The 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education

03/02/2026

Math Empowerment Through Standards Based Grading is off to a running start after our first trip to two of our pilot schools in Portland. Our research team met with district administrators, had observations with the teachers, did demos, and talked with each educator about how they're implementing Standards Based Grading in their classrooms. Plans for summer PD are underway and our pilot year is progressing well! Keep an eye out for more posts as we study the impact of Standards Based Grading on math achievement.

02/27/2026

ME-SBG staff co-hosted a day-long professional development with Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12 on Standards Based Grading with 20 participants. Steve Kramer, John Baker, Tyrone Dash II and Matt McLaughlin hosted the PD together. Both public schools and parochial schools attended the training. Our event was a great success and we're thrilled to see Standards Based Grading make an impact in schools across PA!

01/15/2026

21PSTEM is hard at work on our newest project, Math Empowerment Through Standards-Based Grading, or ME-SBG.

So what does ME-SBG mean? What does it stand for? How can it help students learn math?

Our introductory video goes over the purpose and goals of Mathematical Empowerment Through Standards-Based Grading. This is the first in a series of videos that will answer frequently asked questions about the project and everything it entails for students and teachers.

Interested in joining our project? Visit our website at www.mathempowerment.org to learn more about joining up as an educator!

12/15/2025

Math Empowerment through Standards-Based Grading (ME-SBG) — a 21PSTEM project — has a new website.

Learn more about how our U.S. Department of Education–funded work supports meaningful feedback, reassessment, and stronger middle school math learning.

https://mathempowerment.org

12/09/2025

ME-SBG is attending the Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System Conference, hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education!

12/05/2025

Math Empowerment through Standards-Based Grading (ME-SBG) now has a new home: www.mathempowerment.org

ME-SBG is a U.S. Department of Education EIR project led by The 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education (21PSTEM). It helps middle schools implement standards-based grading that’s practical for teachers and empowering for students. The approach centers on reassessment for full credit after further learning—so students get real opportunities to master key standards, not just another test attempt.

The new site includes:
- An overview of the ME-SBG model and why it exists
- Resources for districts, teachers, and families
- A news section featuring our recent “gold-standard” research study and ongoing implementation insights

Explore: www.mathempowerment.org

Mathematics Empowerment through Standards-Based Grading Giving students feedback they can act on. Progress they can see. Success they can achieve. Proven Math Gains In a study funded by the National Science Foundation, students given opportunities to re-learn and re-assess learned over half a year m...