Criterion-Based Grading Presentation - San Francisco State University Stem Symposium Presentation

In February 2020 I applied and was accepted to present my model of Criterion-Based Grading that I had been using in my honors Pre-Calculus classes during the 2019-2020 School year. It was an honor to be invited and a challenge to articulate a case for why STEM teachers should consider breaking with traditional systems of grading and switch to a system that explicitly prioritized thinking and learning skills such as investigation, communication, collaboration and executive functioning. The argument I laid out addressed 4 challenges I see teachers face when trying to assign tasks that are rich, complex and worthy of authentic engagement on the part of students in a traditional assessment context. Then I articulate how Criterion-Based grading gives teachers the license for creativity and flexibility for assigning such tasks while simultaneously giving students the opportunity to participate and contribute to designing the tools for assessment. The challenge, I maintain, is accomplishing all of this successfully in a traditional school-wide grading system, but I attempt to provide pragmatic and achievable solutions that I found worked in my classes and drew support from my students in the 2019-2020 academic year.

For the complete lecture, feel free to check out a YouTube version of the presentation.