Excited for 2015-16

As we prepare for another school year to begin, I want to take time to update everyone about the changes and goals we have for this year; First, at the high school we will no longer allow students to carry backpacks during the academic day. They will be allowed to carry their laptop and bag. This change is aligned to what most of our conference schools allow. We will make this change to lessen distractions in the classrooms and for safety reasons. Backpacks will be allowed in the building but will be stored in student lockers. The middle school already has this rule in place. Second, the middle school will no longer use 9 week quarters but will align with the high school and will use semesters only. There will no longer be quarter grades just semester. However, parents can check on grades and attendance any time using their password. Third, the middle school will have two semester celebrations and not quarter celebrations. We will split the first semester celebration with grades 5/6 on one day and 7/8 on another. This will cut down on the length of each celebration. The second semester celebration will be all together and will include an eighth grade graduation.

To continue with the Standards-based Education initiative, MS/HS Staff will have every standard and learning target posted for each class. Parents will be able to click on a course to view what is being taught and what is being expected of every student to learn and do. This is part of our goal to better communicate with parents and students course academic expectations. The same standards and learning targets will also be seen on student progress reports. This is a slight change from last year but will add consistency. Each learning target will be assessed and will lead to a grade/score for each standard. This will create a better picture of each students strengths and areas that need more support. The purpose of listing each standard and learning target separately, is to better communicate individual student learning, which is the main goal of Standards-based Education. We are also identifying Priority Standards (PS), which are the standards we feel students need to know versus others that may not be as important at this time. Once again the identifying of Priority Standards (PS) will help with the communication of course academic expectations and allow students to know ahead of time what they will be expected to know and do.

Our goal is to make the upcoming year the most memorable as possible. We have multiple new staff which we are excited about and will miss the staff that are leaving. The new staff will have the opportunity to create their own legacy, which usually means some things may change and others will remain the same. We will continue to make our buildings as safe as possible creating a positive learning environment. We will focus on building a culture of achievement. I encourage parents and students to contact me with any questions and concerns you may have. I will do my very best to respond as soon as possible.  

2014-15 Common Grading Guidelines

Here are the grading guidelines established by the middle and high school staffs. These will be implemented by every teacher in grades 5-12 beginning with the 2014-15 school year. They will be explained in detail at the upcoming meetings in August. These guidelines are part of our move to Standards-Based Grading.

Nodaway Valley

“GRADING GUIDELINES”

2014 - 15

Grades 5-12

No. 1 - B E H A V I O R

Behaviors will be reported independent of the grades for learning goals.

No. 2 - R E T A K E S

Students will be allowed retakes on learning assessments.

No. 3 - P R A C T I C E

Practice towards learning goals may be recorded but

will not be a part of the grade for a learning goal (weighted 0).

No. 4 - D I F F E R E N T I A T E

Instruction should be varied for individual needs in order to help every student meet learning goals.

No. 5 - A S S E S S   L E A R N I N G

Students will be assessed in multiple ways that accurately reflect their learning of the intended goal.

No. 6 - E X T R A   C R E D I T

Extra credit will not be utilized to affect the grade.

No. 7 - G R O U P   G R A D E S

Students will be graded on their independent work.

No. 8 - G R A D I N G   C U R V E S

Grades will be a reflection of student learning toward an intended goal. (No grading on the curve.)

No. 9 - Z E R O S

Zeros will be recorded for missing work until the work is completed. (see Rubric)

2014-15 New Grading System Information

The Middle and High School Staff spent the 2013-14 school year learning about SBG. We asked and answered many questions. We believe that this system of grading will be a more accurate method of communicating what every student knows and understands about the learning standards and targets. We will have common grading guidelines that will allow for the grades to be a more accurate reflection of learning. Here is some basic information about SBG. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. We will have parent and student informational meetings in August that will allow for questions and explanations.

NODAWAY VALLEY MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL

STANDARDS-BASED GRADING

INFORMATIONAL GUIDE

What is the purpose of Standards-Based Grading?

The purpose of standards-based grading is to improve student achievement by focusing instruction and the alignment of curriculum with the essential standards. Standards-based grading and reporting will provide better communication to students, parents, teachers and administrators on what each student knows and is able to do according to the identified standards and separately assess the influence of positive and consistent work habits on student learning.

Why use Standards-Based Grading?

Standards-based grading measures the proficiency of the learning objectives, or how well students understand the material in class. It is based on a specific set of standards that students need to meet for each content level. Grades are not a comparison of one student to another, but rather a way to measure how well students are doing on grade-level/course level standards. A standards-based approach allows parents and students to understand more clearly what is expected of students and how to help them be successful in their educational program.

