In Episode 30 of Fires in Grading, Don, Becky, and Garth tackle one of the most overlooked challenges in grading reform: onboarding new teachers. While many districts invest significant time and effort into developing standards-based grading systems, far fewer create intentional processes to help new staff understand and sustain that work. The team explores how relying on mentors, assumptions, or “learning as you go” can lead to inconsistency, system drift, and the gradual erosion of a district’s grading philosophy. They discuss what effective onboarding should include, how leaders can preserve their grading culture through staff turnover, and why sustainability requires more than just a well-written handbook. If your district has been “doing the work” for several years, this episode will help you ensure that progress continues rather than slowly slipping away.

One of the biggest concerns schools raise during grading reform is:

“What about special education?”

In Episode 29 of Fires in Grading, Becky, Don, and Garth are joined by special guest Danica Lewis to unpack the complicated and often misunderstood relationship between special education and standards-based grading.

Together, the team explores common misconceptions around IEPs, accommodations, modified expectations, grading practices, and student support systems. The conversation focuses on how standards-based learning can actually create greater clarity and communication for students, teachers, and families when implemented thoughtfully.

Whether you are a classroom teacher, interventionist, administrator, or special education teacher, this episode provides a practical perspective on ensuring grades communicate learning while still honoring student needs and supports.

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If feedback is one of the highest-impact instructional practices in education, why is it often missing from the grading process? Together, we explore the difference between grades and meaningful feedback, why students frequently ignore feedback, how traditional grading practices can unintentionally stop learning, and what schools can do to shift students from asking “What did I get?” to “What do I need next?” The conversation also highlights practical classroom strategies educators can use immediately to make feedback more impactful and learning-centered.

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Join us as we tackle one of the most common questions schools ask during grading reform: How does standards-based grading work in AP and dual enrollment courses? The team explores the misconception that advanced courses require traditional grading practices and discusses how clarity around learning targets, aligned assessments, and meaningful feedback can still exist within AP and college-credit structures. They unpack the difference between instructional practices and reporting requirements, including how final letter grades can still emerge from a standards-based learning process. The conversation also dives into the role of College Board frameworks, the pressures schools face from higher education institutions, and why rigor should never be confused with grading complexity. Whether you teach AP, dual enrollment, or support secondary grading reform, this episode provides practical insight into maintaining learning-focused practices in advanced coursework.

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In this episode we explore a foundational question: What’s the purpose of assessment? Too often, assessment is viewed as a way to generate grades, but what if its true purpose is to gather evidence of learning? This episode challenges common practices, reframes assessment as a tool to reveal learning, and offers practical insights for shifting mindsets in classrooms and schools.

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In this episode we explore why standards-based learning is never a “set it and forget it” process. Many schools assume that once standards are prioritized and learning targets are created, the work is complete—but in reality, this is where the real work begins. The team discusses the importance of regularly reviewing standards, proficiency scales, assessments, and gradebooks to ensure they remain aligned and meaningful. They also highlight common pitfalls schools encounter when they treat these tools as static documents rather than living parts of instruction. This episode offers practical guidance on building a sustainable review cycle that keeps clarity and student learning at the center. If your system is sitting in a binder instead of driving daily practice, this conversation is for you.

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It is one of the most common questions we hear in grading reform work. In Episode 23, Becky, Don, and Garth explore why educators naturally look for examples before moving forward — and how that instinct can either support progress or unintentionally slow it down. They discuss how to structure school visits and cross district conversations so they inspire action, not comparison, and how to shift from waiting for a perfect match to building clarity in your own context.

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