Several secondary campuses within Cy-Fair ISD are working with standards-based grading, a newer form of instruction that involves mastery of specific learning objectives.
"It's a new talk in the classroom, and it's definitely a different talk, but from what we're hearing from students and faculty, students have a better understanding of what the standard is and how they're doing," said Roy Garcia, associate superintendent for curriculum, instruction and school administration.
Under a traditional grading approach, if a student earns a score of 80 percent on a quiz about fractions, the reasons for the 20-point deduction are not made clear. With standards-based grading, there are several levels of proficiency—ranging from beginner to advanced—that give the student an idea as to what areas need more attention. Before a teacher begins to work with a student on a standard, the levels are identified, which might remove some of the subjectivity in grading.
"One might argue there is a difference in grading a math problem and an English essay, so there is still some subjectivity in grading those open-ended responses," said Mary Jadloski, assistant superintendent for secondary curriculum and instruction.
