疯客直播 Fe High science teacher Claire Noonan, left, explains the next steps in an ongoing experiment in March during her Advanced Placement Environmental Science class. 疯客直播 Fe Public Schools implemented a standards-based grading policy last year.
疯客直播 Fe High science teacher Claire Noonan, left, explains the next steps in an ongoing experiment in March during her Advanced Placement Environmental Science class. 疯客直播 Fe Public Schools implemented a standards-based grading policy last year.
One year after 疯客直播 Fe Public Schools implemented a standards-based grading policy, many students are still adjusting to being measured by a 1-4 scale focused on skills mastery instead of the traditional A-F scale, which focuses on the final quality of work a student produces and takes into account factors like attendance and behavior.
Given the overhaul of the previous A-F and percentage grading system widely used in public schools across the U.S, the shift wasn鈥檛 without both great district effort and individual school growing pains. As the initiative moves from theory to practice and continues to be perfected this year, many questions 鈥 and some frustration from students and parents 鈥 remain about the new 1-4 grading scale.
Standards are the state-determined benchmarks of a student鈥檚 progress in a course. This might look like being able to answer questions about a reading text in kindergarten or being able to analyze plot development as a high schooler in English class. Students are measured based off of how well they can demonstrate a skill, and can receive anywhere from a 0, or 鈥渋nsufficient evidence,鈥 which means the student didn鈥檛 present the necessary evidence of learning, to a 4, or 鈥渁dvanced,鈥 which means the student goes beyond the in-class material, supported through course connections or real-life applications of the knowledge, according to a guide published on the district website.
In a recent interview, district Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Vanessa Romero explained that following the pandemic, the district sought to focus on standards as a way to 鈥渆nsure all students in 疯客直播 Fe Public Schools have equity and access.鈥
鈥淒uring the pandemic, right when we went to online, remote instruction, we were trying to determine ways to engage kids. How do you engage students in [online] learning?鈥 Romero said.
Additionally, 疯客直播 Fe Public Schools is removing behavior from academic achievement assessment 鈥 meaning tardiness, effort or time spent on a task are no longer assessed in final grades, in a bid to reduce grade inflation and distractions from knowledge attainment in the classroom. The district now uses a rubric on 鈥渓ifelong learning and employability skills鈥 under the concepts of self-direction, work ethic, communication and critical thinking, which students are given personal growth feedback through, according to the district website.
鈥淪tandards-based grading removes the behavior and the compliance out of the work,鈥 Romero said, in order to focus on learning.
The new system stems from a task force created by the district and some professional development opportunities that led to the decision to switch to a standards-based model. During the 2023-24 school year, three years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 10 of the public school sites implemented the standards-based grading system, with the district creating three pathways for schools to fully implement the new policy, Romero said. Some schools implemented the new grading system, such as El Camino Real Academy and Carlos Gilbert Elementary, while others, such as Aspen Community School and Capital High, utilized standards without actually switching to the 1-4 scale. Meanwhile, schools such as Sweeney Elementary and 疯客直播 Fe High focused on building professional learning communities and uniting teacher task forces to review standards and create assessments.
For Romero and her peers working at the district office, standards take the gray-area guesswork out of a grade by focusing just on skills. This is done both through snapshot and low-stakes 鈥渇ormative鈥 assessments, such as homework or assignments, to offer progress reports for a student, and through 鈥渟ummative鈥 assessments like exams or projects that combine a group of standards in order to examine skill attainment and application in the given topic.
The new grading system could be moving the needle further for 疯客直播 Fe students 鈥 Romero said preliminary data shows students placing above the state average in English and math and a boost in graduation rates.
While the future of standards-based grading is hopeful, the implementation of the system has been met with some frustration and confusion.
鈥淪ome students work so hard to just get a 2, and it鈥檚 just because they missed one out of five standards taught in a grading period,鈥 Capital High senior Sergio Dominguez said in a recent interview.
Dominguez added that there was a general confusion and haziness on grades during the first few months of the 2023-24 school year, something Dominguez and his friends knew would be natural to a new system but also a disadvantage to students. He said it seemed students were putting less effort and time into their work to achieve high letter grades, instead settling for a 3 in the new system.
鈥淭he 1-4 system wasn鈥檛 very clear from the beginning,鈥 Mariela Ruiz, mother of three students in the 疯客直播 Fe Public School system said in July. 鈥淭his was only amplified by my kids coming home with grades they and I were unsatisfied with, even with the effort I saw them putting into their work.鈥
Ruiz added: 鈥淭he A-F system was more concrete, and it鈥檚 disappointing that many brilliant kids will now strive to receive a 3, as it鈥檚 acceptable even with the possibility of a 4, due to the expectations students now have to achieve.鈥
Yet, the switch could allow more access to education for students who might not be taught at grade level for different reasons.
鈥淭his is our way of demonstrating that no matter if you鈥檙e an EL [English learner] student, no matter if you鈥檙e a student with an IEP [Individualized Educational Plan] 鈥 that all of our kids are going to be exposed to grade-level standard, because oftentimes we get a kid that鈥檚 maybe two years below grade level, and we鈥檙e teaching them two years below grade level; they鈥檙e never going to catch up,鈥 Romero said.
Romero also noted the new grading system could be a way to help address the 2018 ruling of the Yazzie/Martinez v. state of New Mexico lawsuit, which challenged the state鈥檚 failure to prepare Native students, English-language learner students, students with disabilities and low-income students for success in school, as well as the lack of funding for any programs to help these students.
鈥淲e believe that all students, regardless of their background or where they come from, should be exposed to grade-level standards. And we should set the bar high for all of our kids,鈥 Romero said.
The聽疯客直播 Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
