Standards Based Education at Hall-Dale

The Failure of the Traditional System:

We are all used to the traditional grading system found in many high schools throughout Maine and the United States. Many schools use the following system or a variation of it:

How a particular teacher arrives at a particular grade in a specific subject is dependent upon how much value the teacher assigns to such items as class participation, homework completion, quiz and test scores, and project or final exam scores. How one teacher grades in an English 9 class may differ significantly from another teacher teaching the same subject. The process of arriving at a grade for a subject such as Algebra 2 is pretty straightforward: add up the number of grades given over a trimester, make allowance for any weighting of grades (such as a test counts more than a quiz), and divide by the number of grades. Thus, using a simplified version:

may equate to a trimester grade of 81. You know the numerical standing of this student, but what do you know about his or her learning? In addition, we award credits – referred to as Carnegie Credits. Carnegie credits or units is a practice that is well over 100 years old. Simply stated, a Carnegie credit is awarded to a student who puts in so many hours into a subject. This is often referred to as “seat time.” The Carnegie credit is not based on a student’s growth in learning – it is based on how long that
student sits in a classroom.

Learning Results: It’s Maine Law
In 1997, the State of Maine adopted the Maine Learning Results. The Learning Results identify the knowledge and skills essential to prepare Maine students for work, for higher education, for citizenship, and for personal fulfillment. Strongly supported by the public, the Learning Results are built on the premises that:

The Learning Results express what students should know and be able to do at various checkpoints during their education. The Learning Results serve to focus discussion and to develop consensus on common goals for Maine education. In identifying essential knowledge and skills to be achieved by Maine students, the Learning Results do not represent a curriculum nor do they reduce the school's responsibility for curriculum planning or determining instructional approaches. In fact, the Learning Results challenge communities, schools and teachers to work together in implementing effective instructional strategies to achieve high
expectations for all students. The Learning Results shift the focus from seat time to student learning. Such a shift also necessitates a move from simply averaging a set of numbers to arrive at a grade to being very explicit what each student must know and be able to do prior to graduation. Let’s use the set of numbers from the previous page to demonstrate a point. Tammy is a freshman currently enrolled in English 9. At the end of the first trimester, she receives a report card that states:

As a parent, or as a student, what specifically can you tell about what Tammy has learned in freshman English? Do you know her strengths? Do you know the areas she needs to improve in? Let’s take a look at a standards-based reporting system in the same
subject:

1st Trimester English 9 Performance

Such a system is more exact; you can clearly see where Tammy is performing to expectations and where she needs some improvement. There is also consistency. Whether Tammy has Mrs. Jones or Mr. Smith for English 9, the expectations for learning remain the same.

Learning Over Time
Once again, let’s use Tammy and her English class to demonstrate a point. Look at her grades for the second trimester under the old grading system:

Using a straight average, she ends up with a C for the second trimester (a 79). However, notice that Tammy’s grades improved as the trimester went on. Her performance on a variety of required work improved rather steadily.

Under the old and current system of grading, she is not rewarded by that improvement. She may have started off slowly, been feeling poorly on the day of the Julius Caesar test, or any other number of variables. However, because we are locked into a system that simply adds up and divides, her progress remains unacknowledged. What is the motivation for her to continue to improve when she gets a C? In a standards-based system, teachers use assessments in two ways: formative and summative. Simply put, formative assessments are those that are used while learning is occurring and guides the teacher to adjust her/his instruction to better meet the needs of the learner. Summative assessment is the summary of an accumulation of grading information that occurs at a specific time, such as for progress reports, report cards, or end of the course.  The major points with assessments in a standards-based system are:

Grading and College Admissions
Much anxiety has been expressed about what a standards-based reporting system would do to our students who are trying to get into a college or university. That anxiety is understandable. However, let’s get a clear picture of the current situation. Colleges such as Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby, or the University of Maine system, and out-of state institutions such as Cornell or Brown receive thousands upon thousands of applications each year from every state in our country, and from many countries throughout the world. There is no one grading or ranking system that is more acceptable or less acceptable to those colleges or universities. However, what each institution requires is an accompanying document that clearly explains that high school’s
grading system. For example, our grading system lists an A in the range of 93 to 100. Lewiston High School may list the A as 90-100. In some schools, 60 is passing. At Hall-Dale, 70 is passing. What the college or university wants is the document that provides the explanation as to how our student was graded throughout his or her high school career. In addition, we have heard from many colleges and universities who have said they review the types of courses our students have taken, involvement in extra-curricular activities, honors and awards, community activities – in essence, the whole student, not just a grade point average. In my conversation with the dean of admissions of Colby College, he states that in the best of “both worlds,” there would be a system that from a high school perspective “does what is best for students to improve learning and for teachers to improve teaching.” In addition, colleges favor a system that makes it easier and more efficient to go through “a large number of applications to determine the best suited candidates for our institution. We need information that is lucidly displayed and gives a clear picture of the
student’s potential.” He goes on to state that if it is a standards-based system, he favors one that allows for some distinction among the higher achievers. For example, a student could be recognized for earning the “exceeds standards distinction over a four year period.” We will ensure that every student applying to a college is provided with ample documentation to allow that institution to get a clear and accurate picture as to the student’s achievements. We will put no student at a disadvantage.

Honors and Class Rank
The move to a standards-based reporting system does not mean that we do away with recognizing our students’ achievements. To the contrary, such a system may expand such recognition. For example, we could provide recognition to students who may be very talented in areas such as the visual and performing arts (those who exceed the standards in art or music classes). Or a student may have wonderful skill in math classes, but not perform as well in social studies or science. Under our current system of recognizing students, it again is a matter of adding up the scores and dividing the numbers. There is no room for individuality. Think what it may look like at a graduation ceremony to have all those students who have exceeded the standards for learning in English stand up and be recognized. Or the students who have exceeded the standards in multiple areas (English, social studies, science, math, physical education, music, etc.). This expands into publicly acknowledging achievement in areas of strength – of honoring hard work – of applauding talent – all well beyond just adding up random numbers. Currently HDHS continues to provide an honor roll at the end of each trimester, and in our standards-based system, class rank will continue to be determined.

Conclusion
So why did we move away from our traditional grading system to a standards based reporting system?