Rethinking Grading: Meaningful Assessment for Standards-Based Learning

by Cathy Vatterott

Grading systems often reward on-time task completion and penalize disorganization and bad behavior. Despite our best intentions, grades seem to reflect student compliance more than student learning and engagement. In the process, we inadvertently subvert the learning process.
After careful research and years of experiences with grading as a teacher and a parent, Cathy Vatterott examines and debunks traditional practices and policies of grading in K–12 schools. She offers a new paradigm for standards-based grading that focuses on student mastery of content and gives concrete examples from elementary, middle, and high schools. Rethinking Grading will show all educators how standards-based grading can authentically reflect student progress and learning—and significantly improve both teaching and learning.
Cathy Vatterott is an education professor and researcher at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, a former middle school teacher and principal, and a parent of a college graduate. She has learned from her workshops that "grading continues to be the most contentious part . . . conjuring up the most intense emotions and heated disagreements." Vatterott is also the author of the book Rethinking Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs .

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Professional Development, School

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2015

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standard-based grading is one of the buzzwords permeating education these days; however, unlike the surfeit of fads, author Cathy Vatterott makes a good case for the advantages of standard-based grading. Rethinking Grading: Meaningful Assessment for Standards-Based Learning is a stripped-down introduction to standard-based grading — no padding, no esoterica, taking the reader from the whys and wherefores of the system to how to bring your school on board to how to obtain buy-in from students, colleagues administrators, and parents. At barely over 100 pages, it’s definitely worth your time.

[Sarah Donovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is really helpful for teachers rethinking grades. Okay. I read this book to help me imagine how I could NOT use grades at all, which it doesn't really talk about. Instead, Vatterott suggests using a standards-based report cards to communicate/document learning.

The standards set learning goals and guide learning. Standards, rather than letter grades or points, is the language of learning or the way teachers can talk to students and parents about what we are working on, what they are demonstrating in the activities, and areas need more time or resources. Standards should make this process of shifting learning away from "grades" more meaningful; it is a frame to replace grades.

This means that the gradebook has to change to refer to standards rather than assignments, but for me, I plan to use narrative feedback rather than a grade. For my first year without grades, I will use an end-of-quarter standards-based report card that the student and I complete together during a conference. I have to enter a final grade, per my district, but this will also be part of our conference as we look at evidence from the student's portfolio to decide on a "grade."

see ethicalela.com/nogrades

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Standards-based grading is a huge leap for most teachers. This book, though short, did a good job of introducing the idea by weaving history and educational theory into one narrative. Dr. Vatterott's discussion of grades as measuring tools (and for punitive measures) helps to set the stage for the changes she advocates later in the book.

The second half of the book is dedicated to simple how-to steps...things teachers can do to begin to shift toward SBG. She discusses the challenges of what to grade (or not grade) and why. The book finishes with some good samples and discussion of small steps to take in order to implement the ideas. It's a good first read if you're interested in the basic idea before diving in.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a traditional grading teacher, this book has opened my eyes to the world of standard based grading. This book compared and contrasted the two grading systems. It also broke down standard based grading and provided tips with how to use it in the classroom. When I first started reading this I was a bit overwhelmed but now that I have finished reading it, I’m excited to give it a try.

[Mrs.Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much to think about with this text! Paired with Zerwin’s #Pointless and Tucker’s #BalancedWithBlendedLearning, they offer some practical ways to implement a standards-based grading system that benefits both students and teachers.

[Quinn Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a school district-level curriculum specialist, and as I began the book was critical. How can something as profound a paradigm shift as standards-based grading work in my schools, my school district? I scrawled notes and frustrations and criticisms on Post-Its as I read, but as I progressed through the book Vatterott addressed nearly all of my concerns. That doesn't mean a shift to SBG will be easy. Not at all. But her book helped me see that it was possible. If you're looking at making that shift in your school/district, this is a good place to start. (also a short read, which helped immensely - thanks)

[Chris May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to " Grade Smarter not Harder" but this looks at the issue of grading less from an individual teacher point of view, and more at a school or district systems point of view. I liked "Smarter Not Harder" better. I thought it had more tangible ideas I could implement earlier as a teacher. But that may be just because I read it first.

[Tom Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book discusses standards based grading in the K-12 levels. I really like the idea of standards based grading, but it seems very cumbersome, and I am not sure how it will translate into my college level ESL courses. In many ways it seems like a perfect match for the students and their learning, but not a good match for the types of grades we assign. It is something that I will probably try during the next school year. I like the idea of giving the students more focused feedback.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! The way this book was organized made it a quick read with a very logical progression. If you are experienced in the waters of standards-based grading or just dipping a toe in, this book lays a firm foundation for both the why and the how. While this has a lot of advice for school leaders, the chapters that discuss the history of grading, how we got where we are today, and why we need something different would be great for casting the vision to all staff responsible for grading.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Succinct, clear, and applicable, this is for educators considering how to reconcile "real world" and "academic world" challenges. As with many of the books I have here, I start with a "3" I before I apply lessons from these pages, reflect, and return to this resource various times. More of a review may come with those lessons.

[Barbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book written about Standards Based Grading. It is so clear to me why some things are working and some things aren't... really, this book should be called "Rethinking Learning."

[Michael Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must-read for educators.

[Melissa Gifford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for an explanation about the theory and why of standards based grading but lacking on the how, especially for social studies and ela courses

[Adam Gutschenritter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Information on what it is, and who is doing it and why and even district/school implementation, but not alot on how to go about doing it yourself in the classroom. Useful, but not what I wanted.

[Suzanne Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standards based grading presented without solid support and without good editing. Very impractical since it assumes a student's "love of learning."

[Sarah Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book in the case for SBG!

[Laurie Criswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adheres to my heart's beliefs. Get rid of standard A-F grading scale. It informs us of little.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, pragmatic, and detailed consideration of ways to implement standards-based grading. I'm always shocked that some people think that SBG will be too easy -- it's the real deal.

[Alex Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice look at a different grading procedure. Not sure how much of it is helpful to me.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good insight into standards based grading.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing that I haven't already read, but the information is a good review, and I like how the author provides some of the points. The book is short and small and offers samples, graphs, and headings that clearly queue the reader to what they will be reading.

Some of the more interesting topics:

• not everyone deserves an A
• how learning is structured
• how learning is experienced
• how grades are used
• homework as formative assessment
• what to grade - summative assessments
• how to provide feedback to students
• when to grade
• when and how to reassess
• how to report student progress to parents

This works fine as a primer for those who want to briefly explore these topics and then read further on those topics that interest them.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Education is very difficult, and nothing more so than reporting to students and parents how they did. There has always seemed to me something inherently wrong in the way I did it, so I was always changing to try and be more accurate and fair.

This book offers a lot to think about in terms of grading and how to do standards based grading. For me, it's a no-brainer. But I can think of colleauges--whole departments, even--who don't teach from standards and therefore couldn't even begin to visualize how these ideas might work for them. That would be the only weakness of the book as I see it; a blindness to those who are not currently educating from a set of standards.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved the discussion in this book of how to make grading standards-based as opposed to traditional grades. I also appreciated how the author actually discussed how to make this happen at a secondary level, where the needs are very different from an elementary school. Would have liked slightly more discussion of how to equate the standards grades to traditional A/B/C grades; I know the goal is to completely get away from that, but it's also still not entirely realistic, especially at a secondary level where grades have to be passed on to colleges.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it only skims the surface of the paradigm shift to standards-based learning and assessment, this book is a great place to begin thinking about shifting a classroom, school, or district toward this type of learning and grading. It has plenty of useful anecdotes and examples. The chapters and the appendix has some especially useful examples of how a district can create a manifesto, develop rubrics, and communicate changes with stakeholders.

[Dr. Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Read as part of a committee working on changing our districts grading system. I loved how the book started with a brief history lesson of our current grading system and how it was set up to categorize students. Grading eventually became competitive and lost the essence of student learning. This book caused a real paradigm shift for those on our committee and helped us to focus once again on evaluating student learning and not ranking our students.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good summary of the things I've been reading for the past 6 or 7 years regarding the overhaul that needs to be made related to grading and assessment. We read this as part of our school leadership team's preparation to start discussions with our entire faculty about a move to standards-based grading. This was a short book that provided good information and research examples related to this topic. I would recommend it to those wishing to learn more about standards-based grading.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for a school or school system that has not yet changed over to a standards-based grading system. It will describe how a school can go about doing this, and some of the pitfalls some schools have experienced. While my school has changed to standards-based grading, many of the points for standards-based grading were reviewed and I feel confident that standards-based grading is best for students.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking book that makes you think about why schools should look at sound grading practices and standards based grading. The author does a nice job detailing the history of grading, the basics of standards based grading, and then finishes off explaining some practical ways to start these practices in your classroom and/or school-wide. Great book to get you thinking about the purpose of grading!

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

While "Grading Smarter and Not Harder" by Myron Dueck is a bit more more readable, I really enjoyed this short book about standards-based grading. I especially enjoyed the fact that Vatterott offers small steps for teachers, departments, and buildings to take to start to move in a more standards-based direction.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for an introduction to standards-based grading including where the idea grew out of, this is a great book. There are a few specific suggestions for how to implement the program in a classroom but since this is only a jumping off point, I recommend looking at some of the resources mentioned and digging deeper.