This year in my AP Stats classes I'm going to use Standards Based Grading. Nothing I've ever tried in my classroom has ever elicited so much curiosity, so I thought I'd try and blog about it. To begin this process, you have to chose a list of standards. My friend Drew who teaches Spanish and uses SBG tells me he changes his list every year. That relieved some pressure. It's not as if this the Perfect-List-of-Standards-for-All-Time.
The indented standards are sub-standards. Their scores will be averaged together to provide the overall standard grade for that topic. Most standards will not be graded on averages, however. They will graded using a power curve. This is the recommended function by the researcher Marzano. This curve is built into the program Easy Grade Pro, which I will be using. To see an example of how the power law works, take a look right here, towards the bottom of the page. I will grade projects and multiple choice tests on an average instead of a power law, but more on that later.
I will grade every item according to a 4 point rubric. As AP Stats already uses a 4 point rubric this works out rather well. (Note: I am departing from Marzano's system. He views a 4 as a score that is only given when a student goes above and beyond.) Every standard will be assessed multiple times. As the year progresses, the power law will determine the student's true ability on each standard. Then the standards are all averaged together (some with double weight. I can weight in EPG as I'd like. I'm sure I'll be changing that over the years) and an overall score from 0 to 4 is determined.
I've currently set 3.33 as the bottom of the A's, 2.75 for B and 2.0 for a C. I am very confident about the 2.0 standard for a C-. When students practice for the AP exam, I always tell them that they have to average 2's on the rubrics if they're going to pass. The actual score needed to pass the AP test is usually lower than this, but in my classroom, students who score 2's pass the AP test with a 3.
There is so much more to say, but this blog post is already long. You can put questions in the comments, email, twitter, or wherever. I'll try to keep this going.
AP Stats Standards for SBG
*I EDA Students can graph, analyze and describe data
Cat (3) Students can graph and describe categorical variables
*Quant (4/5) Students can graph, describe and compare quantitative variables.
*II LinReg Students can use and interpret linear regression models
III Design Students can apply and analyze methods for surveys, studies and experiments.
*IV Prob Students can calculate and explain probabilities, including random variables, normal calculations and the binomial model.
P (14/15) Students will be able to solve probability problems
RV (16) Students can use and interpret random variables
N (6) Students can calculate normal probabilities
B (17) Students can calculate and explain binomial probabilites
SD (18) Students can calculate and describe sampling distributions
*V Prop Students can perform and interpret inference for proportions.
*VI Mean Students can perform and interpret inference for means.
VII Groups Students can use and interpret chi-square and slope inference.
Apply Students can apply, analyze and describe real world usage of statistics.
*MC Students can apply statistical concepts when asked in a multiple choice format.
*Double weighted standards