I wrote about this two times previously, but it's worth mentioning again. 

Jason Buell, in his infinite wisdom, has been tweeting back and forth with some up-and-coming standards-based graders and had this to say:


It's not really about standards-based grading.  As much as I've promoted it and enjoy reading my colleague, Shawn, write so eloquently about SBG, our traditional system is broken, but it needs more than just a grading fix. 
  • Changing from a 100 point scale to a 4 or 5 point scale is a great start, but will you allow students to re-assess?
  • Permitting students to re-assess is a great start, but will you encourage them to do so?  Will you average the score or use a number that accurately represents his/her current level of understanding?
  • Allowing students to turn in late work is a great start, but does it even make sense to grade homework anymore?

These are just a few questions I wrestled with before, during and after the change to standards-based grading.  For those of you that have been at it a while, what other hurdles did you end up jumping?  For those of you jumping aboard the standards-based grading express soon, what other changes to your classroom are you making at the same time?