for implementation in Spring 2017 and have a district committee to determine the reporting standards for the area and specific grade level reporting standards  By Fall 2017, determine reporting standards for 2 additional content areas  By Fall 2018, determine reporting standards for remaining content areas

16. Recommendations  Educate all stakeholders (teachers, students, and parents) as to the purpose of grading and the types of learning goals  Each SBDM Council should review their policies related to grading practices and share with district committee  Examine practices that distort achievement and remove these from use  Separate Non-Academic habits and Academic Learning  By July 2016, identify the Process Goals to be reported  By July 2016, determine the district wide rubric(s) for performance indicators for process goals  Transition to standards based grading practices district-wide with full implementation in the 2018 – 2019 school year  Determine the reporting standards for each content area over multiple years  By Fall 2016, identify the number and description of performance levels for academic/product goals  By Fall 2016, identify one content area for implementation in Spring 2017 and have a district committee to determine the reporting standards for the area and specific grade level reporting standards  By Fall 2017, determine reporting standards for 2 additional content areas  By Fall 2018, determine reporting standards for remaining content areas