Schools

Osseo School District to Shift Grading Practices

The district plans to shift to standards based grading for students.

For years, students in the were graded based on their teacher’s interpretation of the district and state standards.

The grading might have included a mixture of academic and nonacademic achievement, such as points for good behavior or class participation.

That practice will soon be changing.

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Beginning this fall, the district will train and work with teachers over a three year period to shift grading practices to one that weighs heavily on academic achievement only and keeping nonacademic issues separate on reporting tools.

Once the transformation is complete, the district hopes parents, teachers and students will be able to see a clearer picture of whether academic standards are being met by individual students. The three-year phase-in plan will be presented to the School Board for policy approval in the upcoming months, said Eric Schneider, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Education Standards for .

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The shift to the new standards based grading will have “great benefits” for families, Schneider said.

“Families will have a better grasp of the grading process and see clearer guidelines,” Schneider said, providing the example of instead of a seeing a grade for “Quiz 2,” in algebra, families will be able to see what standards were tested in “Quiz 2” and how the student performed in each standard area.

District officials say standards based grading and reporting will provide “more accurate information for both students and parents about what students actually know.”

Training and communication with staff about the change is already taking place throughout the district.

“We’ve been having this discussion year long,” Principal Laurel Anderson said. “Some teachers are running with it and some are slowly implementing a few things. The majority of the teaching staff understands the purpose of it, the need for it and why we are moving forward as a system. They understand the benefits to kids.”

The upcoming change has brought questions from district staff and families. Anderson said staff wants to know what the “big, overarching power standards” are at the district level. Teachers are working with the curriculum department to help them identify those standards. 

Other questions revolve how certain aspects of the change translate into the classroom. For example, Anderson said, group grades will not exist. Grades will be given on individual accomplishments. Some staff members thought that meant that they could not use group work in the classroom anymore.

“You can still do group work, but it will just be assessed individually,” she said.

Some of the parent feedback has revolved around such issues as students not traditionally performing well on tests to how homework would be treated.

According to Anderson, in some circumstances may come down to students demonstrating other ways to show they know the material other than the standard pencil and paper test.

“We want to give to kids opportunities to demonstrate, successfully, what they know are able to do. Its not going to be a one shot time like your final in college,” she said, indicating students will have multiple times to show teachers “what they can do.”

From what she has heard so far, PTO President Ann Miller has positive comments about the grading changes.

“It takes the subjectivity out of grading and puts more fairness into the system,” she said, adding she likes that students will still be held accountable for nonacademic items as well.

“Its an exciting opportunity because we are getting on the same page as to what a grade means, regardless of where you in the district system,” Anderson said.  “A B+ in eighth grade economics should mean the same thing.”

“It is an opportunity to open up conversation with kids, with families and with our own staff to talk about what the grade means,” Anderson said. “I hope it will give kids an opportunity to self assess, to be more reflective about their grading and what they are learning and to have a more accurate perception of what they can do in class.”

“It pushes students to learn instead of tabulating points,” Schneider said.


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