Outcome-based grading is an approach that focuses on assessing student performance against specific standards or outcomes rather than calculating an average score. Each assessment is aligned with one or more defined standards (also known as outcomes or expectations in some regions). For example, a standard might be “Identify positive and negative impacts that animals have on humans (society) and the environment, form an opinion about one of them, and suggest ways in which the impact can be minimized or enhanced.”
In outcome-based grading, the teacher tracks student progress on each individual standard. Instead of averaging scores, the teacher might be interested in knowing the most recent assessment of a standard or the highest level of achievement demonstrated by the student. The focus is on ensuring that students meet or exceed the expectations for each standard, allowing the teacher to provide more targeted feedback and support.
The following example illustrates how curriculum standards are broken down in Edsby. ENG1D is the name of the course, ENG1D:A is the Strand name, ENG1D:A.1 is the General Learning Outcome or General Learning Standard, and ENG1D:A.1.1 is the Specific Learning Outcome or Specific Learning Standard.
Different regions will have different names for these terms. In this article, we will be using the terms strand, standard, or outcome to describe the levels of curriculum.
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Connecting Analyze, Evidence, and the Gradebook
Connecting Analyze, Evidence, and the Gradebook
Edsby’s Gradebook and Perspective enable teachers to document student achievements, encompassing grades, Learning Evidence, and average calculations. The Gradebook provides data to be analyzed by Edsby’s Perspective Analyze tool. Analyze takes the information from the Gradebook and Evidence and enables teachers to see the results of both types of assessments in one place. Analyze empowers the teacher to look at the assessment data in multiple ways to spot trends or areas of concern and act on the information. For more information on how to use the Perspective Analyze, click here. 
This illustration shows an example of the 4th grade math class. The teacher assesses at the general standards level and is interested in the student’s latest achievement. Clicking on the cell lists all the assessments that are linked to the N.54. In addition to the grades, the teacher can also see the description of the standard.
To provide Analyze with information teachers can create Learning Evidence and assessments for their students. To create an assessment for a class, navigate to the class. Assessments can be created from the class feed, the Content Builder, or the Gradebook itself. No matter where an assessment is created, it will appear in the Gradebook.
Creating Assessments
When the assessment form is open, teachers can fill in the form with any relevant information for the assessment. Not every field must be filled out, however, some fields are mandatory. Teachers can include:
- The name of the assessment *
- The unit which the assessment falls under *
- The type of assessment
- Any Standards attached to the assessment
- Whether or not the assessment includes an online submission
- The due date
- Which students the assessment is assigned to
- Grading details *
- Any instructions or files for students
*Denotes mandatory fields
The weighting box in the assessment form is used for average calculations. Teachers who are not interested in averages can use one of the following options to fill in the box.
If teachers are using a symbolic grading scheme, such as 4 Level or Mastery and they are interested in seeing the highest or latest grade, use the same value for each assessment. For example, many teachers use 1 for each assessment.
If teachers are using Out of points and are not interested in averages, leave the weighting box the same as the Out Of field.
If teachers are using both symbolic and Out of grading schemes, the points can be left as is.
Teachers can create individualized assessments to support a modified curriculum, or IEPs, or to provide students with a choice of assessments. In the assessment form, the Assign To field enables teachers to choose between assigning all students or a subset of students. By default, assignments are assigned to all students. To assign a subset of students, click Change. The student list appears, and the teacher chooses which students to include in the assignment.
The Gradebook disables the cells for students who are not included in the assessment and in the Content Builder and Planner the assessment will have an Individualized label.
For more information on Individualized Assessments, click here.
Grading Assessments
To fill in grades in the Gradebook, click the cell and fill in the grade. Teachers can quickly give multiple students the same grade by clicking and dragging the blue square down the list of students. To grade online submissions such as documents or online tests, click the file icon. This will open the Grader. The Grader can be used to annotate a student’s submissions. The Grader tools include a rectangle, pen, or highlighter. Teachers can choose the desired color and mark up the submission. Teachers can leave comments for each markup they make on the submission. The Grader includes a discussion box that can be used to provide students with feedback on their work and to answer any private questions the student has asked about the assessment. When a teacher has finished annotating a student’s assessment, they can choose to share the annotations without sharing a grade. This enables students to correct their work before a final submission. When teachers have graded an assessment, they can choose to share just the grade and comment with students, or they can share the grade along with any final annotations. Students can view these annotations and any comments in their My Work. For more information about the Grader, click here.
