In the West Platte School District, we understand that the purpose of grading and reporting is to do the following:
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Communicate achievement based on a variety of assessment methods given over time and aligned to curricular standards.
- Indicate a student’s level of achievement in meeting district curricular standards and non-academic indicators that support that achievement.
- Provide opportunities for parents to understand their child's progress in order to establish mutual goals and identify needed support.
West Platte Elementary Standards Based Grading
The purpose of standards-based grading is to improve student achievement by focusing instruction and the alignment of curriculum with the essential standards. Standards-based grading and reporting will provide better communication to students, parents, teachers and administrators on what each student knows and is able to do according to the identified standards and separately assess the influence of positive and consistent work habits on student learning.
Standards-based grading measures the mastery of the learning objectives, or how well students understand the material in class. It is based on a specific set of standards that students need to meet for each grade/content level. Marks are not a comparison of one student to another, but rather a way to measure how well students are doing on grade-level/course level standards. A standards based approach allows parents and students to understand more clearly what is expected of students and how to help them be successful in their educational program.
Questions & Answers
What is Standards-Based Grading?
Standards-based grading measures the mastery of the learning objectives, or how well students understand the material in class. It is based on a specific set of standards that students need to meet for each grade/content level. Marks are not a comparison of one student to another, but rather a way to measure how well students are doing on grade-level/course level standards. A standards-based approach allows parents and students to understand more clearly what is expected of students and how to help them be successful in their educational program.
What is the goal of Standards-Based Grading?
The primary goal of standards-based grading is to improve student achievement by focusing instruction and the alignment of curriculum with the essential standards. Standards-based grading and reporting will provide better communication to students, parents, teachers and administrators on what each student knows and is able to do according to the identified standards and separately assess the influence of positive and consistent work habits on student learning.
How does standards-based grading differ from traditional letter grades?
Standards-based grading informs us what students have actually learned and know. Standards-based grading measures students’ knowledge of grade-level content over time by reporting the most recent, consistent level of performance. So, a student might struggle in the beginning of a grading period with new content, but then learn and demonstrate proficient performance by the end of the grading period. In traditional grading, the student’s performance for the whole grading period would be averaged and early quiz scores that were low would be averaged together with proficient performance later in the course resulting in a lower grade. In standards-based grading, a student who reaches proficiency would be reported proficient and the grade would reflect current performance level.
In standards-based grading, factors like attendance, effort, work habits, and attitude will be reported separately in order to give a more accurate report of student progress.