Across the Analy campus, teachers use all sorts of different systems to assess and grade their students. However, in recent years, Analy’s administration has pushed for a more uniform grading protocol, known in the teaching world as standards-based grading (SBG). But what is standards-based grading, and why does this switch in grading styles matter?
First introduced by educator Joe Feldman in his book Grading for Equity, SBG centers on the idea of grading students based on their knowledge of specific aspects of the curriculum (standards), rather than homework, classwork, or other arbitrary metrics that don’t actually reflect how much students have learned. Ms. Rebecca Davenport, who currently teaches Math 2, 3, and 3A, explained how “the underlying concept is that students will connect learning with effort, have opportunities for growth and change, and not give up on themselves.” Ms. Blake Leibowitz, an English teacher at Analy said, “SBG seeks a more accurate grade based on the student’s ability to demonstrate the skills taught in the course.”
Although standards-based grading can be customized for each classroom, the base ideas stay the same: little to no grade for homework, multiple retakes available for tests or quizzes, and grading according to categories set by the curriculum. District superintendent Chris Meredith described the goal of SBG as “mastery of standards.” Effectively, standards-based grading is meant to assess students on what they’ve learned, not on other arbitrary factors that show up in traditional grading.
But does SBG actually work? For some teachers, the answer is a definite yes. Mr. Alex Wilson, who uses Standards-Based Grading for his Math 2 classes, recounts how SBG has helped to eliminate “point grabbing” and promotes a growth mindset. “It made me stop and think about what assessment is,” he described. Chuck Wade, Analy’s principal and one of the primary advocates for teachers switching to SBG, echoed that sentiment, saying, “It’s not about chasing points.” Leibowitz described how “Getting rid of the 100 point scale was very freeing and let me focus on assessing whether or not students were approaching, meeting, or exceeding standards.”
However, for other teachers, standards-based grading is just another version of the typical grading process, and doesn’t really solve any problems. Mr. Jason Carpenter, a Social Science teacher at Analy, admitted that traditional schooling has “very deep and vast inequalities,” but that he is still not convinced SBG solves any of those issues. “It makes me uncomfortable that content takes a back seat,” he described, as, especially in social science classes, specific skills or standards don’t capture the breadth and depth of the topics covered. Ms. Taylor Dobbins, who teaches Chemistry in the Earth System and AP Chemistry, detailed how she used SBG for one year (2024-25), but has switched back to a more traditional system of grading. “My initial motivation to actually implement it [SBG] in my classroom was to discourage copying on classwork, encourage deeper learning, and to create a transparent system of grading for students,” she said, but after a while, “I found that without classwork counting for a grade, many students were not motivated to complete all of the assignments.” Dobbins has since switched to a system of grading that uses some of the principles of SBG but also uses some ideas from traditional grading, with retakes available for tests and quizzes and less points for classwork and homework, but still a point-based grading system.
Students’ views of the grading system seem mixed. Davenport conducted a survey of her students about their thoughts of SBG at the end of last year. “There was not universal support, but a majority seemed to like it,” she said, accompanying this statement with data that showed around 72% of students across her Math 1 and Math 2 classes liked it. However, other students seemed very apprehensive about the grading system, stating how stressful tests had become given they were the majority of students’ grades. “I don’t like that all the work we do in class and at home is basically useless,” one student said. In addition, students voiced concerns over how an individual who worked hard in class and did all of the work could theoretically get a significantly lower grade than someone who skipped classes often but did well on a test.
Despite some uneasiness from a subset of students and teachers, Analy’s administration is moving forward with its push to switch to SBG. Wade explained that his administration was working to “create the conditions” for teachers to move to standards-based grading. This push is primarily through professional development days, which are days built into the school calendar that provide an opportunity for something like SBG to be presented to teachers. However, this campaign for SBG is not something new. Dobbins explained how “Over the summer in 2024, Analy sent a group of teachers to a two week workshop at SCOE [Sonoma County Office of Education] on how to effectively implement standards based grading.” Analy is giving teachers time to adjust to the new grading system, and making it easier for teachers to switch. Although the administration can’t legally pressure teachers to grade in a specific way, it is clear that SBG is a priority for Wade and Meredith, especially as they work to make a smoother transition from class to class during freshman year, as part of their 9th Grade Success Teams program.
Standards-based grading might not be perfect, but for some teachers, it is the answer to career-long questions about grading. And as Analy’s administration pushes for this new system, students can expect to see SBG appearing in more of their classes. It remains to be seen, though, the extent to which standards-based grading will be implemented across the Analy campus.
