WorksheetsStandards-Based Grading Worksheet
Total questions: 56
Worksheet time: 31mins
What is a benefit of a standards-based grading system for high-achieving students?
Instruction can be easily adjusted to provide new, more complex learning targets.
It is easy to keep high-achieving students motivated with high scores on most assignments.
High-achieving students can be identified easily by comparing student scores.
It is easy to create special assignments and extra credit opportunities for high-achieving students.
A narrative-based system is different from a standards-based grading system because:
A narrative-based system provides descriptive feedback, while a standards-based system uses specific criteria for grading.
A narrative-based system uses only numerical scores, while a standards-based system uses written comments.
A narrative-based system focuses on standardized tests, while a standards-based system ignores them.
A narrative-based system is less personalized than a standards-based system.
Which factor distinguishes norm-referenced grading from standards-based grading?
Grade point average (GPA)
Performance of the rest of the class
Definition of grading standards
State accountability standards
A benefit of using standards-based grading compared to norm-referenced grading is:
It focuses on students' mastery of specific learning objectives.
It ranks students against each other.
It encourages competition among students.
It uses a fixed percentage to determine grades.
Why do teachers only grade student work related to the achievement of learning targets in standards-based grading systems?
Behaviors like participation and attendance are too subjective to grade.
Behaviors like participation and attendance are not as important as learning targets.
Teachers are able to help students focus on learning goals and track their progress.
Teachers are able to assign more assessments and provide more frequent feedback.
A grading scale reflects the following details: 4 achievement levels — Advanced, 3 achievement levels — Meets expectations, 2 achievement levels — Partial mastery, 1 achievement level — Little or no mastery. Which grading system does this grading scale represent?
Norm-referenced grading
Standards-based grading
Criterion-referenced grading
Percentage-based grading
Standards-based grading systems support struggling students compared to other common grading systems by:
Focusing on mastery of specific skills and providing targeted feedback.
Emphasizing overall grades without identifying specific areas of need.
Relying solely on test scores for student evaluation.
Offering less opportunity for students to improve their understanding.
What is one difference between using criterion-referenced scoring in standards-based grading systems as opposed to using norm-referenced scoring?
Criterion-referenced scoring is easier to use when determining class rank than norm-referenced scoring.
Criterion-referenced scoring is not used on standardized tests, while norm-referenced scoring is.
Criterion-referenced scoring uses standards that are easier to adjust than those used in norm-referenced scoring.
Criterion-referenced scoring measures student progress toward mastery of specific criteria, while norm-referenced scoring measures progress relative to percentiles.
What is a criticism of standards-based grading systems?
They do not reflect students' proficiency in soft skills such as time management and creativity.
They do not account for student behavior issues, so classroom management is more challenging.
They reduce the level of complexity to oversimplified learning targets, so students are not challenged.
They require more one-on-one instruction, which is not realistic for schools without block schedules.
Which problematic assessment practice does standards-based grading help teachers avoid?
Sampling one individual standard rather than multiple standards.
Providing feedback without any rubric.
Grading based on student behavior only.
Ignoring student progress over time.
Which statement is a criticism of standards-based grading systems?
Assessments are too narrowly focused.
There is little room for differentiation.
Instruction is too rigid.
The system requires teachers to be experts in state standards.
How are measurement topics beneficial to teachers?
They enable teachers to assess all the required state standards.
They help teachers identify a small set of themes to focus on during instruction.
They enable teachers to rename groups of focus statements.
They help teachers avoid incidental learning that is unrelated to the measurement topic.
An English language arts teacher is unpacking the following standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.10: “By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems for grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently with scaffolding as needed, at the high end of the range” (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2021). Which terms reflect the content of the standard?
Read, comprehend
Stories, poems
Grades, band
Proficiently, scaffolding
A teacher must determine a relevant focus statement based on this standard for a U.S. history course: "The student understands the differences between the economic, technological, and human resources of both sides of a conflict." Which focus statement reflects this standard?
