QUESTIONS+AND+ANSWERS


 * Standards**
 * How will South Portland’s standards reflect the district philosophy of our schools?
 * What determines what is looks like to meet the standard?
 * What determines each level of achievement (e.g. does not meet, partially meets, meets, exceeds)?
 * If a student meets the standard, does he or she continue for the rest of the quarter?
 * Are the standards short term or yearlong standards?
 * Should the standards reflect processes or skills?
 * How will standards be communicated to parents?
 * Are there currently topics graded that aren’t measurable by standards?
 * What determines whether a student passes and / or graduates? How would the requirements be different?
 * Will the language be student and parent friendly or taken directly from the state of Maine //Learning Results//?
 * Will curriculum maps be a guide?
 * Are we evaluating and / or using one set of standards for all students (i.e. content, grade level, or course)?
 * Would we assess special education, advanced placement, and / or college preparatory students using the same performance targets within the same course?
 * Are there specific processes, skills, knowledge within content areas to “complete” their education?
 * Should we have clustered (e.g. K-3, 4-6, etc.) or grade-level or course specific standards?
 * What happens if a child does not meet the standards?


 * Instruction and Student Engagement**
 * Not enough instruction or student engagement?
 * How to motivate students just surviving?
 * How do we stop enabling?
 * How do we encourage students ownership of learning?
 * Does choice involve student learning or student demonstration of knowledge?
 * How are students involved in creating lessons?
 * How do we address the foundational skills?
 * What evidence is there that standards-based grading will increase student engagement and performance?
 * Where is it working well?
 * If elementary schools use this, are elementary students more engaged?
 * How does instruction in standards-based grading differ from our current system?
 * Is there evidence that standards-based grading has improved students’ performance on standardized tests?
 * How would standards-based grading affect the status of our interdisciplinary work?


 * Assessment and Feedback**
 * Common assessments or different assessments for each class or course?
 * Are all assessments standards based? Must they be?
 * Where do formative assessments fit it?
 * Creating common or streamlined feedback? Feedback: report cards?
 * Do all assessment feedback need to use the state of Maine //Learning Results// language?
 * How do we help parents and students interpret feedback? Would a standards-based grading system help with this?
 * Do assessments (what they currently are) need to change?
 * Do we need to or should we change instruction and outcomes to guide or match assessment and feedback?
 * Do we need to teach to the assessment?
 * Does every piece of an assessment need to be dictated MLR?
 * What of our current system needs to change?
 * Is there anything other than MLR we should consider when developing standards and assessments (e.g. SAT, NECAP, NWEAs, etc.)?
 * Do all MLRs need to be assessed?
 * Do content area teachers only assess their content area in MLR? For example, should or can a science teacher assess writing on a lab report?
 * Are non-MLR activities valid?
 * Who assesses what? Redundancy versus consistency?
 * Will there be a collection of evidence (i.e. portfolio or electronic portfolio) to show learning or “trending” over time?
 * Is standards-based grading a fair way to assess students?


 * Grading and Reporting Out**
 * How has standards-based grading been received by colleges and other institutions?
 * How manageable is standards-based grading for secondary teachers?
 * How can grades––class to class, grade to grade, and school to school––be consistent?
 * Is standards-based grading really changing anything?
 * How do we get community on board? Teachers? Parents? Colleges? Students?
 * What do grades look like–– numbers, words, checklists?
 * What is the biggest unexpected obstacle those that have implemented standards-based grading have encountered?
 * How often do we input assessments and report out in a standards-based grading system?
 * How would we handle new students or transfer students in a standards-based grading system?
 * Is standards-based grading compatible with Infinite Campus? How?
 * What format would we use for behavioral standards (i.e. numbers or words)?
 * What kind of system can we put into place that will accurately communicate student achievement in a way that is understandable, consistent, and manageable?
 * What does the formal product for communication look like (i.e. report card, four-page document, etc.)?
 * How would standards-based grading change or impact the day-to-day teacher work and interactions with students?
 * Once in place, what has the feedback in districts that have implemented standards-based grading?
 * Who will be involved in developing the new report card?
 * What is the difference between standards-based and standard-referenced grading? Which is best for us?
 * Will letters (i.e. meets the standard) or numbers be used for grades?
 * What do report cards look like? Narratives, numbers, rubrics?
 * How do schools communicate “grades” to other educational institutions (e.g. private high schools or colleges)?