A New Approach to Grades: Standards-Based Grading (SBG)

In most classes, your grade is an average of homework, quizzes, tests, and labs—each weighted differently. But what happens if you had a bad day on a quiz? Or if you copied homework you didn’t understand? Do those numbers really show what you know?

Standards-Based Grading (SBG) focuses less on individual assignments and more on what you’ve learned. It's about measuring growth, understanding, and mastery—not just task completion.

Key Features of SBG in My Class:

You’re graded on standards—the key concepts and skills we’re learning—not specific tasks like homework or quizzes.
Standards Grades use a 0–4 scale (converted to 0–100 in Skyward).
You can reassess any standard within the semester, as long as you show that you’ve prepared (e.g., completed practice, attended tutoring, and made corrections on previous work).
Homework is completion graded but highly recommended for practice and success.
No late work penalties (within the six weeks it was taught for homework, and the semester it was taught for standards)—the focus is on learning, not deadlines.
Your grade on a standard can go up over time as your understanding improves. You’re not locked into a low score from early in the semester.
Homework and labs will be worth 30% of your grade, the standards assessments will be 70% of your grade.

What Do the standards Grades Mean?

  
      SBG Score
      Traditional Grade
      Description
    
      4
      100
      Mastery – You fully understand the standard and can apply it confidently.
    
      3
      90
      Proficient – Solid understanding with few errors.
    
      2
      80
      Basic – Grade-level understanding, but still developing.
    
      1
      65
      Beginning – Some understanding, but still inconsistent.
    
      0
      55
      No evidence – You haven’t shown understanding of the standard yet.

SBG Score	Traditional Grade	Description
4	100	Mastery – You fully understand the standard and can apply it confidently.
3	90	Proficient – Solid understanding with few errors.
2	80	Basic – Grade-level understanding, but still developing.
1	65	Beginning – Some understanding, but still inconsistent.
0	55	No evidence – You haven’t shown understanding of the standard yet.

What About Homework and Reassessment?

Homework helps you practice, but it’s not graded the same way as the standards. We go over it in class so you can ask questions and build your understanding. It’s one of the best tools to help you succeed on assessments. Homework will be completion graded but in a different weighted category than the standards. 30% of your grade will be from homework and labs, 70% will be from assessments over the standards.

If you want to improve a grade, you can reassess any standard from the semester—after showing you’ve made an effort to learn. That could mean finishing practice problems, reviewing notes, or coming to tutoring.

Why I Use SBG

SBG gives you room to grow. It rewards progress and focuses on what you know now, not what you did weeks ago. The goal is for your grade to reflect your current understanding, not a weighted average of good and bad days.

My goal is to help every student master the material, and SBG gives you multiple opportunities to get there.