Standards-Based Learning in Action: Moving from Theory to Practice (a Guide to Implementing Standards-Based Grading, Instruction, and Learning)

Get past the knowing-doing gap and confidently implement standards-based learning. This book offers a comprehensive look at what standards-based learning looks like in action, from creating formative assessments to using data to inform instruction to transitioning to standards-based grading systems. Instead of comparing students to each other, standards-based learning compares students' proficiency levels to performance standards and learning targets. Each chapter offers readers a well-thought-out action plan for implementation and effective strategies for communicating with students and parents about the classroom changes that will occur during the transition.

Use this book as your action plan for implementing standards-based learning:

• Explore concrete steps for putting standards-based grading, instruction, and learning into action.
• Implement schoolwide change beginning with classroom practices.
• Address common implementation mistakes and challenges.
• Effectively sequence units and align them with unpacked standards and learning targets.
• Create effective proficiency level scales and rubrics.

Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Standards-Based Learning in Action
Chapter 2: Standards Alignment in Action
Chapter 3: Formative Assessment in Action
Chapter 4: Effective Feedback in Action
Chapter 5: Meaningful Homework in Action
Chapter 6: Self- and Peer Assessment in Action
Chapter 7: Summative Assessment in Action
Chapter 8: Redos, Retakes, and Reassessment in Action
Chapter 9: Proficiency Scales and Rubrics in Action
Chapter 10: Standards-Based Reporting in Action
Epilogue
References and Resources
Index

Tom Schimmer is an author and a speaker with expertise in assessment, grading, leadership, and behavioral support. Tom is a former district-level leader, school administrator, and teacher. As a district-level leader, he was a member of the senior management team responsible for overseeing the efforts to support and build the instructional and assessment capacities of teachers and administrators.

Tom is a sought-after speaker who presents internationally for schools and districts. He has worked extensively throughout North America, as well as in Vietnam, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Japan, India, Qatar, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. He earned a teaching degree from Boise State University and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of British Columbia.

Garnet Hillman is an educator, coach, writer, presenter, and learner. She was a Spanish teacher at Lockport Township High School and currently serves as an instructional coach at Caruso Middle School, both in Illinois. She consults around the country on the topics of assessment, grading, and student motivation. A passionate educator, Garnet values student learning above all else.

Garnet has published writing within Assessment 3.0 by Mark Barnes and What Connected Educators Do Differently by Todd Whitaker, Jeffrey Zoul, and Jimmy Casas. She was a featured teacher for Sophia.org and has four articles published on the website. In 2014, Garnet was a Bammy Award nominee for Secondary Teacher of the Year. She is a member of the Association for Middle Level Education as well as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. She serves in various capacities training colleagues on the topics of differentiated instruction, teacher evaluation, and standards-based assessment and grading.

Through her consulting work, Garnet emphasizes healthy grading and sound assessment practices. She has worked with a variety of school districts that desire to improve instruction, provide relevant and respectful assessment, cultivate grading practices that support learning, and increase student motivation. She provides rationale for a paradigm shift in grading methods and a step-by-step process for implementation.

Garnet holds a master's degree in educational leadership from Aurora University and a bachelor's degree in Spanish from Ohio University. She has also completed graduate coursework regarding instructional technology.

Mandy Stalets is a teacher and learner who focuses on sound grading practices and standards-based learning. She is currently a middle school mathematics teacher at Illinois State University's laboratory schools and was previously a high school mathematics teacher.

In 2010, Mandy introduced standards-based learning and grading to her K-8 school through a one-year trial in her own classroom. The success and excitement spread to be a schoolwide initiative the following year, eventually leading to the elimination of letter grades three years later. Mandy works with a wide variety of teachers, undergraduate students, and school districts to improve assessment and grading practices to maximize communication and student success. She provides rationale for the need for change in our current grading practices, as well as practical steps for implementation.

Mandy recently received the "Heart of Illinois One Teacher at a Time" award because of her work in the classroom. She is a member of the Association for Middle Level Education, Illinois Council for Teachers of Mathematics, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.