How does an M (missing) or a blank evidence score factor into the Summative (standards) Score?

How does an M (missing) or a blank evidence score factor into the Summative (standards) Score?

Answer: They don't.

It requires a shift in how we think about our pedagogy. 

As scientists say, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

As a student, if I don't turn in my Shakespeare Essay, does that mean I am bad at English? No. It means I have poor work habits. What does it say about my English skills? Absolutely nothing. We have no evidence to draw any conclusions whatsoever about that. So in the service of accuracy and fairness, we don't.

We do need to apply what Dr Marzano calls "pressure to achieve." And strategies for that include monitoring pace, disciplinary measures at school and at home, ineligibility for extra curricular activities, monitoring soft skills as their own learning targets, etc.. But what we do not want to do is mix any of those soft-skill needs of the learner up with their academic abilities. 

Really, that's the beauty of this model and of Empower. Traditionally, a kid gets a D in English and mom and dad get him an English tutor or we make him retake the class and we imply, "you're kinda dumb at English." When really he has no issues understanding the material, he may just need us to light the fires of motivation somehow. 


    • Related Articles

    • Marzano True Score Estimator - how does it work?

      The Marzano True Score Estimator looks at a body of evidence for a student against one proficiency scale and puts three models on that body of evidence, and determines which one is the model of best fit. Let's look at an example. In this case, ...
    • Scoring

      Standards-Based Scoring Empower is a standards-based grading software. That means all evidence scores given in Empower will be aligned to standards (aka targets, competencies).  For example, in a traditional model we might say to a student, "This ...
    • Standards: Target Browser Creation & Management

      No matter what they are called, Standards, Competencies, Learning Targets, or Proficiency Scales, they are clearly the building blocks of Competency-based Systems and Empower. Once standards are entered into Empower, schools always have the ability ...
    • Gradebook Filter

      The Gradebook Filter  The Gradebook Filter is used on the evidence side of the grade book. It was designed for a couple of reasons: 1) to help teachers view only the activities they want to see (as the evidence side of the grade book can become very ...
    • Scoring Inbox

      The Scoring Inbox The scoring inbox is the easiest and most efficient way to score work that is submitted via Empower (that is, not quick evidence). When we click on the inbox, we get something similar to the below screen: As you might imagine, the ...