D184 Study Guide: Grading Systems and Proficiency Scales Explained
1. What is a benefit of a standards-based grading system for high-achieving students?
a. Instruction can be easily adjusted to provide new, more complex learning
targets.
2. How is a narrative-based system different than a standards-based grading system?
a. The standards-based grading system uses proficiency scores, but the
narrative grading system does not.
3. Which factor distinguishes norm-referenced grading from standards-based grading?
a. Performance of the rest of the class
4. What is a benefit of using standards-based grading compared to norm-referenced
grading?
a. Standards-based grading is more focused on the learning targets than
norm-referenced grading.
5. Why do teachers only grade student work related to the achievement of learning
targets in standards-based grading systems?
a. Teachers are able to help students focus on learning goals and track their
progress.
6. A grading scale reflects the following details:
4 achievement levels — Advanced
3 achievement levels — Meets expectations
2 achievement levels — Partial mastery
1 achievement level — Little or no mastery
Which grading system does this grading scale represent?
a. Standards-based grading
7. How do standards-based grading systems support struggling students compared to
other common grading systems?
a. By allowing students to redo lessons and assignments as many times as
necessary
8. What is one difference between using criterion-referenced scoring in
standards-based grading systems as opposed to using norm-referenced scoring?
a. Criterion-referenced scoring measures student progress toward mastery of
specific criteria, while norm-referenced scoring measures progress relative to
percentiles.
9. What is a criticism of standards-based grading systems?
, a. They do not reflect students' proficiency in soft skills such as time management
and creativity.
10. Which problematic assessment practice does standards-based grading help
teachers avoid?
a. Tagging multiple standards
11. Which statement is a criticism of standards-based grading systems?
a. Assessments are too narrowly focused.
12. How are measurement topics beneficial to teachers?
a. They help teachers identify a small set of themes to focus on during instruction.
13. An English language arts teacher is unpacking the following standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.10: “By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature,
including stories, dramas, and poems for grades 6–8 text complexity band
proficiently with scaffolding as needed, at the high end of the range” (Common Core
Standards Initiative, 2021).
Which terms reflect the content of the standard?
a. Stories, dramas, poems
14. A teacher must determine a relevant focus statement based on this standard for a
U.S. history course:
"The student understands the differences between the economic, technological, and
human resources of both sides of a conflict."
Which focus statement reflects this standard?
a. Knows about the materials that contributed to an event and its outcome
15. Which focus statement represents procedural knowledge?
a. Composes sentences using a keyboard
16. Which focus statement represents declarative knowledge?
a. Comprehends who the antagonist is in a short story
17. Which focus statement represents procedural knowledge?
a. Writes Roman numerals from 1 to 100
18. A 10th-grade world history teacher is reviewing the following standard for the
curriculum and making note of the measurement topics:
HSS-10.2.2: "List the principles of the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights (1689),
the American Declaration of Independence (1776), the French Declaration of the
Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789), and the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791)" (California
Department of Education, 1998).
1. What is a benefit of a standards-based grading system for high-achieving students?
a. Instruction can be easily adjusted to provide new, more complex learning
targets.
2. How is a narrative-based system different than a standards-based grading system?
a. The standards-based grading system uses proficiency scores, but the
narrative grading system does not.
3. Which factor distinguishes norm-referenced grading from standards-based grading?
a. Performance of the rest of the class
4. What is a benefit of using standards-based grading compared to norm-referenced
grading?
a. Standards-based grading is more focused on the learning targets than
norm-referenced grading.
5. Why do teachers only grade student work related to the achievement of learning
targets in standards-based grading systems?
a. Teachers are able to help students focus on learning goals and track their
progress.
6. A grading scale reflects the following details:
4 achievement levels — Advanced
3 achievement levels — Meets expectations
2 achievement levels — Partial mastery
1 achievement level — Little or no mastery
Which grading system does this grading scale represent?
a. Standards-based grading
7. How do standards-based grading systems support struggling students compared to
other common grading systems?
a. By allowing students to redo lessons and assignments as many times as
necessary
8. What is one difference between using criterion-referenced scoring in
standards-based grading systems as opposed to using norm-referenced scoring?
a. Criterion-referenced scoring measures student progress toward mastery of
specific criteria, while norm-referenced scoring measures progress relative to
percentiles.
9. What is a criticism of standards-based grading systems?
, a. They do not reflect students' proficiency in soft skills such as time management
and creativity.
10. Which problematic assessment practice does standards-based grading help
teachers avoid?
a. Tagging multiple standards
11. Which statement is a criticism of standards-based grading systems?
a. Assessments are too narrowly focused.
12. How are measurement topics beneficial to teachers?
a. They help teachers identify a small set of themes to focus on during instruction.
13. An English language arts teacher is unpacking the following standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.10: “By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature,
including stories, dramas, and poems for grades 6–8 text complexity band
proficiently with scaffolding as needed, at the high end of the range” (Common Core
Standards Initiative, 2021).
Which terms reflect the content of the standard?
a. Stories, dramas, poems
14. A teacher must determine a relevant focus statement based on this standard for a
U.S. history course:
"The student understands the differences between the economic, technological, and
human resources of both sides of a conflict."
Which focus statement reflects this standard?
a. Knows about the materials that contributed to an event and its outcome
15. Which focus statement represents procedural knowledge?
a. Composes sentences using a keyboard
16. Which focus statement represents declarative knowledge?
a. Comprehends who the antagonist is in a short story
17. Which focus statement represents procedural knowledge?
a. Writes Roman numerals from 1 to 100
18. A 10th-grade world history teacher is reviewing the following standard for the
curriculum and making note of the measurement topics:
HSS-10.2.2: "List the principles of the Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights (1689),
the American Declaration of Independence (1776), the French Declaration of the
Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789), and the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791)" (California
Department of Education, 1998).
