1. Grading Smarter
@GradeSmarter

2. Essential Questions Christina – 1 minute
(New Policy and Rule was sent to participants prior to the meeting)
When reflecting on Policy and Rule 5210 and throughout today’s presentation consider the following essential questions:
What are the important shifts in the new Policy?
Why are we revising the policy?
How does our thinking need to change to implement the new policy?
Emphasize the importance of “approach” and their role as a leader back in the building.

3. This is only a Discussion!!
We are still in the beginning phases of shifting and unifying our understanding
No changes will go into effect until next year.

4. Michelle – 4 minutes
As you watch the video, reflect on how confident are we that grades are equitable, accurate, meaningful, and supportive of learning?
How confident are you that your grades are equitable, accurate, meaningful, and supportive of learning?

5. Equitable Systems for All Students
BCPS Teaching and Learning Framework
New Standards
Access to Digital Environment
Grading and Assessment
Karen – 1 minute
This is one way to show all of the system’s key initiatives are wrapped within insuring an equitable system for all students.

6. Are our grading practices equitable?
You will engage in an activity that will help you reach conclusions about the equity of grading practices.
Karen – 2 minutes
The directions for the activity are on the next two slides.

7. Comparing Gradebooks
We have passed out sets of ELA gradebooks for you to compare. Review the assignments and the overall grade for each student. Discuss: What conclusions can you reach from examining these gradebooks?
Karen – 15 minutes to work.
5 minutes to share out.
Have participants share out their conclusions.

8. Core Beliefs
Baltimore County Public Schools commits to all stakeholders to provide equitable, accurate, specific, and timely information regarding student progress towards agreed-upon common course expectations as well as feedback for next steps and growth areas.
The primary purpose of grades are to communicate what students know and can do. We should ask:
Do the marks in the gradebook accurately reflect student performance as aligned to the course expectations?
Are the marks entered in the gradebook current and do they allow students time to reflect on and improve their grade prior to the end of the marking period?
Christina – 2 minutes
Our activities illustrated the inconsistencies that exist across our system and within our schools. That was the impetus for gathering together all of our stakeholders to examine the Policy and Rule.
The result of those stakeholder focus groups led to our core beliefs that undergird our new Policy and Rule.
The core beliefs shared on this slide were developed based on input from various stakeholder groups, parents, teachers, administrators, and most importantly students.

9. Equitable Accurate Specific Timely
The same work, completed in two different classrooms, should receive the same grade, even if the teacher is different.
Accurate
Grades are based solely on achievement, which means other factors, like behavior and attendance, are not used to calculate a grade.
Specific
Classroom grading practices should be so clear that students should be able to tell teachers what grade they have earned, even before the teacher calculates it.
Timely
Feedback to students is timely that students can actually use that feedback, right away, to improve their performance on tests and assignments.
Christina – 2 minute
This is a journey – Achieving our core beliefs is not going to happen overnight or even over the course of a school year, but we all need to be moving in this direction by ensuring grades are:
Important terminology is used throughout the Policy and Rule. This slide will help ensure that we are all using the same definitions of these terms.
Equitable - The same work, completed in two different classrooms, should receive the same grade, even if the teacher is different.
Accurate - Grades are based solely on achievement, which means other factors, like behavior and attendance, are not used to calculate a grade.
Specific - Grading practices should be so clear that students should be able to tell teachers what grade they have earned, even before the teacher calculates it.
Timely -Students need to be able to use the feedback, right away, to improve their performance and continue their learning.
Questions for the group to consider:
Do the marks in your teachers’ gradebooks accurately reflect student performance as aligned to
the course expectations?
Are the marks entered your teachers’ gradebooks current and do they allow students time to
reflect on and improve their grade prior to the end of the marking period?

10. Guiding Practices
1. Grading practices must be supportive of student learning
The primary purpose of every educator is to promote learning
Timely, specific feedback that leads to a next step promotes learning
Christina - 1
The primary purpose of every educator is to promote learning and our grading practices must support and encourage students to continue to learn.
We know that once we put a grade on an assignment we are signaling to students that the learning is complete and it’s time to move on to the next topic – a grade alone does not help a student understand what they need to do next.
Timely, specific feedback that leads to a next step promotes learning.

11. Guiding Practices
2. Grades will be based solely on achievement of course or grade-level standards
Student participation, attendance, work completion, and ability to work with others are all important but need to be reported separately
Christina -1
Emphasize!!! Policy 5210 acknowledges that student participation, attendance, work completion, and ability to work with others are all very important they just need to be reported separately from the achievement grade.
When sharing this information with your staff a good place to start is to come to a consensus that the primary purpose of an achievement grade it to communicate what a student knows and is able to do in a given content area.
A great kick-off activity is it to have your staff brainstorm “What distorts a grade?”

12. Guiding Practices 3. Grades will be based on a Body of Evidence
A collection of instructional tasks, such as assignments, assessments, presentations, products, and observations
Evidence will be categorized based on domains or learning goals
Evidence will be used to determine if student has met the learning outcomes for the course
Christina - 1
As outlined in the Policy and Rule a Body of Evidence is a collection of instructional tasks, such as assignments, assessments, presentations, products, and observations that aligns to standards/learning outcomes for a course.
We will have an entire presentation devoted to what it means to grade based on a body of evidence.

13. Guiding Practices 4. Grading scales must be consistent
The same work, completed in two different classrooms, should receive the same grade, even if the teacher is different.
Christina - 1
The same work, completed in two different classrooms, should receive the same grade, even if the teacher is different.
This gets at the heart of ensuring equitable outcomes for all students.

14. Guiding Practices
5. Students will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency
Multiple pieces of evidence are needed to be sure students have a good grasp of the learning topics before deciding a final grade
Students should be encouraged to edit and re-do work.
Christina - 1
Students must have multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency.

15. What is your role in shifting mindsets?
Principal
Department
Chairs
STAT Teachers
APs
Michelle – 8 minutes
Principals/ APs/ STAT have begun to take steps to shift the mindset in their schools. Two elementary principals are going to share how they have started conversations with their staff:
Will Cirrincione at Carroll Manor
Amy Grabner at Essex
What have you done in your building to:
Reiterate again – Before sharing Policy 5210 with your staff the best place to start is to help your staff come to a consensus that the primary purpose of an achievement grade it to communicate what a student knows and is able to do in a given content area.
Recommend everyone reads the article the
Final Note: This is a journey - Policy 5210 doStarting es not go into effect in
C & I

16. Grading Smarter Not Harder by Myron Dueck
Available via BCPS One
Digital Content (Scroll to the bottom of the page)
Select ASCD Book Shelf
Kim – 1 minute
Next month…check it out!

17. ASCD Bookshelf
Kim – 1 minute