SBG Gala #5

The Standards Based Grading Gala #5 is here, filled with more great posts and tips about standards based grading. First, you might want to go back and check out the incredible archives:

• Issue 1 (July 20, 2010): MeTA musings
• Issue 2 (Sept 6, 2010): Always Formative
• Issue 3 (Oct 21, 2010): TEACHING|chemistry
• Issue 4 (Dec 23, 2010): Action-Reaction

With all this great stuff to read, your only question might be “how do I read/save all of this?” Just in case you haven’t discovered it yet, I’d like to make a plug for the awesome Instapaper, which is a very simple little javascript bookmarklet you can install on your browser’s toolbar that will extract the text of the article and save it for you on a custom reading list, which you can read on a browser, or using the awesome Instapaper apps, offline on your smartphone or tablet. And best of all, it’s free.

Ok, on with the gala:

SBG Implementation

• Shawn Cornally, our resident SBG Jedi, presents Standards-Based Grading: State of the UnionThink Thank Thunk , saying,”Cornally Cornallies it up.” Read this post if you feel yourself getting overwhelmed by having too many students seeking reassessments.
• Sam Shah presents Quarter II on SBG posted at Continuous Everywhere but Differentiable Nowhere. Sam tries to deal with some students who don’t reassess and passively hope everything will turn around. There are some great suggestions in the comments too.
• Peyten Dobbs, an outstanding middle school English teacher, presents SBG and The BFG, posted at Superfluous Thoughts , presenting a wonderful image of a teacher as the “Big Friendly Giant” and an approach for trying SBG in the the English classroom.
• Chris Ludwig, a science teacher who teaches AP Biology among many other subject, presents On why standards-based grading isn’t enough to transform a classroom posted
  at Science Education on the Edge.

• Nordin Zuber, a new math teacher from Australia, presents three great posts on his experiences with SBG at Exzuberant:
  • Standard Based Grading : helping eliminate academic fear and failure saying, “Second in a series looking at how SBG relates to some education research and theories.”
  • Standards Based Grading and the Circle of Courage, saying “Linking SBG to student psychological and sociological needs.”
  • Standard Based Grading : Show me the evidence!, saying, “Linking John Hattie’s meta-analysis work to SBG.”
• Math teacher Bree Murray presents The “Real” SBG posted at The Space Between the Numbers.
• Kelly O’Shea, a physics teacher, presents an innovative approach to exams that give students a chance to show synthesis in SBG & Semester Exams posted at Physics! Blog!
• Former math teacher and coder extraordinaire, Riley Lark presents Nuts & Bolts: Assessing to Make SBG Work posted at ActiveGrade Blog, saying, “This is a post about the need for multiple assessments of each standard and an acknowledgement of the uncertainty inherent in each assessment.”
• Physics teacher Frank Noschese, presents SBG: Keeping Track of it All posted at Action-Reaction , saying, “How I use Google Docs and student folders to keep track of scores and progress.”
• Math teacher Jill Goughwrites about how her 4 point rubric encourages students to “level up” their understanding on Enrichment…Intervention…Benefits of the 4-Point Rubric posted at Experiments in Learning by Doing.
• Dan Fullerton, physics teacher, presents A Better Feedback and Assessment System? posted at Fizziks In Flux .
• Andy, who doesn’t have a blog (yet?), wrote a few questions about his grading philosophy and final exams in this google doc.

SBG Miscellaneous

• Robert Ryshke presents Assessment in the 21st Century « Center for Teaching posted at Center for Teaching, saying, “This blog entry was targeted towards thinking about assessment practices for a 21st C classroom.”
• Geoff Schmit, a physics teacher, presents Why Standards-Based Grading? posted at Pedagogue Padawan, saying, “I started this semester sharing with my students five goals I have for them this semester and how standards-based grading helps us achieve them.”

SBG Questions

• Noah, a physics teacher, presents Questions about Standards-Based Grading posted at Mediocre Physics Teacher .
• Chris Ludwig presents Should teachers be forced to use Standards-Based Grading? posted at Science Education on the Edge.
• Bioinformatics professor, gasstationwithoutpumps presents Just scoring points
  at Gas station without pumps, saying, “I have several posts I could have submitted, but this one seems to be the most philosophical. Click on the tags at the beginning of the post to find related other articles.”

• Junior High Principal Bo Adams presents Grades? A Measure or a Rank? posted at It’s About Learning.
• My contribution is an oldie: A brief history of grades. What could be more SBG than the apprentice model of education?

That’s it for SBG Gala 5. A huge thank you to all of you who submitted posts, especially the many new voices who are enriching the conversation. Stay tuned to see who will be hosting SBG Gala 6!