The last type of grading criteria we are going to discuss is progress. Progress is often related to product, but rather than being based on a grade/course level expectation, it's based on the starting point for an individual student. or Let's say a student is reading on a 2nd grade level. After one marking period that student is now reading on a 3rd grade level. What grade do you want to give that student? An 'A' right?
What if that student is in the 5th grade? If accuracy is the name of the game, then giving this student an 'A' based on 5th grade expectations throws accuracy out the window. Of course giving him an 'F' (or a 1, U, -, Unsatisfactory, etc.) doesn't help anybody and is dismissive of the incredible achievement this student has made.
So a big question when you are implementing SBG is "how do I recognize and reward progress, but still maintain accuracy." Grading according to progess is what we do when a student is not working on grade level expectations. Take the student above. He or she is clearly not going to be reading at a 5th grade level by the end of the year. In those cases we need to determine what should be that students expected level of achievement and grade according to those expectations. On the report card we will need to note that the grade is based on modified standards/expectations. Dr. Lee Ann Jung has developed a model for grading exceptional learners shown below.