In addition to the Grader, teachers can use the Details mode to grade assessments. The Details mode can be accessed by clicking details at the bottom right of the screen, or by clicking the name of an assessment from the list. The Details mode enables teachers to focus on one assessment at a time. Teachers can have discussions with students, set an assessment status, fill in grades, and add comments. Teachers can also edit, share, or print assessments here.
To return to regular mode, click the arrow or click the details button again.
Rubrics
Teachers have the option to create or import rubrics within Edsby. To create a new rubric, navigate to the Personal Folder, click New, and choose Rubric. Type a name for the rubric and choose a grading scheme. Teachers who are assessing based on Strands should choose one of the Stranded options, Teachers assessing based on Outcomes should choose one of the Outcomes options. Teachers can attach either strands or outcomes to the Rubric. Type the category name for each row and then type the rubric information in each box. Click Add Category to create new rows and click Save when the rubric is complete. Teachers can also import existing rubrics by clicking Browse after they have selected a grading scheme.
To grade an assessment with a rubric, create a new assessment. In the Grading Scheme field, choose Rubric, then click Choose Existing. Once the assessment has been created, navigate to the Gradebook and select the assessment. Teachers can grade with the Rubric in the Grader or in the Details mode.
Online Tests
Teachers can also create Online Tests with Edsby. To create a new Online Test navigate to the Content Builder or the Personal Folder and select Question Sheet.
Teachers who are grading based on standards or strands can link these to the Question Sheet. Choose the correct Scheme from the list and select the relevant standards or strands from the list. From here, each new question will have a column selection. Choose the applicable selection from the list. When teachers are done creating their Question Sheet, click Save. To use the Question Sheet as an Online Test, navigate to a class and create an assessment. In the Online Submission field, choose Online Quiz and click ‘Choose a Question Sheet’. Teachers can choose the time limit and number of attempts for the Online Test and they can choose whether or not to randomize the questions and answers. Teachers can also open the test, leave it closed, or schedule when the test will open and close. Students are unable to take the test when it is closed. Click Save. Click here for more information on Question Sheets.
Students can take the test when the teacher has opened it, most question types are automatically graded for an online test so teachers do not have to grade every question manually. However, Paragraph questions need to be manually graded, so navigate to the Gradebook and choose the online test. Teachers can grade an ungraded question and can change the grade for any automatically graded questions by clicking the lock and typing the new grade in.
Gradebook Filters
When teachers open their Gradebook, they see their assessments listed. Teachers can choose how they want to view their assessments by using the Gradebook filters. Teachers can choose to view assessments by reporting periods or by Units and they can choose which assessments to include. Teachers can also create additional tabs in the Gradebook to view different information quickly.
For example, this teacher wants to view each reporting period separately, so they will create a tab for term 1 work and a tab for term 2 work. Another teacher wants to view their assessments by formative and summative, so they will create one tab with only formative assessments and another tab for only summative assessments.
Progress Reports
Teachers have the option to create a Progress Report for their students. The Progress Report tools enable teachers to create a printed report of their students’ progress to distribute to parents and students. The Progress Report can be used as a helpful tool during parent-teacher interviews, as an indicator of student progress, or even as a report card substitute for private schools. Teachers have many options within the Progress Report. Teachers can print a report for all students, select specific students to include in the Progress Report, or they can choose to include dropped students. Teachers can select the dates for the Progress Report. Choosing ‘Any date’ will include data from the entire Gradebook, choosing ‘In a reporting period’ enables teachers to select a reporting period and will only include data from that reporting period, and choosing ‘Date Range’ enables teachers to select specific dates and will only include data from within that date range. Teachers can choose what to show in the Progress Report. Teachers can choose which, if any, assessments to include in the Progress Report. The list of assessments can be any selection of incomplete, shared, ungraded, and unshared. If shared assessments are included in the printed report, a graph can be included by checking the Graph checkbox.
When teachers include summaries, more options will appear on the form. The list will include Overall Average, General Learning Outcomes, and Specific Learning Outcomes. However, the choice of Summary columns is dependent on the curriculum.
The Assessments, Evidence, and Include Unshared checkboxes control what data the summary columns will use to pre-calculate the grades. If these fields are left blank, the summary columns will be blank and the teacher can use professional judgment to enter grades.
