Rethinking Grading Standards: Aligning to Common Core and Defining an "A"

To start, I work outside the USA, but we use the Common Core since I work at an American curriculum international school. I don't have to deal with a lot of red tape, and I have a lot more freedom than many stateside teachers, I feel. I teach language arts, so my thinking is mostly in terms of papers, projects, and presentations.

The standards have always been treated as a guide, but our new principal wants more evidence of their use. I'd like to make sure all my assignments are aligned with the Common Core expectations.

This is an opportunity for me to rethink how I do a few things. My department treats "meets expectations" at about an 85%. I've always been fine with that, but I've started to think it might not necessarily be fair.

Now that I'm actually a lot more familiar with the standards, I'm starting to wonder why "meeting" the standard isn't at least a 90% (A). If it's what the curriculum asks a student to do and they do it well, then why isn't that earning an "A?"

I want almost everything to have a standards-based rubric. I also want to be able to explain that not meeting the standard means you won't even earn a C. Does it sound insane to have "meets standards" as a 10/10 and the next step down, "approaches," being a 6/10? Ds are passing for us, but even that gap between numbers feels huge.

I guess I'm just struggling to figure out what an "A" really is in regards to the standard when we use the normal 0-100 percent scale. If you aren't meeting the standards, do you even deserve a C or a D?

That being said, no one is breathing down my neck about passing students or giving out As like candy. I just see an opportunity to rethink how I handle things.

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Admin showed us q apparently well known video about grades, but I don't recall getting any actual guidance.

Submitted April 12, 2023 at 12:40AM by MadeSomewhereElse https://ift.tt/c9tder4