I read this book in a cohort with a few other schools and we got to meet via Zoom with the author once a month. Reading the book was great but hearing him discuss the key points was even better! I learned a ton about Standards Based Grading but also felt like this book was more administrator aimed for some chapters. ( )

In Grading from the Inside Out: Bringing Accuracy to Student Assessment Through a Standards-Based Mindset, Tom Schimmer, offers simple steps to support the challenging move to standards-based grading. At the beginning Schimmer talks about balanced assessment. He says, “The balance between formative and summative assessment is analogous to the relationship between practice and games, between rehearsal and performance.” This analogy surfaces throughout the text. It offers one of the easiest explanations for stakeholders regarding the differences, and uses, of summative and formative assessment. Schimmer offers good reminders about the value of gathering insights into what happens in our students’ lives outside of school to help us better understand where and how students are successful, knowing that sometimes grade may not be accurate reflections.

Each chapter closes with “questions for learning teams” designed to offer opportunities for self-reflection and team conversation. These questions promote the baby steps and scaffolding necessary for this courageous change in the practice of grading. Schimmers ideas about reassessment and student reflection support the formative assessment practice of activating students as learners. Every chapter offers ideas about how to communicate the steps along this new grading journey with parents.

Schimmer’s ideas about homework help clarify the ongoing debate around this topic. “…practice is where their children have room to risk, experiment, and even fail without fear of penalty.” What parent doesn’t want their child to have an opportunity like that? Thinking about homework that is learning centered, reasonable, high quality, and considering if the students are ready for this practice may be shifts for some educators. He recommends sharing three key elements with parents: 1) emphasize quality over quantity, 2) emphasize purpose over time, and 3) emphasize external support.

Changing grading practices is a transformation. Schimmer maps out a progression for this transformation.