Aligning Assessing and Grading with Proficiency-Based Language Teaching: Challenges and Strategies with Michelle Olah

Is our assessment and grading system aligned with how we teach? Episode 93 of Growing with Proficiency The Podcast opens with this important question.

Join me in my conversation with Michelle Olah as we discuss aligning grading practices with actual language proficiency and the disconnect between traditional grading systems and what we do in class while discussing the need for a shift towards proficiency-based assessments.

We also explore the implications of such a shift, including the philosophical and logistical changes required to implement grading practices that genuinely reflect students’ abilities to communicate and understand the language.

In episode 93, we provide insights into transitioning from a traditional grading system, which often emphasizes rote memorization and penalizes mistakes, to a more dynamic, proficiency-based approach that celebrates communicative competence and real-world language use. The episode also highlights practical strategies for developing rubrics aligned with proficiency standards, engaging with students and parents about the changes, and ensuring grading practices promote equity and motivation.

This post will highlight these topics from our discussion, but to hear all of the details, listen here to episode 93.

What is Proficiency-Based Grading?

Michelle first joined me last year in Growing with Proficiency The Spanish Teacher Academy to speak with our members about proficiency-based grading and how we can better assess. I knew then that I needed to have Michelle on the podcast to discuss the dos and don’ts of this type of grading. First, though, I asked Michelle to help us understand the concept of proficiency-based grading.

Michelle explained that the biggest difference from traditional grading is that proficiency-based grading is going to align and reflect to your proficiency-based teaching. Basically, that just means that you’re grading in a way that aligns with what you’re trying to do in the classroom and how we’re trying to move students forward. It’s focused on what students can do in the language, not just what they don’t know about the language itself. Proficiency-based grading is also focusing on feedback.

The assessments should be asking:

• Are they reflecting on the things you do in your classroom every day?
• Are they using the modes of communication?
• Are they in the various modes of communication?
• Are they communicative?
• Are they authentic?
• Are they simulating at least what the we want our students to do out there in the real world with that language?

How to Start

Next, I asked Michelle to give us three or four things that we can do when we are starting out with proficiency-based grading and assessment. First, teachers must understand proficiency guidelines and communicate learning goals to students. Michelle suggests focusing on a few key indicators for each level, such as word lists, to facilitate feedback and progress in a proficiency-focused classroom. Listen to episode 93 as we explain the importance of understanding proficiency levels in a language class, focusing on novice, mid, and high levels.

Proficiency-Based Rubric

After the important step of shifting to a proficiency-based mindset, next is to address rubrics. In episode 93, Michelle emphasized the importance of scaffolding in a rubric, starting with performance indicators or proficiency levels, and checking off what students know and what they need to work on. She also suggests using a basic single-point rubric with a can-do statement in the middle, and improvement areas on the left and strengths on the right. One other important point to make is to ensure that students understand that rubric. 

Michelle and I also clarified that assessments and grades are linked but distinct, with assessments focusing on feedback and growth, while grades are the final score. Remember that ongoing assessments throughout the year provide constant feedback to students, while the rubric is used for grading at the end. Also, use pre-assessments to help students understand rubrics and improve their performance.

Proficiency-Based Grading

Here are some questions to ask yourself about your grade book:

• Does your grade book reflect the sort of things that you are doing in your classroom?
• Does it align with your assessment?
• Does it align with what you want your classroom community and learning to be?

Michelle suggests that grading practices should align with coaching principles, prioritizing feedback and performance assessments over averaged grades. One change that I have made regarding my grade book is to put in modes of communication. For my level one students, I prioritize input over output in my grade book, reflecting my focus on listening and reading. I’ve shifted the focus on receptive skills over productive skills. Listen to episode 93 here to learn more strategies for implementing proficiency-based grading in the classroom.

Things to Consider

Another thing that Michelle and I discussed during this episode was homework. Is it right to give a student a lower grade because they’re not doing homework but has a high engagement rate in class and is doing all of the other things that are expected of them? This is a hard question to answer. One thing Michelle suggests is using zeros as placeholders for students who fail to meet expectations. We also discussed giving other consequences for not doing the behavior that you want to see. It’s also important to understand the reasons behind a student’s poor performance.

For my grading, I never give a zero. I will give a 50 instead. My reasoning is that I don’t have the evidence. If I don’t receive the homework, I don’t have the evidence of what the proficiency is. I believe that if you can provide any evidence, you are at least at novice low, not a level zero. This has also made a difference in my relationships with students and parents. My parents feel like I’m not the enemy who is going to tell them their child knows nothing by giving them a zero. I also don’t give homework because I don’t know my students’ situations. We discuss more about this in episode 93. 

Grading Retakes

Michelle also suggests giving students multiple attempts at assessments to show their growth and to provide options for students to improve their performance, with stipulations in place. This mind shift is about accepting that not everybody is at the same place at the same time and have the same circumstances that you would like them to. It’s more about giving them those opportunities, and still making it manageable and effective for you. 

Another suggestion is to align in-class activities with assessments to reduce the need for retakes. By trusting students and providing a simple retake process, I’ve had fewer students requesting retakes. Michelle and I also discussed how we question ourselves about doing better. We have to acknowledge the challenges of balancing grading and assessment while striving for alignment and continuous improvement. It’s not about being perfect but rather about making progress towards a common goal. Listen to episode 93 for more of our discussion.