Debates the pros and cons of an economic relief policy
Explains the timeline and outcome of a national conflict
Knows about the materials that contributed to an event and its outcome
Uses primary sources to describe the events leading up to a conflict
Which focus statement represents procedural knowledge?
Learns how to use a calculator
Composes sentences using a keyboard
Memorizes spelling words
Recalls the associative property of multiplication
Which focus statement represents declarative knowledge?
Which focus statement represents procedural knowledge?
Comprehends prime factorization
Knows the Pythagorean theorem
Remembers the quadratic equation
Writes Roman numerals from 1 to 100
A 10th-grade world history teacher is reviewing the following standard for the curriculum and making note of the measurement topics: HSS-10.2.2: "List the principles of the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights (1689), the American Declaration of Independence (1776), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789), and the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791)" (California Department of Education, 1998). Which measurement topic aligns to the given standard?
A. Historical documents
B. Modern warfare
C. Human migration
D. U.S. Constitution
Which measurement topic aligns to the given standard?
Nonverbal communication
Stage design
Stage blocking
Vocal expression
An eighth-grade social studies teacher is reviewing the following standard for the curriculum and making note of the measurement topics: INQ 9-12.5: "Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources" (Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks, 2015). Which measurement topic aligns to the given standard?
Debate
Thesis statements
Historical context
Research
Which measurement topic aligns to the given standard?
How biological and environmental factors interact to influence personality
The process of photosynthesis in plants
The structure of the periodic table
The impact of gravity on planetary motion
Which measurement topic aligns to the given standard?
Behavior
Cognition
Genetics
Sociology
A 10th-grade English language arts (ELA) teacher is reviewing the following standard for the curriculum and making note of the measurement topics: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.1: "Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence" (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2021). Which measurement topic aligns to the given standard?
Vocabulary
Persuasion
Transitions
Audience
A fourth-grade social studies teacher is reviewing the following standard for the curriculum and making note of the measurement topics: SOCIAL STUDIES.4.5.A: "Explain the impact of various events on life in Texas such as the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War II" (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies, 2018). Which measurement topic aligns to the given standard?
Politics
Geography
History
A teacher wants to design a proficiency scale that will consider each student's varied level of understanding of the measurement topics. Which type of proficiency scale offers this benefit?
Demonstration-of-skills scale
Consistency-of-behavior scale
Half-point scale
Generic scale
How do proficiency scales help teachers create assessments?
They provide detailed descriptions of the specific knowledge and skills that are considered most important.
They provide a continuum of knowledge levels and skills related to a specified standard.
They list statements of approved educational benchmarks at specified grade levels.
They provide a collection of learning targets with complexity beyond an academic standard.
How do proficiency scales address weaknesses in standardized performance assessments?
By providing specific feedback to students
By evaluating each assessment with a numeric score
By predicting specific learning patterns for students
By encouraging increased instructional time for core subjects
How can teachers use proficiency scales to facilitate learning progress?
Ask students to use the proficiency scales to evaluate peer assignments aligned with targets in a standard.
Encourage students to work independently to complete activities aligned with targets in a standard.
Isolate learning targets within a standard to ensure students understand the connection with activities.
Explain to students how the learning targets can be used to progress toward a standard measured on the proficiency scale.
A high school mathematics teacher is reviewing the following standard in order to develop an assessment for an upcoming statistics unit: CCSS.Math.Content.HSS.MD.A.3: "Develop a probability distribution for a random variable defined for a sample space in which theoretical probabilities can be calculated; find the expected value. For example, find the theoretical probability distribution for the number of correct answers obtained by guessing on all five questions of a multiple-choice test where each question has four choices, and find the expected grade under various grading schemes" (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2021). Which proficiency scale statement measures target level 3.0 proficiency for procedural knowledge based on the given standard?
The student will develop a probability distribution for a random variable and then find the expected value.
The student will understand how to develop a probability distribution for random variables in a sample space.
The student will identify a random variable defined for a sample space to calculate theoretical probabilities.
The student will describe how to calculate a theoretical probability and then how to find the expected value.
