This document provides an overview of Shanghai American School's implementation of a standards-based reporting (SBR) system at the middle school level. It discusses the history and goals of SBR, including moving the focus from grading to learning and providing more feedback to students and parents. It outlines the SBR implementation plan from 2009 to 2015. It also addresses research on SBR and how colleges view standards-based transcripts. Key aspects of SBR discussed include teaching and assessing to standards and reporting on student performance in relation to standards rather than letter grades.

1. Standards -Based Reporting
@
Shanghai American School

2. Overview
• History of SBR at the middle school.
• Why do we assess students?
• Why do we have report cards?
• Traditional versus Standards-Based Grading
• Standards: Common Core State Standards and Next • What does the parent portal in Power School look like?
• What will the report card look like?

3. SBR Task
Force Pudong -Humanities (x2),
Math (x2), PE, Health,
EAL, Vice Principal &
Principal
Puxi - Science, Art,
Academic Support,
Chinese, Drama + Vice
Principal & Principal
Task Force Meetings
October, 2011
February, 2012
April, 2012
September, 2012
October, 2012
November 2012
January, 2013
Parent Meetings
Nov. 2012 - Assessment Changes
Spring 2013 - SBR
Implementation
Fall 2013 - SBR Implementation
Winter 2014 - Principal Coffees

4. Summary of
Research
SBR is becoming
“best practice” in
middle schools.
SBR assists in
moving focus from
grading to learning
and provides more
feedback to students
and parents.

5. The Implementation Plan
2009/10 Assessment Procedures/Policy
2010/11 Assessment Policies Completed, Student Learner Profile (SLP) Adopted
2011/12 SLP Integration, SBR Research Task Force
2012/13 Reporting Standards, Performance Indicators, PowerSchool Prep Completed
2013/14 Initial - Voluntary Early Adopters or Subject Area(s) or Grade Level(s)
2014/15 Expanding – Additional Roll-out (All but Humanities)
2015/16 Complete – All MS integrated in August, 2015

6. Research, Colleges & SBR
The research included feedback from the
following top-ranked institutions:
Harvard University
Princeton University
Yale University
MA Institute of Technology
Stanford University
California Institute of Technology
University of Pennsylvania
Columbia University
Duke University
University of Chicago
Northwestern University
Cornell University
Brown University
Emory University
Vanderbilt University
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Virginia
SBR started in about
1989
Research conducted in
2009
Surveyed top-ranked
and regional institutions

7. SAccoBrdinRg to t h&e rep oCrt, GPoA lrelleevangce eis Admissions
debatable due to widely varying grading
scales and weighting practices among
high schools. Colleges and universities
look for some of the following types of
information from high schools to help
them navigate discrepancies:
Background from the guidance
department on the high school's students,
grading scales, and academic rigor.
Evaluation of a high school’s past
students and their success at the
institution.
GPA recalculation based on specific
core courses.
GPA recalculation to exclude or include
weight for honors, Advanced Placement,
or International Baccalaureate courses.
Required or recommended interview
with an admissions officer, in person or
via the Internet.
Visits to high schools, where officers
Conclusion:
The Hanover Research Council
report states that “Generally,
admissions offices treat all
grades as welcome indicators of
high school performance while
implicitly acknowledging that
every school has a unique
perspective, student body, and
system.”
None of the college admissions
offices contacted expressed a
concern or a negative view of a
transcript based on standards-based
grading.

11. How does this change the
conversation?

12. Three different components to
standards-based instruction
Teaching to
standards
Assessing to
standards
Reporting on
standards

13. What is Standards Based Reporting?
1) Teachers provide feedback to
students and report on how students
are performing in relation to
standards.
2) Student behavior is separated from
academic data and reported
separately. (Learning Behaviors)
3) Students receive a proficiency
report in relation to standards
instead of a grade.

14. Why Standards-Based Reporting?
1) SBR provides students and parents more
information on what a student knows and can do.
A. Describes specific elements of CONTENT.
“what we want students to know.”
B. Describes levels of PERFORMANCE.
“what we want students to be able to do.
2) SBR enables student to focus on learning, not
grading.
3) SBR enables students to take more
responsibility for their own learning.

18. What more should I know?
Purpos
e?
Frequently Asked Questions? (FAQs)

20. Specifically looking at any
Subject Area (except Humanities)…

22. Summative
Assessments
Formative
Assessments

23. Draft Mock-Up

24. Draft Mock-Up

25. Draft Mock-Up

26. Draft Mock-Up
(SLP)

27. Draft Mock-Up
(SLP)

28. Draft Mock-Up

29. Draft Mock-Up

30. Draft Mock-Up

31. Which standards are we basing reporting on?
• Common Core State Standards: (adopted in math and anticipate http://www.corestandards.org/standards-in-your-state/
• Next Generation Science Standards:
http://www.nextgenscience.org/

34. Ed. Leaders Who Inform Our Work
Larry Ainsworth: Executive Director of Professional Development at The Leadership and Learning Center; Rigorous
Curriculum Design, “Unwrapping” the Standards, Power Standards, Common Formative Assessments and Student Generated
Rubrics.
Thomas Guskey: Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Kentucky; includes 18 books, 36 book chapters,
and over 200 journal articles and professional papers. His most recent book is Developing Standards-Based Report Cards
(Corwin, 2010).
Robert Marzano: Cofounder and CEO of Marzano Research Laboratory, author of more than 30 books and 150
articles on instruction, assessment, writing and implementing standards, cognition, effective leadership, and school intervention.
Jay McTighe: Educational consultant; author of 22 books and articles on curriculum and instruction, assessment,
differentiation, curriculum planning, effective instruction, and schooling by design.
Ken O’Connor: Independent educational consultant who specializes who specializes in student achievement,
especially grading and reporting; primary consultant for Pearson’s Power Teacher Gradebook; author of 7 books related to
grading practices for the 21st century and numerous articles and chapters on assessment and reporting practices.
Douglas Reeves: Founder of the Leadership and Learning Center; author of 30 books and many articles on
leadership and organizational effectiveness; twice named to the Harvard University Distinguished Author series.
Rick Stiggins: Founder of the Assessment Training Institute; author of numerous books, articles, and papers on
assessment practices in the classroom and its impact on student success.
Grant Wiggins: President of Authentic Education; widely known for his work in assessment reform; best known for co-authoring
the Understanding By Design framework; presents on over 20 topics including assessment, assessment reform,
curriculum planning, questioning techniques, and re-designing report cards.
Rick Wormeli: Columnist for National Middle School Association’s Middle Ground magazine, author of Fair Isn’t Always
Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom.