Standards-Based Grading

Standards-based grading is an approach to assessing and reporting student learning that focuses on aligning grading criteria directly with specific learning objectives or standards, communicating more meaningful information to parents by providing a clearer picture of their child's strengths and areas for growth.

Standards-based grading helps break down barriers and focus on what students truly know and can do. This approach provides clear, meaningful feedback that helps parents better understand their student’s strengths and areas for growth, strengthening our partnership in supporting their learning journey.

Learning standards are written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage in their education. They are a guide to what gets taught and assessed in schools. We have aligned our instruction with local, state and national standards.

• Purpose of Grading: Learning is about growth. The primary purpose of grading is to communicate proficiency with academic standards. Parents and students will gain a clear understanding of their academic strengths and weaknesses, rather than merely seeing a test score or homework assignment and wondering where improvement is needed. This approach measures how well a student meets grade-level standards by focusing on their most recent and consistent performance.

• Accuracy of Information: Traditional grades often include non-academic factors that can falsely inflate or deflate them, leading to misleading representations of student achievement.

• Enhanced Communication: We want parents to be involved in their child's education, and this transition will give them the information needed to ask pertinent questions and engage constructively. Traditional grades fail to show what the student has learned and don't give parents information on how to support their child at home.

• Parental Involvement: We want parents to be involved in their child’s education and aim to provide parents with more comprehensive information about their child's academic performance, allowing them to support their child's success more effectively.

• Focus on Growth: Switching to a numerical system underscores the importance of learning and growth over static letter grades.

Report cards with numerical standards-based grades will not be introduced until the 2027-2028 school year.  For the rest of this year and the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school year, we will continue the changes already in place, including renaming homework as practice and eliminating zeros. These adjustments lay the groundwork for a grading system that emphasizes growth and accurate reporting of academic achievement.

All middle school grade levels will switch to standards-based grading at the same time. This is because many teachers instruct multiple grade levels, and a staggered rollout would require them to use multiple grading systems.

Traditional grades are based on an average of quiz and test scores, completed homework, classroom participation, attendance, and possibly extra credit. Standards-based grading separates these elements. It allows parents and students to identify exactly where their child may need assistance with academic concepts or where there may be challenges in turning in homework. This approach measures how well a student meets grade-level standards by focusing on their most recent and consistent performance.

In addition the alignment of grading criteria with specific learning standards, the following will also change:

• Letter grades will change to number scores aligned with student understanding of the learning standards.

• Students will be able to retake tests and quizzes until the end of each trimester.

• Homework will be referred to as "practice". Practice is designed to reinforce concepts already learned by students, rather than introduce new material. While practice work will not be graded in the traditional sense, scores may be documented to show student growth and students will receive feedback. The emphasis is on learning rather than compliance.

• Extra credit will be eliminated. Students will be able to retake assessments to improve scores.

Practice (homework) will still be reviewed and corrected in class. However, a score for the homework assignment will not be recorded in the gradebook. There will not be punitive consequences for students that do not complete their practice. Staff will work to determine why the work is not being completed and then create a plan to support the student.

Yes, those things are important. However, they should not receive grades. These are behaviors, not learning objectives. Therefore, teachers should focus on developing work readiness skills, task completion, and meeting deadlines. All of these will be assessed and a score entered onto the progress report.  The difference is that these "scores" will not be averaged into the overall score for the standard.

• Priority Standards Identified: These are the key learning goals or essential skills that have been prioritized for students to achieve.

• Scores for Student Achievement Towards These Standards: Students will be assessed based on how well they meet these priority standards.

• Scores for Learning Behaviors: Separate scores will be given for behaviors that support learning, such as attendance, participation, respect, and responsibility.

• Scores for Practice Completion: Students will also receive scores for completing practice work at home or in the classroom.

The standards-based grading committee is still developing the report card. When it is complete, the district will offer in-person and zoom presentations to review it. Information will also be shared on our website and in newsletters.

Staff training focuses on strategies for giving effective feedback and understanding grading practices, ensuring all teachers are well-prepared to accurately assess students' academic progress. Teachers will continue to clearly communicate the standards and learning targets to students, just as they do currently.

Families will continue to have access to progress reports in ParentVUE at the end of each term, just as they do now. Students will also have weekly goal sheets in Google Classroom that document missing work and teacher feedback. 

