School Division Explores Alternatives to Traditional Grading

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Ahead of a planned review and revision of the Prince William County Schools' grading policy, the School Division commissioned a study that ultimately recommends adopting a standards-based grading approach.

According to “Grading Policies and Practices in K-12,” standards-based grading refers to the practice of assessing students on their ability to meet specific standards, rather than earning grades.

“Instead of relying on point systems and percentages, standards-based grading approaches measure the degree to which students are able to meet pre-defined grade-level standards in all subject areas,” the report states.

The study prepared by Hanover Research of Washington D.C. suggests that students’ abilities be assessed using four benchmarks:

  • “Competency beyond the standard”
  • “Performance that fulfills the standard”
  • “Partial fulfillment of the standard”
  • “Inability to meet the standard”

The report claims, “The core tenets of standards-based grading are that students advance upon mastery; competencies include explicit, measurable, transferable learning objectives that empower students; assessment is meaningful and a positive learning experience for students.”

However, Director of Student Learning at Prince William County Schools Kenneth Bassett said that citizens should not read too much into the commission of the study.

“This is just part of our normal business,” said Bassett, who explained that the school division mandates their grading policy be revised every few years. Before the revision is drafted, his office investigates trends in grading.

“Part of the process is to look at current practices in the field, in the region and across the nation,” Bassett said. “Because Prince William County Schools has a subscription with Hanover to provide reviews on a variety of educational issues, they have them provide a report on benchmarks and best practices in the region.”

The report cites the implementation of standards-based grading practices in several local school districts, including Fairfax Public Schools and describes their effectiveness as “promising,” despite examples being “relatively recent.”

After receiving the Hanover report, Bassett also convened three focus groups of Prince William County Schools' teachers and administrators from the elementary, middle and high school levels to discuss and provide input on current grading practices.

According to Bassett, the response from educators was varied.

“(We had) people on all points of the continuum. Some are very much in a standards-based mode already. There are other people who have more traditional grading practices,” Bassett said, and others who had a hybrid approach

While Bassett confirmed that the grading policy will be revised, he stipulated it could be as innocuous as correcting typos on a latest revision, or it could be more substantial.

“I can’t tell you where we are going with it,” said Basset.  He also asserted that any major changes would have to be discussed with the School Board.

The authors of the report cautioned that a transition to a standards-based grading system could take up to ten years to fully implement and would require significant professional development for teachers.

“I cannot imagine us doing anything that would be a dramatic departure from A, B, C, Ds and Fs,” Bassett said. “Grading is a deeply personal part of the teaching act, part of the professional responsibility of the teacher, and we put a lot of stock in our teachers' assessment of our students.”

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