SBG Step 2: What to Know

Now that I have learning targets set up for each unit, I am writing a bullet list of exactly what that student must do in order to demonstrate mastery. I struggled with this a lot, but the kids absolutely love it. I can't believe how much anxiety has been reduced in my classroom. They know exactly what they need to learn.

In the future (baby steps, remember) I would like to have a guideline for each target. If you know this...then you get 4 points. If you know that...then you get 2 points. Basically, it would be a rubric on how each target is graded.

Of course, I would love to have that now, but I don't want to have a nervous breakdown. Although, I wonder if they would let me have my notebook in an isolation room... No, definitely a bad idea.

I went and got a separate binder for all of this. Each unit's targets are printed on a separate page with space in between to take notes. The units we have already covered are bleeding red ink. I find that I edit quite a bit as I am grading. Some mistakes are made repeatedly by several students, so I make a note of those misconceptions as well.

If nothing else, this process has really opened my eyes as to holes in my teaching and assessing practices. So far, my kids are on board. Most of the students who have taken advantage of the reassessments have given me postive feedback. I still have a few students who haven't quite grasped the concept of learning the material in order to raise the grade, but overall, I love the change this has brought to my classroom.