The Emotional Weight of Being Graded, for Better or Worse
The trouble with these extreme emotional reactions to grades is that students’ knowledge of a subject is tied to their experience of the grade.
Office Hours: 30 minutes with Constance Borro
“Having specific, real-time data doesn’t seem possible in the status quo, but it is possible, and that data is transformative. “ Constance Borro, CEO of Mastery Portfolio Constance Borro, CEO of Mastery Portfolio, sat down with R.E.A.L Discussion to talk about Mastery Portoflio’s beginning, its strengths, and our ultimate goal of revolutionizing grading and assessment practices […]
Video: 6 Tips For Going Gradeless
Change the conversation about grading to one about learning. When a student asks, “what did I get?” redirect him/her to “what did you learn?” The language we use around learning matters, so we must be intentional when students want to talk about progress. Try to avoid speaking in terms of numbers and letters and focus […]
Could You Teach Without Grades?
Starr Sackstein, COO of Mastery Portfolio, and Jennifer Gonzalez from Cult of Pedagogy talk about redesigning grading and assessment in the classroom. Are you receiving pushback from educators or families regarding your use of standards-based grading? Are you focused on improving student self-assessment in your classroom? Starr Sackstein shared her experiences during her conversations on […]
Mastery Portfolio Takes the Guesswork Out of Standards-based Grading
At Mastery Portfolio, we partner with schools that are ready for an assessment paradigm shift. Our focus is grading and assessment practices that motivate students to be active participants in their journey toward learning growth and mastery. Below is an exerpt from Rev 1’s article, Mastery Portfolio Takes the Guesswork Out of Standards-Based Grading written […]
Reversing Grading Meltdowns: a MasteryBook User’s Story
Enthusiastically Written and Shared By Jessica Claasse, educator at BEIS Mastery portfolio was introduced to me on the verge of a grading meltdown. I am not sure if that is even a thing. But let’s call it what it is- Grading sucks. If I have to turn the seconds of sleep that I have lost […]
Teaching Students to Reflect and Self-Assess
Teachers can facilitate deep reflection and self-assessment even as young as in Kindergarten.
Addressing Pushback in the No-Grades Classroom
Making changes in education is not an easy thing. Most folks are fully willing to continue to participate in the status quo, occasionally questioning something that doesn’t feel quite right but also doesn’t feel wrong enough to actually try something different.
Instead of Standardized Testing, Consider Portfolio Assessment
Since learning is so nuanced, so too should be the means in which we assess it. Let’s offer students the opportunity to be seen as whole
people who can demonstrate different skills and knowledge in a plethora of ways over a period of time.
Student Self-Assessment Practices That Work
Self-assessment is a valuable tool as it gives students the ability to really consider their learning and equally
as importanly, share that understanding with the teacher. Once we understand what students know and can do, both demonstrated in the work and their ideas about the work, we can adjust instruction and/or class pacing as needed. The more adept students become with this tool, the better tailored class time and assessments can be.
