106. Standards-Based Grading, Citizenship Grades, Motivation and MORE With Guest Jennica Harrison

2023-11-27

I love talking about science content, curriculum, engaging activities, and practical strategies you can implement in your own classroom. But when my audience inquires about topics I’m not so sure about, I bring in experts who can share their knowledge. That’s exactly what I did when it came to discussing standards-based grading. My guest on today’s episode, Jennica Harrison, shares her perspective, experience, and implementation of standards-based grading in her secondary science classroom.

Jennica is very open and honest about the challenges she faced when implementing standards-based grading but says the pros outweigh the cons. She discusses her transition to this type of grading, practical tips for doing it, and how it impacted her students. Since this might be a different way of thinking, Jennica shares examples from her own classroom and grade book that provide clarification on how this works in a secondary science classroom.

As our conversation flowed, each topic she discussed brought up more questions from me about how standards-based grading worked, along with the mathematical side. Jennica explicitly explained her interpretation and how she has made this switch successful in her classroom. Ultimately, she says it really comes down to being transparent with your students, making mistakes and readjusting, and knowing it’s not going to be perfect all the time.

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