Standards Based Grading

Below is the presentation data for the PSD School Board informational meeting with middle school principals regarding standards based grading:

Poudre School District Board Work Session

Middle School Standards Based Grading, August 25, 2009

Purpose Statement:

• Assess and communicate what a student knows and is able to demonstrate based on a body of evidence, which is aligned to district and state standards. (Works well in assessing performance)
• Provide direction regarding interventions needed for student success (RTI).  This can be for remediation and enrichment.
• Separate the work habits and behaviors from the academic grade.

What:

Students will receive an academic grade.

Students will receive specific feedback about their work-habits.

This system aligns with PSD’s commitment to provide rigorous curriculum for all students that meet state and national standards-based requirements. It also aligns with District Ends Policy in relation to preparing students to be 21^st century learners.

Grading Principles

When determining content grades (academic achievement), priority will be given to:

·  The most recent evidence of student learning of standards/checkpoints.

·  The most comprehensive evidence of student learning of standards/checkpoints.

·  The most important standards/checkpoints for the grading term.

Who:  

2009 -2010 Early adopters (Webber, Wellington, Preston, Blevins, Kinard)

2010 –2011 Remaining Middle Schools

History:

• PSD Middle School transition
• Colorado middle school visits and middle school visits outside of Colorado
• 2008 Nuts and Bolts Conference
• 2007 - 2008 National Middle School Conferences
• 2009 – School book studies and SBG articles read and discussed
• Staff Training and Collaboration on Standards Based Grading (April 2009)
• Rick Wormeli Training (July 2009)
• Colorado is a RTI (Response to Intervention) and Standards Based State

When:

2009-10 will be a partial implementation year

School based communication plan(s) with school communities and parents

Newsletters, orientations, back to school night, websites, parent/student conference, handbooks

Middle School principal agreement that all schools will implement when ready