Implementing Standards-Based Grading There are five key components essential to the successful implementation of SBG, which also serve as the core principles of a teacher’s practice (Guskey, 2010). First, standards are not foreign to the educational system. However, over the span of several decades little has been done to respond to the need for changes to ambiguous practices. As late as the 1940s, Tyler (1949) stressed the importance of identifying what students need to know, be able to do, and the type of evidence needed to prove they have mastered the specific learning target. Furthermore, Tyler (1949) emphasized that the only way to measure teachers’ efficiency is by gauging what students know and whether they can demonstrate this knowledge. Second, standards should mirror the school’s philosophy (Guskey, 2010). Grading reforms can be slowed down because of different philosophies. The conflict posed by these varying philosophies are at the …show more content…
Although it is customary for states to develop curriculum standards, many states fail to provide teachers with the resources, support, and autonomy to implement them. There must be an alignment between curriculum and identified procedures to effectively implement standards. It is essential that teachers provide meaningful professional development on best practices that will bridge the gap between curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Fifth, success is predicated on what transpires in the classroom (Guskey, 1999; Guskey, 2010). The classroom is the only place where student learning can improve. However, “significant change is tied more directly to well targeted, high-quality, ongoing, job-embedded professional development (Guskey, 1999, p. 44). Teachers must have a clear understanding of what students should know and be able to demonstrate because such clarity can guide educational reform
Teachers are able to target the learning gaps by developing a plan of action based on the needs for our students. Verbiest (2014) and Hershkovitz (2015) argue data is used to tailor (how we sever students, how we offer support, types of support, what resources we need to invest on, whether we take a student to students needs with our school psychologist) instruction for students in all content areas in an effort to increase student achievement. As a result, the school can provide specific professional learning, support, and resources to teachers based on the needs and areas of weakness of our students (Fox, 2001). As lifelong learners, teachers recognize that their professional practice continues to evolve as they reflect and act on new information. If teachers have information that helps them confidently identify the root of educational challenges and track progress, they can more readily develop action plans that will have a positive impact on their students’ achievement (Halverson et al.,
Professional development for teachers and for the entire education community will improve with Common Core Standards because all teachers will be teaching to the same standards within their state. There are tools to monitor students’ progress throughout the year, Common Core State Standards assessments will allow teachers to track the child’s progress instead of making comparisons to other students. The new standards also provide a way for teachers to measure student progress throughout the school year and ensure that students are on the right track in their academics. Common Core State Standards can also define what students are expected to learn, with the added benefit of students understanding what they are learning and
Pragmaticism, indeed, will dictate that schools, assessments, and organizations long-established will not be altered for light and short-lived causes. Hence, a gradual shift in culture and method must occur which reforms the quantitative nature of grading systems. However, let the negative effects of the current grading system be known in a direct way:
“Common Core State Standards Initiative” is a result of the “Standards and Accountability Movement” which began in the 1990s in the United States. This particular branch of education reforms was geared towards expectations of learning at each grade level. The Standards and Accountability Movement not only brought attention on what students were expected to learn, but on teachers as well – focusing on how teachers were to implement lessons and able to teach for student achievement which would be measured in
There are many approaches that can be taken in order to develop a school’s curriculum, or the material that the students will learn. If there were no federal regulation of curriculum, then it would not be possible to compare student achievement across districts or even states. The federal program, Common Core State Standards, assists in equaling education across the nation. The Common Core has reinvented the perception of student learning which, in turn, has caused American education to become a corporate institution. As a result, there has been a threat to states’ rights for education as more rigorous content has been implemented into classrooms by the government, which ultimately changes the role of the teacher.
