Q. How are the Mastery Level scores for each Standard calculated in the Standards-Based Gradebook?
A. The Mastery Level scores for each Standard are calculated using your Mastery-Level Calculation, which takes the history of a student's performance on a Standard and combines it into a single overall score representing the student's current level of mastery.
If you're a domain administrator and you'd like some advice on choosing which Mastery Level Calculation Method(s) to make available, check out our SBG Starter Kit for Admins.
In the Standards-Based Gradebook, teachers can see which Mastery-Level Calculation Method is in use by clicking on any score, then hovering over the question mark next to the score.
Teachers can view and edit the Mastery-Level Calculation Method in place in their gradebook by selecting Manage Gradebook > Update Mastery Settings.
Domain administrators can also go to Domain Control > Applications > Features > Standards-Based Grading > Settings >Manage Organization > Update Calculations to view and edit the default and available Mastery Level Calculation Methods for each Organization in their domain.
There are many different Mastery Level Calculation Methods. Which ones you choose depends on what you want your Mastery Scores to measure.
If you want to focus on how each student is doing now, then you should consider the following Mastery Level Calculation Methods.
- Most Recent: The most recent score is used as the overall score for the Standard. No other scores are used in the calculation.
- Average of Most Recent 3: The average of the three most recent scores is used as the overall score for the Standard.
- Decaying Average: The most recent score counts for a certain percentage of the overall score, and the previous overall score counts for the rest. For instance, with Decaying Average, 65%, the most recent score counts for 65% and the previous overall score counts for 35%. This means that everything counts for at least a little bit, but the most recent scores count for a lot more.
- Power Law: A "best fit" function is used to estimate the student's current level of mastery based on past performance and improvement.
If you want to focus on each student's top performances, then you should consider the following Mastery Level Calculation Methods:
- Maximum: The highest score is used as the overall score for the Standard. No other scores are used in the calculation.
- Average of 3 Highest: The average of the highest three scores scores is used as the overall score for the Standard.
If you want to focus on how consistently each student has performed throughout the class, then you should consider the following Mastery Level Calculation Methods:
- Median: The middle score is used as the overall score for the Standard.
- Average: The average of all scores is used as the overall score for the Standard.
Note: Averages are often inappropriate for Standards-Based Grading. You may want to read this article on averages before choosing Average as your Mastery Level Calculation Method.
Have more questions about Standards-Based Grading? Check out our Introduction to Standards-Based Grading and our Standards-Based Grading FAQ!
