The Midyear Reflection: Gathering Wins, Facing Barriers
The Midyear Muddle
There is a specific kind of quiet that settles into a school building in late November and December. The bright, shiny "new school year" energy has started to erode, replaced by the rhythmic (and sometimes heavy) hum of the daily grind. The pace should feel slower, but it doesn't feel restful. Instead, we find ourselves caught in the "Midyear Muddle": balancing the final push of the first semester with the daunting start of the second, all while navigating the personal pull of the holiday season.
Yet, in this muddle lies an opportunity. For most educators, this is the season of formal mid-year evaluations and natural introspection. You’re likely already reflecting—thinking about that one student who finally "clicked" or the unit where the evidence of learning just wasn't there. The question isn't if you should reflect, but how you can turn that natural instinct into a manageable fuel for the shift toward standards-based practices.
Refinement, Not Replacement
When we talk about Standards-Based Learning (SBL), it can feel like an "all or nothing" proposition. We think we have to wait for a district-wide mandate or a complete gradebook overhaul to begin.
But SBL isn’t about a systemic permission slip; it’s about instructional intentionality.
The most sustainable way to grow is through the lens of progress, not perfection. As James Clear notes in Atomic Habits, "Small, incremental improvements... are more effective and promote more sustainable results than trying to make big changes all at once." Instead of trying to rewrite your entire curriculum mid-year, this check-in is about refining one component of the standards-based cycle. It’s the "1% shift" - a small tweak to how you share learning targets or provide feedback that, over the course of a second semester, produces a noticeable change in student mastery.
"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action." Peter Drucker
Honor the Standards-Based Wins
Before we look at what to change, we must look at where SBL is already taking root. We are often so focused on the "barriers" that we forget to gather the "wins." Did you successfully deconstruct a complex standard into student-friendly language? Did a student use your feedback to actually improve their work? These are your anchors. By identifying which standards-based practices worked, you ensure that your refinements are building on a solid foundation of evidence.
The Midyear Refinement Protocol
This simple protocol is designed to take 15 minutes and result in one actionable "SBL tweak" for your second semester.
Wrap-Up, Reflection, & Resources
As you navigate the end of this semester, remember that shifting to standards-based learning is a journey, not a destination. Trying new things and refining your evidence-gathering is exactly how we learn, alongside our students.
Reflective Question: Which component of standards-based learning (Clear Targets, Evidence, or Feedback) felt the most "natural" for you this semester, and how can you lean into that win in January and throughout the second semester?
Further Exploration:
Small Wins Can Add Up to Big Results - How incremental shifts transform middle school classrooms.
Focus on the Process and Results Will Follow - Why de-emphasizing performance can actually lead to better outcomes.
The Innovator’s Mindset: Dealing with Resistance and Fear - George Couros explores why the fear of "looking like a beginner" often stops us from trying new things and how to move past it.
Atomic Habits for Educators - A look at how tiny changes produce significant results over time.
Kelli Marcus is the author of "Reimagining Learning: A Year of Purposeful Change," a blog series designed to empower educators—teachers, administrators, instructional coaches, and educational staff—to explore and implement innovative practices. A former classroom teacher, school counselor, administrator, and college instructor, Kelli brings extensive experience in providing professional development to school systems, with a focus on standards-based learning, change at an organizational scale, student-centered learning, and teacher-led schools. Kelli Marcus can be contacted through LinkedIn.
