| Summary: | The current generation of American students find themselves ill-prepared for the post-secondary level of mathematics study due to graduating high school without the requisite skills to be successful. While there are many factors that contribute to this defecit, it remains the job of educators and educational researchers to make strides toward bridging that gap. While standards-based pedagogical and curricular reforms have increased in popularity and predominance, this study
aimed to examine the impact of student grading and evaluation methodology on overall student achievement. Standards-based grading, a long-time practice in elementary schools, was implemented in two secondary mathematics classrooms at a rural school in western North Carolina. Through the use of detailed rubrics and feedback tracking worksheets, students were exposed to this method of grading throughout an entire semester in their Math 1 classes. To understand how these students would
differ from traditionally-graded students, a covariate analysis was carried out to determine the significance of grading systems upon student achievement on the North Carolina End-of-Course exam for Math 1. This analysis subsequently showed a significant relationship between membership in the standards-based classes with students showing higher levels of achievement than their traditional counterparts. Additionally, focus group interviews were held with teachers and students, both of
whom gave positive feedback regarding the standards-based system of grading, attesting to the specificity of the evaluation rubrics and the increased level of preparedness. Keywords: Standards-based Grading; mathematics; high school; evaluation; rubrics; student feedback; social cognitive theory; instructional techniques.
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