Standards-based scoring waters down the curriculum. Um...Really?
One common myth surrounding standards-based scoring and reporting is that scoring students based on clearly identified standards and benchmarks somehow "waters down" the curriculum. Let's take a quick look at this claim.
The core feature of standards-based grading is simply to clearly articulate to students what success looks like and how to get there, while removing (or at least reporting separately) the non-academic factors from the score. This has the effect of focussing learning on the core standards, knowledge, and skills. When teachers conflate the academic performance of a student with non-academic and compliance factors (Is your shirt tucked in? Did you raise your hand at least three times during class today? Did you use the bathroom this week?)....that's where the watering-down of curriculum happens.
In fact, standards-based scoring and reporting promotes a more rigorous curriculum. The focus is on learning the standards, without other distractors. There is far less room for subjectivity in scoring. And there's no place to hide (students or teachers) behind a single letter that may or may not reflect what the student can actually demonstrate. Standards-based scoring and reporting puts a laser focus on the essential knowledge and skills for students. That's rigor.