The focus of the proficiency scale being developed by the teacher is:
to measure student mastery of specific skills or standards.
to assign random grades to students.
to evaluate teacher performance only.
to determine classroom seating arrangements.
Which proficiency scale statement measures procedural knowledge at target level 3.0 proficiency for the given standards?
The student will create a compound sentence with proper nouns aligned with relevant pronouns in the sentence.
The student will format a complex sentence with proper nouns, active verbs, and direct or indirect objects.
The student will label the various parts of speech in a compound sentence, including the subject, predicate, and conjunction.
The student will use the possessive form of pronouns in a complex sentence.
Which proficiency scale statement measures procedural knowledge at developing level 2.0 for the given standards?
The student will play a musical scale with proper technique on a trumpet.
The student will read written notation while playing a melody on a saxophone.
The student will demonstrate proper fingering technique on a clarinet.
A music teacher is creating a proficiency scale for students for the measurement topic of song composition. Which proficiency scale statement measures procedural knowledge at advanced level 4.0 proficiency for the given measurement topic?
The student will identify the parts of a song.
The student will compose and sing a song, including two verses and a chorus.
The student will compare the choruses and verses of several songs.
The student will distinguish between different types of songs.
A team of teachers is reviewing the English language arts department's standards. The team plans to update proficiency scales to better align with the standards for the curriculum. One standard under review is the following: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7: "Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed using words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually using a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table" (Common Core Standards Initiative, 2021). Which proficiency scale statement aligns with developing level 2.0 proficiency for the given standard?
The student will describe technical information in a text and integrate it into a diagram.
The student, with help, will combine text with a visual image.
The student will depict technical information from a text in a table.
The student will create a detailed flowchart integrated with technical information.
Which proficiency scale statement measures developing level 2.0 proficiency for the given standards?
The student will identify syllabication patterns to successfully read out-of-context unfamiliar words.
The student, with help, will demonstrate letter-sound combinations.
The student will identify morphology to aid in accurate reading of unfamiliar in-context words.
The student will describe phonics and decoding techniques.
An English language arts teacher is designing a proficiency scale to assess students' declarative knowledge about the measurement topic of literary concepts. Which proficiency scale statement corresponds to developing level 2.0 proficiency for the given measurement topic?
The student will explain how an author's voice impacts a story.
The student will predict what would happen if the protagonist and antagonist switched roles.
The student will compare multiple stories by the same author.
The student will determine the central theme of a story.
What characteristic of parallel assessments refers to the measuring of the same trait on all forms of the test?
Unidimensionality
Reliability
Equivalence
Objectivity
What is a characteristic of parallel assessments?
They assess multiple standards.
They are administered to different groups of students in order to compare scores.
They are administered concurrently to determine reliability.
They assess the full scope of a standard or learning objective.
What is the purpose of parallel assessments?
To determine a student's report card grade
To determine student placement in advanced classes
To determine whether a student should pass or fail a course
To determine a student's depth of knowledge of a measurement topic
What is the purpose of parallel assessments?
To compare two students who have the same proficiency level
To assess students using items with varying levels of difficulty
To measure multiple learning standards simultaneously
Which example illustrates response-code scoring?
High partial accuracy (HP)
Section B score: 5/40 = 13%
Overall score obtained: 35/40
Advanced proficiency level
Which statement accurately describes response-code scoring for a traditional test?
A student's score is based on all homework and test grades averaged cumulatively.
The highest grade earned in a class is given a score of 100, then all other grades are calculated based on that.
The teacher determines the percentage of available points a student earned on each section of a test and assigns a score on a proficiency scale.
Each answer on a student's test is given a label, and the pattern of labels is used to determine the student's score.
A teacher is developing an assessment blueprint that includes a standard four-point proficiency scale. How should the teacher allocate the number of items for each proficiency level?
