[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-590444-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-590444-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","proficiency-based-grading-can-we-practice-what-they-preach","Proficiency-Based Grading: Can We Practice What They Preach?","","The article examines the rising use of proficiency-based grading in K–12 education and evaluates how teacher educators can prepare preservice teachers to function effectively in proficiency-based assessment systems. It describes integrating a proficiency-based grading strand into an undergraduate assessment course for elementary teacher candidates, using this adaptation to illustrate how K–12 advocated approaches can transfer to higher education. Reflections address adaptation challenges and benefits, emphasizing that course design grounded in proficiency perspectives—especially for assessment literacy—can strengthen teacher educators’ ability to create purposeful learning experiences.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/proficiency-based-grading-can-we-practice-what-they-preach/590444/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/proficiency-based-grading-can-we-practice-what-they-preach/590444.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Pentious","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is proficiency-based grading and how does it differ from traditional grading?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Proficiency-based grading focuses on a student’s demonstrated understanding and skill relative to a standard, rather than on attendance or behavior.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why does the article consider proficiency-based grading a relevant issue for teacher educators?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"As proficiency-based grading gains acceptance, teacher educators must determine whether and how to respond to this assessment movement and prepare candidates to participate effectively.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the article connect proficiency-based grading with teacher preparation practices?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It describes integrating a proficiency-based grading strand into an undergraduate assessment course, using the adaptation to show how approaches advocated in K–12 can be adapted for higher education teacher candidates.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},590444,1792170974,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1374404730887,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","Proficiency-Based Grading: Can We Practice What They Preach?  \nJulie Shalhope Kalnin, Ph.D.  \nUniversity of Portland  \nAbstract  \nThe practice of assessing and grading students on their ability to demonstrate proficiency related to a standard has grown significantly in K–12 settings over the past decade. This article invites teacher educators to consider how to respond to this trend by examining an approach for preparing teacher candidates to participate effectively in proficiency-based systems. The process of integrating a proficiency-based grading strand into one undergraduate assessment course for elementary teacher candidates is described to illustrate how an approach advocated in the K–12 environment maybe adapted to a higher education setting. Reflections on both the challenges and the benefits of the adaptation suggest that approaching course design from a proficiency-based perspective, while perhaps most valuable in a course that builds candidates’ assessment literacy, can also enhance teacher educators’ efforts to design purposeful course experiences in other arenas.  \nKeywords: assessment, preservice teachers, proficiency-based grading, teacher preparation  \nAILACTE Journal 19  \nKalnin  \nThe phrase “teacher preparation” expresses a central relationship between education programs and the profession. In order to prepare teachers well, programs must be responsive to the contexts that their candidates can anticipate entering. Yet, shifting mandatesand emerging practices that could prove either fads or substantive reforms complicate the responsive stance. For teacher educators, teacher preparation is more than job training; it is the education of professionals who will not only work within, but also will have the knowledge, skill, and disposition to influence, the educational system. Tensions can arise as individual teacher educators and programs wrestle with questions of how to be both responsive to, and stewards of, the profession we serve.  \nAssessment is perhaps the most prominent area in which such tensions have surfaced since the legislation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001. Within the NCLB assessment context, teacher educators have thoughtfully explored ways to support their candidates in learning about (Reeder & Utley, 2008), adjusting to (Bates & Burbank, 2008), or complying with NCLB while resisting its testing-focused student characterizations and curriculum constraints (Samuel & Suh, 2012; Taylor, 2010; Wepner, 2006; Whitenack & Swanson, 2013) .  \nEducators beyond the academy have also developed responses to counter the fragmenting effects of NCLB. One response that is increasingly being adopted in K–12 settings is proficiency-or standards-based grading. Essentially, proficiency-based grading emphasizes a more holistic focus on the standards behind standardized testing. The approach bases grades not on factors such as attendance or behavior, but on a student’s ability to demonstrate understanding and skill in relation to a standard.  \nIn a 2013 interview, Robert Marzano concluded,“Standardsbased grading is beginning to grow exponentially”(Koumpilova, 2013). A brief internet search can confirm this statement. A search for proficiency-or standards-based grading will yield results from districts from Florida to Colorado, North Carolina to Washington, and run a solid swath through the Midwest and down the Eastern seaboard. During the preparation of this article, 55 post-secondary  \n20 AILACTE Volume XI Fall 2014  \nProficiency-Based Grading  \ninstitutions in New England formally signed the Collegiate Endorsement of Proficiency-Based Education and Graduation. This straightforward statement supports “proficiency-based approaches to instruction, assessment, and reporting” and signers pledge to accept a wide range of transcripts to ensure that students with proficiency-based records will be in no way disadvantaged (New England Secondary School Consortium, 2014) . Evidence that proficiency-based grading has a posi","cbCaio8gbZs53ICu","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaio8gbZs53ICu","pdf",557265,18,"English","# Abstract\n# Background: Teacher Preparation and Assessment Tensions\n# Proficiency-or Standards-Based Grading\n# Evidence and Growing Acceptance\n# Re-examining Proficiency-Based Grading\n# Linking Proficiency Assessment to EdTPA","[{\"question\":\"What is proficiency-based grading and how does it differ from traditional grading?\",\"answer\":\"Proficiency-based grading focuses on a student’s demonstrated understanding and skill relative to a standard, rather than on attendance or behavior.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the article consider proficiency-based grading a relevant issue for teacher educators?\",\"answer\":\"As proficiency-based grading gains acceptance, teacher educators must determine whether and how to respond to this assessment movement and prepare candidates to participate effectively.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article connect proficiency-based grading with teacher preparation practices?\",\"answer\":\"It describes integrating a proficiency-based grading strand into an undergraduate assessment course, using the adaptation to show how approaches advocated in K–12 can be adapted for higher education teacher candidates.\"}]","Proficiency-Based Grading: Can We Practice What They Preach? | PDF",1792069644,45]