Two Dimensional Scoring

Though shortened by Hurricane Sandy's approach, the Experts Down the Hall conference provided me with some new and old ideas to ponder. One session I attended focused on the connections between standards based education and RTI. The presenter (Ann Cutten) showed an interesting model for her presentation. While this was helpful enough, I have adopted the format of her model as a means of understanding standards based scoring. My version of the model is shown below.

This two dimensional diagram is different from the typical one dimensional approach to standards based scoring. I have to say that I prefer this model as it reflects the two major factors in scoring student work - the content level and the product level.

Content Level refers to the rigor of the content skills and/or knowledge being assessed. Content that is more challenging than the grade level expectation shifts a score upward into the purple, "4" zone. Content that is more grade level based doesn't shift the score as far up and winds up in the green, "3"zone. Content that is below grade level falls into the yellow or red, "2" or "1" zone.

Product Level refers to the rigor of the assessment form and the quality of product. Some also might prefer to consider the Product Level as a level of Blooms Taxonomy. Products that require higher level thinking shift a score toward the right into the purple, "4" zone (if done well).  Products that require a lower level of thinking don't shift as far to the right and wind up in the green, "3" zone (if done well). Tasks that are rudimentary would fall into either the yellow or red, "2" or "1", zone (if done well). Of course, if a task is not done well, then a (hopefully temporary) shift toward a lower score zone would be appropriate.

When scoring, it can be helpful to consider both dimensions of an assessment. By treating the two factors as a coordinate pair, one can get a rough idea of what a student's score on an assessment should be. For example, a student who produces a higher level thinking product involving higher level content would earn a 4. Sometimes, this easiest of cases will occur and both the content and product levels will be the same. Where it gets a bit more tricky is when the two dimensions are not the same. This is where using a .5 system can be helpful. In the .5 system, a student who produces a moderately higher level thinking product (3) involving higher than grade level content (4) can receive a score of 3.5.

While far from perfect, this two dimensional approach to standards based scoring bears some consideration. It allows for students to reach for the almighty "4" while more accurately reflecting the two main factors of any assessment.