For example, if the teacher has chosen to summarize by Strand, using the mean, and showing as a percentage, any grades from the Gradebook that include Strands will be averaged using the mean and will show in the Progress Report as a percentage. If no assessments have been created using Strands, no grades will appear in the Progress Report. Grades can also be filled in manually and overridden in the Progress Report. For a Progress Report that has multiple fields or strands included, the report will only show what fields have been filled in. If teachers do not wish to fill in each field, they don’t have to.
For more information about Progress Reports, click here.
Gradebook Settings
The Gradebook settings enable teachers to add additional summary columns to their Gradebook. Teachers can also choose how to display Gradebook results, select a grading scheme to create new assessments with, whether or not to show averages in the Gradebook and Perspective, and whether or not to include the Evidence button in the classes panel.
Selecting a scheme to create new assessments will automatically select that grading scheme in the assessment form every time a new assessment is created. Teachers can still change the grading scheme when creating an assessment if desired.
To create additional summary columns in the Gradebook, click the drop-down arrow and select the desired column type. For teachers using outcome-based assessments, it may be helpful to create summary columns for the different outcomes in the class. Once the type of column is chosen, teachers can choose the summary method and how to show the results in the summary column. Teachers can add as many columns as they would like and can choose whether or not to show each of these columns to their students. Columns can be removed from the Gradebook by clicking the x.
The Gradebook enables teachers to summarize their grades in a variety of ways. For teachers employing outcome-based assessments, opting for the most recent or highest score associated with a specific outcome could offer the most comprehensive understanding of a student’s advancement. Additionally, teachers have the option to utilize a decaying average to gain a clear view of a student’s performance. Decaying average is most suitable for assessment when teachers want to place more weight on recently scored materials, thereby rewarding students’ progress without penalizing them for their starting point. This method considers the most recent scores as more representative of a student’s current mastery level and puts more emphasis on those scores compared to older ones. Assessment practices that emphasize outcomes-based learning and track student progress throughout the term, rather than one overall grade, find decaying average to be a suitable grading approach.
The Class Setup form includes the option to set the weight of the most recent score. The default setting is 65%. The option will apply to Perspective Analyze and the report card’s Graph view but has no impact on Gradebook calculations unless a summary column is added to the Gradebook.
The class setup form enables teachers to personalize their class settings, however, classes are usually set up by the district, so consult them before making changes. Report cards depend on the weighting buckets to be set up accurately, so many districts will preset the weighting buckets on behalf of the teachers. If these are not set up already, ask the district how to set them up so they will match Report Cards.
Teachers should ask their school district about how they are required to complete their report cards. This enables teachers to set up and summarize their Gradebook based on the information they will need for their Report Cards. This will make it easier for teachers when report card season arrives, as the grades in their Gradebook will match the template of the report card. For example, if the district reports on outcomes at the Stranded level, teachers may want to use a grading scheme that grades based on Strands. If the district reports on Outcomes, teachers may want to use a grading scheme that reports on individual outcomes.
Teachers have the option to create summary columns in their Gradebook based on their needs, however, Perspective Analyze enables teachers to view detailed information without setting up these columns. For teachers grading based on Strands, filter Analyze to show Strands. Teachers grading based on individual outcomes can filter Analyze to show these by selecting General Standard. Teachers can choose how to summarize the grades and what grading scheme to view the results in, and teachers can also choose whether or not to include Evidence in these calculations. Perspective Analyze takes the data that teachers have just added to their Gradebook and enables them to view and analyze the information to spot trends or areas of concern. The Perspective Analyze tool works with the Gradebook and Learning Evidence to create a powerful tool to view and assess student progress. For more information on Perspective Analyze, click here.
For example, this grade 4 math teacher is assessing students based on strands and uses a 4-level grading scheme for any assessments. All assessments in the Gradebook are weighted equally. The teacher does not want to view any averages in their Gradebook, the Gradebook will only be used to enter the data. The teacher also collects Evidence to keep track of their students’ progress. The teacher will filter their Analyze page to include strands and either the latest or highest grade as well as including Evidence.
Additionally, this teacher assesses based on outcomes but reports based on strands and they are using a symbolic grade scheme. Because they are reporting on Strands, their Gradebook includes summary columns for each strand, despite the fact that they are assessing on outcomes. This way, looking at their Gradebook they can access the information they will need for Report Cards. Additionally, they will use the Perspective to view their students’ progress on the outcomes.