What are the Benefits of Standards-Based Grading?

By reporting on specific learning standards, standards-based grading provides considerably more feedback about how a student is progressing toward learning each standard. This will allow the school to report student learning more accurately and to the degree to which students have attained mastery of learning objectives. It is essential for students to do homework that is tied closely to learning objectives and for students to see those connections. Teachers provide feedback on homework that is assigned to practice new skills. Attendance, effort, behavior, participation and other factors are important but separating these from achievement factors will give parents a clearer picture about their student's learning.

How does standards-based grading differ from traditional letter grades?

Standards-based grading provides information about what students have actually learned and know. Standards-based grading measures students' knowledge of grade-level content over time by reporting the most recent, consistent level of performance. So, a student might struggle in the beginning of a grading period with new content, but then learn and demonstrate proficient performance by the end of the grading period. In traditional grading, the student's performance for the whole grading period would be averaged and early quiz scores that were low would be averaged together with proficient performance later in the course resulting in a lower grade. In standards-based grading, a student who reaches proficiency would be reported proficient and the grade would reflect current performance level.

Everyone knows what an A-B-C-D-F and 100 point scale stands for. Why change?

Traditional grading often measures many different factors and compares how well students do to their classmates. Standards-based grading measures how well an individual student is doing in relation to the grade-level standard/skill, not the work of other students. In the 100-point system, the question becomes "100 percent of what?" There is a need to have more consistency and accuracy about what students know and are able to do. When a percentage system is applied, it can be misleading. 100 percent correctness on a set of very easy questions is very different from a slightly lower percentage on a set of difficult items. A 100-point scale does not consider difficulty of work and leads to an inaccurate measure of student learning relative to specific learning goals. Grades must be accurate and consistent to be useful. The use of a grading scale that is unequal, such as the 100-point scale, distorts the final grade as a true indicator of proficiency. The smaller equal interval scale will cause grading practices to be more accurate and consistent.

What is the effect on the students' Grade Point Average (GPA)?

Standards-based grading will have no effect on GPA. At the high school level, the 4.0 scale will be converted to a letter grade which is used to determine GPA.

What research has been done in developing standards-based grading?

Nodaway Valley has utilized research from the following experts in the field: Ken O'Connor, Rick Wormeli, Thomas Guskey and Rick Stiggins. We also received support and information from Solon and East Union Schools.

WHAT IF? (Competency Based Education)

What If…..

We decided on the content areas that would be taught to every student.
(Iowa Core, Local Decision)

Each category has a set number of standards.
(Iowa Core, Local Decision)

Students progress through each content area and standard for each level.
(Could equate to grade level material)

The students progress individually and could be at different levels in different content areas.
(From time based to performance based)

A student must demonstrate proficiency before moving on to the next concept.
(Equates to a B or better but the % may have to be changed to 80% for a B)

Report Cards would reflect standards and the levels completed by the student.
(advanced – proficient – developing – emerging)
(A – B – try again)

We replaced grade levels (like 9th grade) and just have levels for every content area.

Every student had an Individualized Learning Plan.

We have support resources in place for every student when needed.
(RTI, Title, Second Chance Reading, TAG)

We develop multiple assessments to be used to demonstrate proficiency.
(Formative, Project Based, Summative)

We used multiple methods to present information.
(Technology)

What are the positives if this concept was put in place?

What questions come to mind while thinking about this concept?

Welcome!

I am very excited to be here at Nodaway Valley. I will be starting my 8th year as a Principal. I am married and have three children. My wife teaches at Exira-EHK MS. I have 2 daughters, one who just graduated from the University of Iowa, one is a sophomore at BV and plays softball and my son is a sophomore in HS. I am very dedicated to my profession and work very hard to stay updated about what is happening in education. I will pay very close attention to what is happening in the classrooms and building. I believe in being proactive not reactive so I will be very visible. The size of this district allows for many options but yet allows us to follow students as individuals. My goal is to offer support when needed early and not wait until it becomes a major issue. We have some new staff for this year. At the time of this post they are; Marilee Kerber-HS Secretary, Jamaica Reed-Science, Shelly Twitchell-English, Jason Walter-Industrial Technology and Courtney Taglauer-Agriculture Education. Please welcome them to the High School. We will begin our second year of the 1:1 Laptop Initiative. Having that in place allows our students and staff the opportunity to expand the curriculum to meet each student's interests and needs. It will allow learning to take place 24/7 with unlimited resources. My passion currently lies with making learning very individualized. I will speak more about this later but I believe that if this is not happening here we must begin working towards this. Our focus must be on "people not programs." Feel free to contact me anytime.