Standards Based Grading

One of the questions that I had going into a project like this is how do I keep stay true to physics in the context of a real world problem. There is no doubt on my part that a real world problem like lighting schools that are off the grid requires some knowledge of physics, and of the underlying principles of physics like inquiry, openness, experimenting, and mathematical modeling.

So this year I am using standards based grading. Much has been written about it lately. Essentially I have looked at what I really want my students to know and written those things down. Now everything we do in class works us towards achieving those goals. With the students when we choose a topic that we need to study to get the lights on we will sprinkle in the standards from my list of physics students should know. That explains why I cannot link to a list yet, I do not want to direct the study, just put constraints o it as it develops.

I am not sure how different this is, except that I think it makes my grade book infinitely more clear to people not me (like students, parents and administrators). I am looking forward to discussion about improving grades being about what the student knows and not how many points they have. I am looking forward to discussing with students what is important and how they feel they have added to their knowledge rather than imposing both these things on kids.

I am a little worried that the first grades will not be in the book right away, in fact they were not. I am worried that grading with be compacted into the end of a unit of study. I am worried that the students who know how to play the grade game well will be ridiculously uncomfortable. Being good that a specific game often makes you unwilling to play a new one.