Mrs. L's Blog
Find ideas, free resources and examples of student work with proficiency scales. Sign up for Email UpdatesAssessment that Saves Classroom Time
Do you feel like WAY too much of your classroom time is spent completing standardized assessments? What if it were possible to develop an assessment that saves classroom time instead? Seriously! Read on to see the simple two-page leveled assessments that I’ve used to...
3 Easy Ways to Differentiate Vocabulary Practice
If you work with Higher Order Thinking skills (Marzano or Bloom's Taxonomy), you know that vocabulary mastery is more than memorizing definitions. Our goal is for kids to comprehend and apply vocabulary in the right contexts. Demonstrating GROWTH in vocabulary mastery...
Ultimate Growth Mindset Tool for Standards Based Grading
Standards Based Grading is the Ultimate Growth Mindset Tool! A simple shift in focus. Students track mastery in the standards, instead of earning points toward a subject grade. Students are assessed according to their level of PROFICIENCY. Standards Based Grading can be more helpful in targeting student strengths and weaknesses. Teachers are able to plan more specifically, i.e. “DIFFERENTIATE”, to support students level of understanding. It gives teachers the feedback they need to modify instruction. It also tells students exactly what to work on next!
Rubrics verses Proficiency Scales
s the difference between a Rubric and a Proficiency Scale? In the examples below I’m going to share with you how each classroom tool can vary in structure and purpose. A rubric can look like a four-point scale with one crucial difference; a proficiency scale is focused on one learning objective. A rubric often includes a variety of skills that are related to different standards. Let’s look at some examples for elementary and middle school language arts and writing!
Standards Based Learning with a Flipped Classroom
Classroom time always feels too short to do everything we know we're supposed to do! Connect to students’ prior knowledge, scaffold learning, repeat vocabulary, give multiple opportunities for practice, give students think time,...
Inclusion – The Goal of Proficiency Scales
What's the most important reason to use proficiency scales? One word. INCLUSION. The goal of proficiency scales is not to be one more complicated thing on your to-do list, but to accommodate your students at ALL LEVELS at the same time. Four Levels of Differentiation...
Distance Learning and the Homeschool Connection
Have you figured out what to work on with your child at home?
My name is Melanie LiCausi, and I am a mom of three, a classroom teacher, and trying out home-schooling for the very first time!
Having the unique experience of being on both sides of online learning has given me the chance to notice a few things.
Read on to see the simplest way to communicate your standards to students and parents in 4 easy steps!
Differentiate Eighth Grade Equations with Proficiency Scales
Proficiency Scales are all about helping students show growth in small steps instead of being overwhelmed by a year-end goal that seems way over their head. This video will walk you through one way to get your students understanding a scale. In this eighth grade equations and expressions standard, students must know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions.
Differentiate Seventh Grade Ratios with Proficiency Scales
In this seventh grade standard for ratios and proportions, students are expected to compute unit rates associated with ratios of fractions including lengths and areas with different measurements.