Standard based grading is not a fan favorite
Many CVHS teachers have changed to a new standards based grading style in this school year. Standards based grading tests students, without bias, on how well they are able to understand the material using their own self-motivated study styles. The biggest change is that homework is not graded and the grading rubric for assessments is from a scale of 0-4 instead of the well known A-F scale.
We at The Olympian believe that standards based grading has more cons than pros. Unfortunately, CVHS students are not ready to be based solely on assessments and understanding after a year of distance learning.
The lack of cookie cutter homework assignments allows for students to explore new study habits that work best for their specific type of learning style. As a result, many of the students who have gotten used to the habit of standardized grading have seen improvements in understanding of the material.
Yet, many students view assigned homework as a waste of time because it accounts for nothing in their grade. It is frustrating for students to spend time on work that has zero effect on their grade, compared to when homework was accounted for in the gradebook and was able to bring up the overall grade percentage.
One of the major cons of standardized grading is that it is extremely confusing. When students were asked in a survey of how many of their teachers were using this type of grading, about 31.5% of students responded that they are not sure. This could be due to the fact that the students do not know what standardized grading is or that the baseline of standardized grading for each teacher is different which makes it difficult to understand the definition of this procedure.
There seems to be no exact rubric that is followed all across the board. Some teachers allow retakes which allow students to get up to full credit, while some make a limit that students are only allowed to get up to 80% even if they score full credit on the retake.
The difference in consistency is also seen through which subjects the standardized grading is applied to. For example, in an English class it would be harder to grade based on essays where students are able to interpret texts using their own analysis as compared to a math test where there is one definite correct answer.
We, the guinea pigs of standardized grading, believe that if homework was taken in account for at least a small portion of the grade and more consistency of standardized grading for classes, standardized grading would possibly be able to better achieve the goals of equitable grading.
Personally I’ve been suffering because of this grading system. I don’t think it’s beneficial to people like me who are bad test takers. I understand there is retakes, but those don’t really help if you don’t have a good teacher to help you try to understand.
At first, I hated the idea of standards-based grading and I did not think it would work to my benefit. I thought that I had greatly depended on my homework grades to support me but that has not been proven true. I now like the idea of standards-based grading and wish it would be a school-wide grading system. The option to retake assessments is beneficial to all students.
Standard based grading is definitely a win or lose situation. For me, I particularly like standard based grading because I can focus more on studying concepts then completing homework that for me just seems like busy-work. I am also a good test taker and would rather study for a test than do homework assignments so standard based grading works in my favor since I now have the option to forego homework. However, I know people who are not good test takers and the additional assignments are a good thing to fall back on. This is nothing bad as they explain to me they know the concepts, but when taking a test all the information leaves their brain. In their case standard based grading is not the best. Standard based grading is great for some, but the original grading system works for most.
I think standard based grading is a good idea for some students. Me personally I do not do any homework and only focus and try and get ready for tests. But sometimes I am not prepared.
I think standard based grading is a great adjustment in schools if it is done correctly. If a teacher is not teaching a student very well, then when the test comes along their grade will drop. But with the right teacher and correct work in class time, homework is not needed. Also test retakes are always an option in standard based grading if you don’t do well. The reason I like standard based grading is because you don’t need to do homework. Along with many other students, I have a busy life outside of school, and seeing a grade drop because you did not have time do do homework is very frustrating. Also spending hours doing homework is stressful and eliminated with standard based grading.
I totally agree that standard based grading has pros and cons. I think having after having school online last year most people didn’t fully learn the subjects. Standard based grading can definitely make people not want to do homework or classwork and only focus on tests and quizzes.
I think standard based grading can be good and I understand why teachers use it, but I also understand the bad parts to it. Having homework not be worth anything makes the student not do it. It also doesn’t help them on the tests and tests are worth the whole grade. Yes students SHOULD be doing their homework but are they actually going to do it if it’s not meant anything in the grade book?
I actually prefer standards based grading. It benefits people like me who don’t really have the time to do 4 hours of homework, just for me not to learn anything. It also benefits people who actually work and study for tests. A really good option to not do poorly on a test, is to study. So just because you don’t have homework, doesn’t mean don’t learn.
I think it’s a good concept, but the timing is not so good because even if in this is the system they have in college, you have 5-7 classes here. In college, you have just a few classes which are most likely connected to each other
I feel like standardized grading can be good sometimes and in certain classes, but having homework be virtually worthless is frustrating. Additionally, it is can be stressful to see how much test affect your grade if you did not perform well.
Standard based grading has made my grades higher then every in some classes and at lows in others there should really be system set up were teachers know exactly how to implment standerd based grading.
i think that standard based grading is helpful in some classes more than others like math and english but not so much in history and spanish. i think theyre could be a universal, simpler way that has the pros of both normal grading and standard based grading.
Standard based grading is an interesting system but it can be damaging for some students grades.
I can see how standard based grading can be both beneficial and detrimental to students’ grades.
I personally like standards based grading. While I agree that it is fairly confusing right now, I do appreciate that we have a chance to take our education and style of learning into our own hands. I find that it is more beneficial to regulate my learning and how I learn, rather than doing assigned work that doesn’t necessarily help me. However, I do hope that there becomes a more universal method of grading for this school and that teachers are able to figure how to make the adjustment smoother.