2021 Grading Conference - 7-12 STEM Focus
Day 1: Saturday June 26, 2021
Session 1: Keynote Speaker - Joe Feldman
Grading for Equity: What Is It, Why It Matters, and How It Can Transform Schools and Classrooms
Handout – Grading for Equity Pillars and Practices
Handout – Grading and Assessment Resources
Session 2A (Teachers/Administrators): Leveraging Grades to Support Learning – An Introduction to Mastery Grading
This talk is intended for faculty that are new(ish) to mastery grading, having never implemented it in a classroom setting. The presenters will be walking teachers and administrators . Although primarily targeted at newer practitioners of MBG, all are welcome!
Presenters: Annie Ransom (Science Coach ,University Preparation Charter School at California State University Channel Islands) and Ed Ransom (Teacher, Oxnard Union High School District)
Session 2B (Administrators): What Happens When an Entire School Goes to Mastery Grading
The Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering (ASCTE) is the nation’s only high school focused on the integration of cyber technology and engineering into all academic disciplines. From it’s founding in 2018, ASCTE implemented mastery grading across all disciplines, all classes. Come hear from the president of ASCTE about what it took for this to happen and how his team is making it work.
Presenter: Matt Massey (President, Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering)
Session 2C (Instructional Coaches/Department Chairs): Working with Faculty
In 2018, the California State University system eliminated remediation in Mathematics. As part of the redesign of general education mathematics classes, Cal State Los Angeles implemented a coordination program for the Quantitative Reasoning with Statistics course in which all 25-50 instructors in the course taught from a common structure that included Mastery Grading. This interactive workshop will look at how it was done, how the instructors were brought on board, and what the key items are to get faculty pulling in the same direction when it comes to Mastery Grading.
Presenter: Sharona Krinsky (Mathematics Faculty Member, California State University Los Angeles and Professional Development Specialist, College Bridge)
Session 3: Keynote Speaker - Matt Townsley
“Yeah, but…” Demystifying Seven Common Standards-Based Grading Myths
Handout – Scoring Activity
Implementing new and different grading practices often comes with push back from stakeholders. This session will provide anecdotes, research, and key conversation starters to take home for those on the receiving end of messages such as “if there are no points awarded for homework, students won’t do it” and “standards-based grading won’t prepare high school students for college.”
Day 2: Sunday June 27, 2021
Session 5A: Build-A-Syllabus Workshop (the PRIMUS paper and outline for use during this session)
Building off their paper published in the special issue of PRIMUS on Mastery Grading, these authors are presenting their fantastic Build-A-Syllabus Workshop. The presenters have crafted a thorough and clear path on how to build a Mastery Graded course. If you were not at the higher ed conference and have not caught this presentation at MAA or the other places they have presented, this one is a MUST attend for those who have never implemented MBG in a classroom, or would like to see how the authors thought about their class redesigns.
Host: Robert Bosley
Presenters: Tom Mahoney (Emporia State University), Chad Wiley (Emporia State University)
Session 5B: Experiences Supporting Mastery Grading from an Administrator’s Perspective
Hear from experienced administrators on their experience supporting the implementation of Mastery Grading at their institutions. In this interactive panel, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and hear first-hand about being an administrator in this environment.
Host: Owynn Lancaster (Chief Academic Officer, College Bridge)
Panelists: Kristian Einsweiler (Principal, Nevada High School), Matt Massey (President, Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering)
Session 5C: Building Mastery Grading Rubrics using Discipline Practice Standards
This interactive workshop will provide hands-on opportunities for participants to work on designing outcomes-aligned assessment rubrics by drawing from discipline based practice standards such as the NGSS Evidence Statements and the Common Core Mathematical Practice Standards. We will help you come up with a robust but simple system for assessing learning without bogging down in an overly complicated system.
Presenters: Annie Ransom (Science Coach ,University Preparation Charter School at California State University Channel Islands), Sharona Krinsky (Math Instructor, Cal State LA)
Session 6: Keynote Speaker - Thomas Guskey
Making Grades Fair, Accurate, Meaningful and Equitable
Effective grading and reporting require more than revising the report card. It means rethinking all the ways we communicate information about student learning. This presentation describes what we know about effective grading policies and practices through systematic research. Keeping in mind the many practical challenges teachers face, we review the importance of fairness and honesty in grading and describe ways to ensure meaningful communication between teachers, students and families. Procedures for implementing new reporting structures are highlighted, including standards-based grading, together with policies and practices that should be avoided due to their negative consequences for students, teachers, and schools.
Session 7A: Our Experiences with Mastery Grading
In this panel session, three experienced teachers will share their experiences with Mastery Grading – good or bad!
Facilitator: Robert Bosley
Panelists: Jamie Alarcon (Alternative Education Teacher), JR Stalcup (Teacher), Adam Wang (Math Teacher, Patti and Peter Neuwirth Leadership Academy)
Session 7B: Ready, Shoot, Aim! Writing Learning Outcomes (repeated as 8B)
This workshop will take a deeper dive into the process of writing effective, measurable learning outcomes. Come work with fellow participants to build this first pillar of Mastery Grading for your own course!
Presenter: Owynn Lancaster
Session 7C: Design Your Grading Architecture (repeated as 8A)
Many of the critical decisions that need to be made in redesigning a course for mastery grading are part of the grading architecture of the course. How will a student demonstrate mastery of an objective? How will those objectives inform the final grade? How will a teacher provide multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery and give feedback? In this session, we will look at each of the components of a grading architecture and discuss different options for rolling up to final grades, as well as ways to manage workload and community with students about the grading architecture.
Presenter: Sharona Krinsky
Session 8A: Design Your Grading Architecture (repeat of 7C)
Many of the critical decisions that need to be made in redesigning a course for mastery grading are part of the grading architecture of the course. How will a student demonstrate mastery of an objective? How will those objectives inform the final grade? How will a teacher provide multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery and give feedback? In this session, we will look at each of the components of a grading architecture and discuss different options for rolling up to final grades, as well as ways to manage workload and community with students about the grading architecture.
Presenter: Robert Bosley
Session 8B: Ready, Shoot, Aim! Writing Learning Outcomes (repeat of 7B)
This workshop will take a deeper dive into the process of writing effective, measurable learning outcomes. Come work with fellow participants to build this first pillar of Mastery Grading for your own course!
Presenter: Owynn Lancaster
Session 8C: Assessments and Reassessments
A critical component of Mastery Grading is that assessment of mastery is what matters. Therefore, it is critical to align your assessments to your learning objectives. In this workshop we will explore various methods of assessment throughout STEM disciplines and talk about the pros and cons of various methods. We will explore options for working on alignment with outcomes, giving feedback, and communicating with students.
Presenter: Sharona Krinsky
Session 9: Keynote Speaker and Conference Wrap Up - Robert Talbert
Iterations on Mastery Grading
Seven years ago, just a few days before the beginning of a new semester, I made a snap decision to throw out all the syllabi for my upcoming courses in college-level mathematics and redesign them from scratch with mastery grading at the core. In this talk, I’ll discuss why I did it, how I failed and succeeded in that first attempt, how I (think that I) learned from feedback and mistakes, and both why and how I intend to keep using mastery grading and iterating on my processes for the rest of my career.