At all three middle schools, students learned about standards-based grading by rotating through stations with brief activities designed to deepen their understanding.

Our committee of administrators and middle school staff are developing a learning sequence, rubrics, and scoresheets for staff to outline what students should learn and when. These sequences serve as common assessments used across all classes in the district to ensure cohesion. In addition, staff will have access to documents from the state that clearly identify what is considered proficient for learning standards. 

Teachers will provide detailed feedback on students' work to help them understand their strengths and areas for improvement, motivating them to strive for progress rather than just a grade. Encouraging students to set personal goals fosters a sense of purpose and achievement, driving motivation beyond grades.

Standards-based grading goes beyond simply removing extra credit. It also aligns assessments with the Illinois Learning Standards, clearly communicates to students what they are learning, and provides them with specific guidance on how to demonstrate their understanding.

Honor roll, NJHS, and athletic requirements will be communicated to all families prior to implementation. Students will still be recognized for their academic achievements, effort, work completion, attendance and other performance factors. 

All students will be working towards grade level learning standards or grade level Essential Elements. Students will continue to receive individualized supports and modifications as identified in their individual education plan or 504 plan.

The standards-based grading committee is comprised of middle school teachers and administrators who gather feedback from their peers and bring it to the committee. Staff have participated in nearly 18 months of professional learning to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and support needed for success.

To ensure consistency and clear expectations for students, all staff will follow the same practices.

District 155 is aware of the middle school transition to standards-based grading and this will not change the transition to high school. They are already familiar with the process through another feeder school, Prairie Grove Junior High. Students will continue to be placed in high school courses based on the D47 universal screener, classroom performance and meeting course standards. Preparing students to self-assess strengths and weaknesses, self-motivate toward course objectives, and master standards will better equip them for the academic rigor of high school.

The high schools are a different school district and guided by a separate administration and school board. They make their own decisions regarding grading and instruction.

Although not comprehensive, here are some middle schools in Illinois that have implemented standards-based grading.

• Addison District 4

• Algonquin District 62

• Bensenville District 2

• Evanston/Skokie School District 65

• East Maine School District 63

• Freemont 79

• Geneseo 228

• Gurnee District 56

• Harlem School District

• Lincolnshire-Prairie View District 103

• Lisle 202

• Nippersink - starting fall of 2025

• Oaklawn 126

• Park Ridge Niles 64

• Peoria Public Schools

• Prairie Grove CSD 46

• Rock Island- Milan

• Roundlake 116

• Skokie 68

• Tremont 702

• Woodland School District 50

One challenge of implementing standards-based grading is ensuring that staff are properly trained to understand the standards, assess student progress accurately, and communicate that progress effectively. Ongoing professional development is essential not only for staff but also for parents, so they can understand the new report card and grading system.

Not at this time.

Please submit all questions to the curriculum department through the form on this website page.

Standards-based Grading Website

A response from Dr. Matt Townsley: By itself, implementing standards-based grading will likely not impact (negatively or positively) student achievement.  You may be surprised to read this response and then follow-up with another question, "Well, then WHY should we make this big shift if it isn't going to necessarily move the achievement needle?"  Consider the following quote from a 2022 article written by Thomas Guskey (the biggest expert in grading research) and Laura Link:

Let’s be clear: No grading system by itself improves student learning. Why would we expect it to? Changing grading does not alter the curriculum (i.e., what is taught) or instruction (i.e., how it is taught) - the 2 major factors that determine what and how well students learn. Grading is simply a way of communicating evaluations of the results of assessments and other evidence on students’ performance. However, better grading can provide clearer and more accurate information on students’ learning that then can be used as a basis for making improvements.

For example, consider School A that implements standards-based grading but does not yet have a strong intervention system in place. In other words, many students have 1s and 2s on their standards and teachers have little, if any, time during the school day to provide additional instruction, reassessment, etc.  Part of the reason their students may not yet be achieving at a high level (on standardized tests) is because the system is not yet set up to successfully act upon the more detailed information (the 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, etc.) that standards-based grading provides.  

Now consider School B that also implements standards-based grading AND has a strong intervention system in place.  In other words, FEW students have 1st and 2s on their standards, because teachers are provided ample time during the school day to provide additional instruction, reassessment, etc.  A big reason their students are achieving at a high level (on standardized tests) is because School B has used standards-based grading as a basis for making improvements to their intervention system.