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One of the most common questions I get about standards-based grading is this: “What do you do when a student misses a quiz?” And honestly? There isn’t a perfect one-size-fits-all answer. The best solution depends heavily on: your school context, your schedule, your student population, your campus policies, and your own personal bandwidth as a teacher. What works beautifully in one school may completely fall apart in another. So instead of giving a rigid formula, I think it’s

One of the most controversial parts of our grading system is this: The lowest grade in my classroom is a 50, not a zero. For some people, that statement immediately raises concerns. Doesn’t that lower expectations? Doesn’t that let students off the hook? Doesn’t that create entitlement? I understand those questions because I had many of them myself. And just like with retakes, I believe there absolutely need to be healthy boundaries around this policy. But after years of teac

Few topics in education create stronger opinions than retakes. Some teachers strongly support them. Others believe retakes lower standards, encourage poor habits, or fail to prepare students for the “real world.” And honestly? I think many of those concerns are valid. Retakes absolutely can become harmful if they are implemented poorly. I’ve seen situations where retakes turned into endless second chances without accountability or growth. But I’ve also seen the opposite probl

Once teachers see the structure of our concept quizzes, the next question is usually: “Okay… but how do you actually grade them?” Do we grade them like traditional tests? Do we give partial credit? Does this take forever? After years of refining the process, we’ve found that grading standards-based quizzes can actually be faster, clearer, and more aligned with student understanding than traditional grading systems. The Structure of the Quiz Each quiz in my classroom has: 3 pr

Once we’ve created our concept checklist, the next step is designing assessments for each concept. In my classroom, I call these assessments quizzes instead of tests. That may seem like a small detail, but language matters. The word “quiz” tends to feel less threatening to students, which helps create a classroom culture focused more on growth and learning than fear and performance. But the bigger question is this: What actually makes good standards-based grading quizzes? Aft

One of the biggest shifts in standards-based grading isn’t actually the grading itself. It’s deciding what truly matters. Before we can create quizzes, assess learning, or build a gradebook, we first need clarity on the most important concepts students should deeply understand during the school year. That’s where concept checklists come in. Example of a standards-based grading concept checklist from my classroom. What Is a Concept Checklist? A concept checklist is the foundat

Early in my teaching career, I kept running into the same frustrating pattern. A student would make a very low test grade… and then mentally check out for the rest of the grading period. Sometimes for the entire year. At first, I didn’t understand it. I cared deeply about my students. I encouraged growth mindset. I told students that mistakes were part of learning. I worked hard to create a positive classroom culture. But eventually I realized something important: My grading

Just wanted to share a quick self-reflection in case it resonates with you as well. This verse struck me the other night: Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are

Why Error Analysis Helps Students Learn Math A key component of our curriculum and courses is error analysis . We believe—and research supports—that students make meaningful learning gains when they analyze common classroom errors . Instead of simply correcting mistakes, students examine why the mistake happened and how to avoid it in the future. This helps students develop deeper conceptual understanding and recognize common math misconceptions . But is there a specific m

What is Accessibility? Accessibility is a broad topic that can’t be covered in a single post, but here we’ll focus on a few website accessibility guidelines that also apply to classroom materials, handouts, and visuals. The overall goal of accessibility is to create things in a way that all people can access it, especially people with disabilities. However, accessibility is not just for people with disabilities. When we design things with accessibility in mind, it actually

The other day, a thought popped into my head about the criminal on the cross—the one Jesus said would be with Him in paradise the day they were crucified next to each other. Here’s the scripture: 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not wh

One of the hardest years of my career was also one of the most transformational. It was my first time stepping into a leadership role,...

What do you think it means to be a Christian? Pause and reflect for a moment. When I was younger, my answer would have had something to...

Have you ever found yourself in a room where everyone’s speaking a language you think is English—but you can’t understand a word of it? It happens all the time in academic spaces, especially in math classrooms. The fancy vocabulary. The serious tone. The feeling that if you ask a question, you’ll expose that you “don’t belong” there. At When Math Happens, we believe that’s the exact opposite of what learning should feel like. We’re all about making math more approachable, mor

What happens when the heart of a classroom—a beloved teacher—is suddenly gone for months? That was the reality for our family when my daughter was in kindergarten. Her incredible teacher had to step away unexpectedly, and despite every effort to hold things together, the classroom saw a rotating cast of substitute teachers. Full-time staff pitched in where they could, often giving up their planning periods or personal time to provide consistency and care. Their commitment was

Why Repetition and Reinforcement Matter in Math Learning. If you’ve ever taught a lesson, given it your all, and then watched your students stare back at you like they’ve never seen it before—you’re not alone. It’s a universal moment in teaching. That moment where you think, “But we just did this yesterday!” And yet, here they are, drawing a blank. At When Math Happens, we’ve been there. We’ve lived that moment. And it helped shape one of our most important philosophies: Lear

In the world of math education, “personalized learning” sounds like a good thing. After all, who wouldn’t want students to learn at their...

If you’re interested in implementing 3 Act Math or other open-ended math problems , I highly recommend the book 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions . The 5 Practices framework helps teachers plan and facilitate productive math discussions so students can share strategies, analyze mistakes, and connect mathematical ideas. In this post, I’ll walk through how I used the five practices during a linear functions lesson using the Stacking Cups activit

When teaching with students working in groups throughout an entire class period, we can’t just stand at the front of the room and lecture the whole time. If we do, students will quickly get off task. Instead, it’s important to break each lesson into smaller parts and have a plan for each part. This keeps the lesson flowing and helps maintain student engagement. When done well, group work stops being a potential classroom management challenge and instead becomes an invaluable

Think-Pair-Share: A Powerful Strategy for Math Classroom Discussions Think-Pair-Share is probably the most common learning strategy in my classroom. But before we move on assuming we know how it works, it’s worth slowing down and really looking at what it should look like in practice. For a long time, I thought I understood Think-Pair-Share, but I didn’t truly grasp it until someone modeled the routine for me in a real classroom . When implemented well, Think-Pair-Share beco