Include an equal number of items for each level
Include a decreasing number of items for each level as complexity increases
Include more items that assess levels 2.0 and 3.0 than other levels
A high school science teacher is designing an assessment blueprint for the given measurement topic, standard, and proficiency scale. Measurement Topic: Ecosystems Standard: NGSS: HS-LS2-6: "Evaluate claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem" (Next Generation Science Standards, 2013). Proficiency Level Learning Target 4.0 The student will make predictions about changes to ecosystems. 3.0 The student will classify creatures that dwell in different ecosystems based on a predator status. 2.0 The student will describe elements of various ecosystems. 1.0 The student will identify different ecosystems. Which item type could the teacher include to assess advanced level 4.0 proficiency?
Drag-and-drop items that ask students to match animals to the ecosystems they live in
Multiple-choice items that ask students to select the correct ecosystem
Matching items that ask students to identify different ecosystems
A short essay that asks students to elaborate on the potential impact climate change might have on ecosystems
A high school English teacher is designing an assessment blueprint for the given measurement topic, standard, and proficiency scale. Measurement topic: Key Ideas and Details Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2: "Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text" (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2021). Proficiency Level Learning Target 4.0
The student will analyze the development of a theme in a given text and argue
The student will identify the main characters in a given text and list their actions
The student will summarize the plot of a text without referencing its theme
The student will describe the setting of a text in detail
Which proficiency scale level corresponds with an assessment item that asks students to drag and drop options to organize the events in a text chronologically?
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
Which component of an assessment blueprint increases complexity?
Proficiency scales
Item types
Performance indicators
Backmapping process
To ensure the proper complexity levels are assessed for each student, what should be included in the assessment blueprint?
A range of proficiency levels for each student
Only grade-level standards
General topics without specific levels
Identical questions for all students
Which components of an assessment blueprint ensure proper assessment coverage?
Number and types of test items
Measurement topics and standards alignment
Item difficulty and rubric descriptors
Percentage of items and difficulty level for each topic
An eighth-grade English language arts (ELA) teacher is designing an assessment blueprint for the given measurement topic, standard, and proficiency scale. Measurement Topic: Analyzing Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning Standard: RW.8.3.1: "Write well-organized and cohesive arguments, distinguishing claim(s) from opposing claims and use language to clarify connections among claims, reasons, and evidence" (Colorado Department of Education, 2020). Proficiency Level 3.0: The student will craft structured and cohesive arguments using appropriate language, making connections with reasons and evidence. Which item type could be included to assess target level 3.0 proficiency?
Single-select multiple-choice items that ask students to identify thesis statements
Matching items that require students to pair vocabulary words with their definitions
True/false items that ask students to recognize correct punctuation usage
Short-answer items that ask students to list types of figurative language
Which score must be considered when using the method of mounting evidence to determine a student’s summative score?
The most recent assessment score
The oldest assessment score
The average score of all assessments
The most frequent score on all assessments
What indicates the concept of best fit when analyzing assessment scores?
The lowest percentage of error between actual and predicted scores
The highest percentage of error between actual and predicted scores
The least difference between actual and predicted scores
The greatest difference between actual and predicted scores
Why are mathematical models used in standards-based grading?
To estimate student true summative scores
To estimate student true formative scores
To measure student true summative scores
How is a student’s true score related to the error score?
The true score is an estimate of the actual score if the student had a zero-error score.
The true score is the student's score on an assessment after adjusting for the class’s average error score.
The true score is the average of the student’s scores over time minus their highest error rate during assessments.
The true score is the student’s error score plus their observed score for that assessment.
What is important to consider about the accuracy of true scores when assessing student knowledge?
True scores are not accurate measurements of student knowledge because every assessment contains error.
True scores are not accurate measurements of student knowledge, so efforts would be better spent on formative feedback.
True scores are accurate measures of student knowledge because every assessment inherently contains error that must be accepted.
True scores are accurate measures of student knowledge, but efforts should be made to reduce assessment error.
A student achieved the following assessment scores for a measurement topic, based on a four-point proficiency scale: 1. 0.5 2. 1.5 3. 2.0 4. 2.0 5. 2.5 6. 2.5 7. 3.0 The teacher estimated the student's true summative score, rounded to the nearest tenth, is:
2.0
2.2
2.5
3.1
