interpretations of standards-based grading and reporting - School ...

Sara Hagen
Understanding as visible in students' work [page 53]
Teachers also described understanding using parts of the framework presented in
Understanding By Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). This framework includes the
following "Six facets of understanding";
• Explaining
• Interpreting
• Applying
• Having Perspective
• Empathizing
• Self-Knowledge
Teachers described assignments that target one or more of these six facets. Overall, use
of the six facets was much less than the use of embodied or process metaphors for
understanding. If teachers are to develop a shared language of criteria based on student
understanding, more extensive conversations on this topic are needed.
"Full" understanding: A problematic metaphor? [page 57]
Because the term "full" understanding makes use of an embodied metaphor and
does not focus on an aspect of understanding that is visible in students' work, the district
may wish to reconsider use of this term for the level 3 score.
Power standards [page 58]
Douglas Reeves (1998; 2000) coined the term "power standards" as the most
important standards in a given subject or grade level. The MMSD has adopted this term
for a similar concept. Teachers report a grade for each student on two, three, or four
power standards in each subject area. In math, these are content-specific standards such
as the ability to solve problems with factors and mUltiples, or the ability to read and
interpret graphs. In other subjects, the power standards are more general areas of
thinking skill such as Content Knowledge, Analysis and Application, Conducting
Investigations, or Writing. The general power standards are used with all topics in a
course, while the specific math power standards correspond to units of instruction. These
different systems have various pros and cons.
The more specific power standards provide more specific feedback to parents and
students. Parents then know for which content areas their children are most successful or
need the most remediation. The broader power standards help teachers to focus on the
balance of skills in each class. For example, the Analysis and Application power
standard encourages Social Studies teachers to think about how their assigrunents include
higher level thinking skills; in World Languages, teachers must balance oral and written
communication.
Power standards quickly become the standards that matter most and the categories
that teachers use to think about teaching. It is therefore important to consider carefully
the power standards that are chosen for the report card. Just as it took several years for
teachers to understand and use the standards documents for their areas, it will take time
for teachers to understand the power standards, use them in planning and assessment, and
explain them to parents. Teachers who helped develop the power standards for their
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