Eight Steps to Meaningful Grading

Why this article discuss about meaningful grading? Meaningful grading or standards-based grading is a grading process which features the ending grade of an evaluation. In standars-based grading, there is no task which will be assessed, both homework, individual task or group task, even behaviors also not included in grading process!! It is pretty different with the traditional grading, isn't it?

Understanding the material of learning is the objective learning of this meaningful grading type. Grades which is obtained in traditional grading systems are usually based on combination of formative and summative assessments, but in standars-based grading, grades are obtained from summative test only (which is designed to measure content mastery)

Here, I will show some steps how to applied standars-based grading :

1. As a teacher we should know about the grading types and their positive aspect, especially we have to learn more about standars-based grading practices.
2. Teacher should have a partner, to educate and involve the school administrators, counselors, and the other support staff. It is possible to do everything alone, but it will be better and efficient if we have a partner.
3. Lesson plan also important thing to determine the material is appropriate or not to students. Lesson plan allows us to assess learning, communicate mastery, and reteach when necessary. Teacher plan with the end in mind to ensure that we cover all necessary standards. 
4. Most of teacher teach their students not based on lesson plan which have been made by them before. Following the lesson plan well is the most great determining factor in successful learning.
5. Homework, practices, formative test, individual and group tasks still included in this grading type, but there is no grading in there. With this step, students can develop self-awareness and maturity in their learning.
6. Eliminating extraneous items that were not standard-based also need in this type, such as : homework and group tasks, because neither of those gives an accurate measurement of individual students achievements.
7. Learning may take more than one attempt. Multiple practices without penalty would be an essential addition in this grading approach.
8. Keep records of student grading development :)

My opinion :

Every grading types have their own advantages. In traditional grading, student can get a good grade in the end if they do their task well, even they have low skills in academic or they fail in summative test, they still can get a good grade if they have good behavior and do homework or tasks well. In the other hand, standars-based grading, homework is essential (it does not matter at all if the students do not do their homework or tasks) because homework will not be included in the grade. The determining final grade is obtained from summative test, but the student have to be ready for that because they have been really prepared.

In Indonesia, the standars-based grading maybe still difficult to be applied because of unreadiness from the governent, I mean that the curriculum has been design in order to appropriate with the time allocation in whole of semester, I think if we always wait and wait, try and try practices the students to faced the summative test with the limited time, it will be so difficult. The next material will be approached, if we just stuck in a chapter. I think school precisely have to repeat the material again and again, but just twice or three time only, because if we wait until the student have really understood, it will need a lot of time. Umm ... I think homework, individual and group task are still important to be included in grading, because from them we can know the different character of students, maybe the student is lazy but when summative test, he/she get good grade or the diligent student which get a bad grade in the final, can summative test really measure the ability of the student? Not all, right?