Shifting mindsets and practices begin with helping the community understand key principles for student-centered grading and the difference between traditional and competency-based grading practices.
Changing the grading system requires educators and learners to alter their practices under these three principles:
- Grading practices reflect the progression of learning, not the average
- Grades are based on transparent learning expectations
- Grading and assessment practices should be consistent across the system
While the principles of student-centered grading remain the same, numerous strategies exist for how a community can implement these practices. The key is identifying a solution for the local learning community.
1. Ohio: Bio-Med Tech Science Academy STEM School has developed a mastery learning system that includes mastery-based grading. In partnership with Mastery Transcript Consortium, Bio-Med has developed a report card and transcript that redefines the traditional concept of grades by focusing on mastery of key competencies. Their transcripts emphasize earned competencies and aim to move away from reporting letter grades. However, they have encountered some obstacles due to the state’s reporting structures. Learning objectives are integrated into every subject, and educators embed academic standards into aligned competencies. Examples of the type of transcript Bio-Med uses can be viewed on the Mastery Transcript Consortium website.
2. Pennsylvania: Building 21 in Philadelphia fosters a student-centered culture and personalized system of instruction. Students have personalized learning plans and competency portfolios that show their progress in real time. They have an opportunity to attend multi-week studios organized around real-world themes that help them demonstrate progress towards targeted competencies. Building 21 uses the Beacon Learning Platform for grading and reporting, which allows educators and students to track learning by competency and standard and shows mastery of content rather than averages.
3. Colorado: Westminster Public Schools provides opportunities for students to progress at their own pace and move on once they have demonstrated mastery of a learning target at a level 3 or 4. Students are not limited by age/grade level. Once they have mastered all learning targets, they can move on to the next grade level at any point during the year.
4. North Dakota: Northern Cass School District 97 utilizes a proficiency-based grading system. They assess and report on essential academic skills rather than averaging or reporting on a specific subject. Habits of work, such as effort and behavior, are reported separately. Learners receive a final score for each class on a 1-4 scale, with 3 being the most common score because of their mastery requirement. The final course scores of 1-4 are then calculated into a GPA. This system provides students, educators and families with actionable feedback about students’ progress and the next steps on their learning journey.
5. Michigan: Kalamazoo Public Schools implemented a K-12 standards-based grading system that reports by standards rather than subject area and uses a 1-4 scale. The district utilizes a standard weighting system across classes and schools, with 90% of the grade coming from assessments and only 10% from homework and classwork.
6. Arizona: Yuma Union High School District #70 shifted to standards-based grading as part of their personalized, competency-based learning journey. The district understood that shifting grading practices would require a fundamental shift in thinking about student work, grading and assessment at every level of the institution. They began with a focus on shifting mindsets and used a phased implementation approach, beginning with a pilot group of educators.
7. Wisconsin: Creating a singular grading system in a district that has multiple learning models can be complex. Kettle Moraine School District has about one-third of its learners in competency-based environments. To effectively track grades, competency-based programs such as the High School of Health Sciences utilize competencies as their currency of learning, and learners partner with their teachers to track progress on their competencies. While Kettle Moraine School District has chosen to stick with the more familiar A to F grading system, their High School of Health Sciences remains focused on tracking progress of competencies internally, knowing that transcripts are for external audiences.
7. Wisconsin: A group of educators from Marshall High School started to explore standards-based grading and reflecting on the purpose of grading and assessment. The district supported the staff in developing common rubrics and creating common assessment practices. They introduced retakes and held parent nights to increase transparency in grading and assessing practices. Each course standard has a common 4-point rubric. To pass a course, a student must achieve a rubric score of 2.0 or higher in every standard. Final scores for each course are calculated based on the average of each standard’s score. Marshall High School then converts these final 4-point course grades into A-F letter grades for transcripts.