Education in the United States is in an abysmal state. It continues to spiral downward as students and educators fail to meet standards. The standards are then altered on a patchwork basis throughout the states. The goal is no longer to have a high standard educational system. The goal now is to maintain the status quo, allowing students and educators to strive for the minimum. There is no common approach to achieve success. Incipit Tragoedia, in comes the Common Core, agreed upon by educators, politicians, and
Since the early 2000 and the No Child Left Behind Act, the introduction of the standards-based education in the public school system came to light, and recently the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has brought on another challenge along with controversies. Some critics view it as the “same old wine in a new bottle” (McTighe and Wiggins, 2012, p. 1) but it does provide some merits and require a positive new approach instead of the old habit of “zeroing in on the grade-level standards before a careful examination of the goals and structure of the overall documents” (p. 1). Another concern is the role of the Standards. “Standards are not curriculum. A Standard is an outcome, not a claim about how to achieve an outcome” (McTighe & Wiggins,
Teachers are given sets of materials that need to be taught for students to understand the Common Core Standards. The standards are informed to improve the learning style in school and teaching. If the standards make new standards then they need to go appropriately with the students’ assessment and go hand and hand with the curriculum and be shaped by the teachers who connect students to their own dreams. Using these standards make us wonder what we think of students and what they are capable of doing. The curriculum gives ideas on how the specific standards are taught. When using assessments it gives the students a chance to understand the standards and if they can master them. The Common Core standards have a specific process and must go into a particular order to work correctly.
Nearly all can agree that in education a national set of standards is necessary for this country. This is not the first time in history that America’s educational principles have been up for debate. The basic idea of common core is to prepare students for responsibility as a citizen in this society. Students must be able to read and distill complex sentences and must be equipped with basic mathematical skills. The actual impact the standards will have on education will not be revealed for several years, however it is thought that implementing a national set of standards will nothing
“Common Core State Standards are a focused and challenging set of learning expectations that educators can interpret and implement locally through the curriculum, programs, and teaching methods they decide are best suited to their students.” (p.4)
Main, L. F. (2012). Too much too soon? Common core standards in the early years. Early
With forty four states adopting Common Core state standards, standardized tests have adapted to align to these standards. However, the tools teachers must use to prepare students for them have not. Another issue with standardized testing is that curriculum is poorly aligned to the tested standards. When Common Core was adopted, a new generation of standardized tests were developed. The Secretary of Education during this time of adoption, Arne Duncan, stated that this would “help drive the development of a rich curriculum, instruction that is tailored to student’s needs” (Hess & McShane, 2013, p.62). Now several years in, the reality has proven to be much more complicated. Publishers were quick to supply the market with Common Core aligned
The Framework for Teaching by Charlotte Danielson has been developed through research as a guideline for current and future teacher’s professional responsibilities in and out of the classroom. Districts throughout the country are using this framework to assess and guide their teachers to build successful methods of planning and preparations, setting up the classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities. Each of these domains builds off of each other to form a successful learning environment. Domain 3 focuses more specifically on instruction using communication, discussions, engagement, assessments and flexibility.
of this idea at work is my district’s lesson plan initiative. Countywide, teachers are expected to
The new regulations seem to be highly demanding, but Judy Steiner is a strong proponent for standardization. In her article “Implications of a standards-based curriculum for the teaching-learning-assessment process,” she discusses the importance of national standards and the advantages of setting standards. According to Steiner, “The setting of national standards allows for equal pupil opportunity. First, all pupils are judged by the same standards...Second, national standards clarify what pupils should know at different levels of their education” (9). She also notes that when individual teachers or schools set their own standards, there is a lack of consistency. Standards and assessment provide a way for measuring progress and can also influence early intervention if students are having problems. The purpose of the standards is to set higher expectations for both students and teachers. “Standards in and of themselves are meaningless,” Steiner says. “What is important are the steps that educators and others take to help pupils read them” (12). Standards can only work if schools and teachers find a good way to implement them, using appropriate materials and activities. Though teachers are told what to teach, it is still up to them to choose how to teach it. They are given a roadmap, but they still have a big role in developing curriculum material (Steiner 10). In this type of curriculum, assessment is viewed as a final product and a continual process to exemplify where