GRADES: WHAT'S A 3? WHAT DOES "PROFICIENT" MEAN?

There are three building blocks to my grading system:

• proficiency- based grading, a 1-4 scale that replaces A - F
• formative assessment
• standards-based grading/ assessment

I began a form of proficiency-based grading ten years ago after studying it through workshops run by the Assessment Training Institute (ATI) , a Portland-based outfit that has a national reputation and is now owned by Pearson, a textbook firm.  I was attracted to this grading philosophy because the A - F system seemed arbitrary to me.  I want students to know exactly what they are expected to learn and how to get there.

The ATI philosophy is best summed up by this quote from one of the trainers:

Assessment for learning is a gift we give our students. It is a mirror we hold up to show them how far they have come. It is a promise that we will use assessment, not to punish or reward, but to guide them on their learning journey."

- Jan Chappuis

A second important part of my learning from ATI is "formative assessment."  This means that my students, just like most of us adults, get a second chance at their work.  Proficiency-based grading tells students how well they are doing towards being "100% complete and 100% correct"; a 3/ proficient on the scoring scale.  Formative assessment gives students a second (and sometimes a third) chance to redo their work to try again to earn a 3.  When I grade, I often make comments on papers and hand them back.  If a student wants to raise the score, s/he can redo the paper and hand it back again.  When redoing the work, students write an "R" on the paper near the score.  This indicates to me that I should score the work again.  If the work is in the student's science notebook, the student should use a bookmark to mark the location of the "R" in her/ his notebook.  The work should be left on a designated lab table at the end of the class period.

The third piece of my grading system is standards-based grading.  Each assignment is tied to one of the PPS science standards for Life Science.  I translate the standard into a Learning Target, which is a goal for students in student-friendly language.  As students do their work, they will know what they are expected to be able to demonstrate in their scored work.