Frequently Asked Questions

Standards-based grading has been used at Steilacoom High School since the 2016-2017 school year. 

Standards-based grading is an approach to student learning and assessment in which the mastery of skills over time is what drives a grade, rather than the total collection of points. This system is research-based and develops grit and perseverance in our kids. 

Student grades are all attached to the Washington State Learning Standards. Grades are made up solely from a student's academic classroom performance. Behaviors are not factored into a grade.  

It can be any evidence that students generate as they are navigating through the process of learning new content. Tests, quizzes, and projects are all examples of assessments which generate a student's grade. 

We want students to do their best all the time. But, sometimes the process of learning takes longer than teachers anticipate. In these situations we have told our staff to allow students to reattempt their assessments after receiving feedback and guidance.

No! Students must sufficiently complete their classwork to proficiency before they are allowed to reassess. Author Megan Welsh tells us that, "knowing that poor performance can be corrected and lead to improved grades encourages students to stick with difficult topics and teaches them how to learn" (Welsh, via Guskey & Brookhart, What We Know About Grading, 2019).

Yes! As long as colleges and universities ask for a traditional GPA we will continue to assign letter grades as we have in the past. Transcripts will not change.

No! Your student's individual grades are still averaged together into a single number. 

A student will take many assessments during the course of the semester or year. Each assessment is aligned to a standard (or standards) and should have a rubric attached clarifying what each level of understanding (2, 3 & 4) looks like. As the semester progresses, each grade a student earns will be averaged together to create a summative grade on each standard. Finally, each standard grade is calculated together and averaged to generate the student's final semester grade.

We think that best practice is somewhere between 12 and 24 standards per class, depending on the content and the length of the course.

First, a score of 4 does not mean "more" or "above and beyond" or "past what was taught in class." Instead, the score of 4 represents a depth of knowledge, inferences, and/or applications. Successful teachers will make it very clear how students can move past proficiency. If your student is confused about how to reach a 4, they should first ask their instructor for guidance.

In this system, teachers "regularly discuss the kinds of performance they view as meeting grade-level expectations, the standards their students find challenging or easy, and the strategies they use to teach and assess these standards. These discussions are crucial to increasing the consistency of grades across classrooms" (Welsh, via Guskey & Brookhart, What We Know About Grading, 2019).

We are in our second year of working with the Marzano Research Group from Colorado. They are thought of by many in our field to be the preeminent SBG trainers. Similarly, our staff members have been to the Sound Grading Conference in Portland, OR (Pearson Education) and many have seen Rick Wormeli (SDE) present in Tacoma, WA. 

• "I learned so much today, and I am excited for the new tangible shifts I am making in my classroom...like tomorrow...and with the resources I received." - ELA Teacher
• "It was excellent, and the info on the gradebook was mind-blowing! I hope we can get these folks to come back again or go to some kind of SBG professional development." - Social Studies Teacher
• "I just want to say thank you for being here today, and for the encouragement. I feel so empowered now because I know I am on the right track." Math Teacher