Ruthann Lane: Standards Based Grading

As an elementary coach for a professional development organization I often hear the concern that standards-based grading and common assessments don’t “fit” with Project Based Learning.  Teachers are overwhelmed with the idea of meeting district common assessment windows and utilizing standards-based grading rubrics. project based learning  feels like an extra load to add to their already full cart. 

But what if PBL isn’t an extra load? What if Project Based Learning is a stronger cart to help carry the load of standard-based grading (SBG)?

1. Carrying the SBG Load With Project Based Learning

According to the University of Washington’s Center for Teaching and Learning, students who are active participants in their learning “increase their attention and focus, (and are) motivated to practice higher-level critical thinking skills, and promote meaningful learning experiences.” In other words, engagement increases retention of knowledge, which in turn boosts performance on assessments. This requires a mindset shift on the part of the teacher. 

If project based learning is the method in which students are learning, then the teacher sets the purpose or the “why” for each task as it relates to the unit. Instead of teaching students to ask and answer questions using a required textbook reading, students interact with texts about their PBL topics to answer Need to Know questions they have already asked.  When the outcome of data on a graph determines the next steps of your PBL unit, students are more interested in analyzing and dissecting said graph. Graphing takes on a new level of engagement, when students aren’t analyzing graphs from a worksheet but rather collecting and organizing data related to their PBL topics. 

2. Use Common Assessment windows when planning 

Most districts and schools release an assessment calendar at the beginning of each year or semester. When you receive your assessment calendar, write on your PBL calendar all assessment windows mandated by your district. If creating a unit calendar is not something you already do, I would encourage you to try. 

As you plan the unit’s standards, look for ways you can integrate the standards being assessed. If they are unable to integrate, then be sure to teach them in isolation. However, most of the time you will find that your common assessment standards fit with your PBL unit smoothly, authentically, and deeply.

Instead of “double assessing” your students on the standards, use your common assessments to help you assess your unit.  If you are continuing the unit and delving further into the standard, consider working with students based on the performance on the common assessment. This gives them the opportunity to practice a growth mindset even with district common assessments.

3. Use Standards-Based Rubrics Throughout Your Unit

When elementary teachers tackle project based learning, we often misunderstand the end product rubric as the only means of assessing the PBL unit. Do we have to recreate the wheel? The answer is “NO!”.  However, standards-based grading has gifted us with rubrics that evaluate the standards and are often already created for us.  Standards-based grading rubrics are a perfect partner for project based learning and help us to ensure we are evaluating the learning occurring at the beginning, middle, and end of our units using a common rubric. Here are a few suggestions for how you can use standards-based rubrics in a PBL setting.

• Keep your rubric close during small groups and evaluate students during a quick small group assessment.

• During group work, walk around the room listening to students delve into their PBL unit topics evaluating their work with a standards-based rubric.

• Combine the rubrics into a larger rubric for your end product. Grade each standard on its own within the larger rubric.

• Hold individual conferences with students and show them where their PBL work places them on the standards-based grading rubric. Talk about improvements they can make to reach the next level. 

4. Employability Skills Are Often Standards-Based

Employability Skills, sometimes referred to as 21st Century Skills, are necessary life and career readiness skills for every student. As educators, we may integrate Employability Skills into our units (communication, technology use, and critical thinking, etc.). Assessing the Employability Skills that we devote so much of our PBL classroom time to only makes sense.   

There are so many wonderful pre-made rubrics available to evaluate Employability Skills. When planning a PBL unit, sit purposefully with an Employability Skill rubric for your grade level. How can you incorporate these skills, with purpose and depth, into your PBL unit? You will be shocked at how naturally they fit into your benchmarks and scaffolding. 

For example, a frequently missed opportunity in Standards-Based Grading and PBL assessment are the Speaking and Listening standards. These standards have gained importance over the years and are now evaluated on high-stakes tests. As part of PBL units, these standards are incorporated through community partner visits, presentations, workshops, lessons, and so much more. This makes them perfect for evaluating students using Standard-Based Grading and Employability Skill rubrics.

5. Evaluate Your PBL Unit with Your District Data

One of the primary concerns raised by elementary teachers is that a PBL unit will somehow take away from the curriculum provided and cause their students to fall behind the rest of the district. In addition to the strong engagement components of a PBL unit, authentic PBL units teach the same standards at a depth and level of thinking that are not often achieved in a traditional classroom. As educators, we often evaluate our effectiveness using our assessment data. With standards-based grading rubrics and common assessments, the data is easier to break down and evaluate. Common assessments and district data give us another lens to evaluate our performance as PBL facilitators. 

When evaluating our common assessment data we can ask ourselves questions like…

• If a student does not achieve a level 2, what prerequisite skills are they missing? Did our PBL Unit cover this skill? How can I better communicate this skill moving forward?

• If a student does not achieve a level 3, what grade-level appropriate skills are still not coming across?  Did our PBL unit cover this skill? At what depth did students get to interact with this knowledge?

• Did this unit effectively teach this concept at pace with the rest of the district? If not, how could I improve? If so, what can I keep the same moving forward?

Standards-Based Grading is a strong partner for a quality PBL unit. Both PBL and SBG approach student learning with a growth mindset and encourage students to think critically about their own learning processes and outcomes. When implemented together, Standards-Based Grading supports project based learning in a way that the traditional grading model cannot. By allowing students to grow towards the knowledge their PBL communicates, instead of penalizing them for “not getting it” early on, Standards-Based Grading models communicate clear objectives and steps towards mastering the standards that build our PBL units. Ultimately we want students to gain the content knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life, and the marriage of PBL and Standards-Based Grading helps them get there, which in my book is a win for everyone.    

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RuthAnne Lane taught for eight years before becoming an elementary school coach for the professional development organization Magnify Learning, which is where this blog was first posted. Her current duties include PBL coaching, workshop facilitation, and PBL certification reviewer.  You can find more of her work at https://www.ruthannlane.com/.