Volume 2 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 57

Journal of K-12 Educational Research 55 Lacey S. Rainey, Ed.D. THE EFFECT OF STANDARDS-BASED GRADING ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: A CORRELATIONAL INVESTIGATION Journal of K-12 Educational Research 2018, VOL. 2, ISSUE 1 www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd Introduction Educators are constantly searching for the best way to educate students given the demands and restraints set forth by national and state policymakers. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are continuously updated to ensure college and career readiness for every student in the state of Texas (Texas Ed - ucation Agency, 2007-2016). Practitioners are faced with making curricular decisions to determine which standards are most im- portant for students to master before entering the next grade level. In addition, the state of Texas assesses students on three types of standards (readiness, supporting, and process) in Grades 3-12. It is often an overwhelming task for educators, especially novice educators, to ensure mastery of all TEKS necessary for student promotion to the next grade level and to ensure students gain a met standard rating on the State of Texas Assessments of Aca - demic Readiness (STAAR). STAAR not only measures a child’s performance, it also measures the child’s academic growth. The test format accentuates readiness and process standards through bundling. Bundling is the strategic grouping of standards to as - sess a student’s problem-solving skills and the use of the content efficiently and effectively (Texas Education Agency, 2015c). The readiness standards are directly correlated to the college and career standards (Texas Education Agency, 2014b). Often, a discrepancy exists between the grades a student receives and the student’s performance on STAAR. Traditional forms of grading did not provide stakeholders with adequate predictors of student success on standardized assessments due to the subjectivity of evaluations, the vastly different approach to grading, and the use of non-academic achievement factors on which to base grades (Deddeh, Main, & Fuklerson, 2010; Wormeli, 2006). How students perform on a STAAR assessment could determine if the student is promoted, retained, or placed in remedial classes. STAAR performance eventually determines a student’s ability to enroll in an institution of higher education. The serious implications of STAAR result in a high-stakes assessment system. By determining the correlation between standards-based grading and student levels of growth and performance on the STAAR, school district leaders can im - plement policies and procedures regarding classroom grading. Background of the Problem With the increased rigor of STAAR, campuses and districts face insurmountable odds for reaching federal thresholds for student performance. This is especially prevalent when examining sub - groups. The U.S. Department of Education, through the determi - nation of the adequate yearly progress (AYP) measure, sets the federal thresholds for student performance. Based on the Texas Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook , 100% of students in each subgroup were to meet or exceed the AYP target in 2013-2014 (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). The subgroups identified by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are limit - ed English proficient, low income, special education, and ethnic groups of white, Hispanic/Latino, African American/Black, and Asian/Pacific Islander (Texas Education Agency, 2015a). For the state of Texas accountability system, these subgroups are calculated into the system safeguard measures. Performance for all subgroups is calculated separately and each subgroup student counts towards the overall score the campus and district earn. The results of not meeting federal thresholds for perfor - mance can be troublesome for a campus and/or school district. As