SBA vs Traditional Grading

Students receive a performance level description (Met the Standard, Approaching the Standard, Developing Knowledge of the Standard) to indicate a students level of understanding for a particular standard.
Performance levels represent the overall trend of learning for a student. Performance levels are recorded for each individual grade level standard in a course.
Homework and daily assignments are considered formative (practice) and are not factored into a students performance level. Students receive feedback so that they may improve their knowledge and understanding leading to higher levels of achievement on summative assessments.
Performance levels are NOT used to punish students and only represent a student’s level of mastery. Effort, participation, turning work in on time, and time management are not part of a student’s performance level score.
Rubrics provide clear expectations of what it means for a student to achieve each performance level.

Students receive a letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) by averaging the total points earned during a grading period.
Grades are cumulative (a single grade for each course) and may not give an accurate picture of student learning
Homework and daily assignments are often graded and given points that become part of total points that are averaged at the end of the grading period to assign a letter grade. Students are penalized for doing poorly on homework.
Grades often punish students. A student who turned in an assignment late might receive a low grade based on when the work was turned in rather than the knowledge level of the student.
Students are often unsure about how work is graded as each assignment, quiz, or test may be graded differently.