Grading
Standards-based Grading
Standards Based Grading (SBG) is a grading practice which measures student progress on a number of clearly-defined course objectives (as opposed to various compliance-based categories like classwork and homework).
The goal of SBG is to provide information about specific areas for growth. The expectation is that students will work upon their skills over the course of the year. Therefore, it is common for first marking period scores to appear low because students have not yet fully gained the year’s skills. In a SBG system, scores of 1 or 2 are not failing grades, but rather areas in need of development.
On report cards during the course of the year, students will see scores for individual standards within each subject and not an overall course grade. For the purpose of high school applications, in June of each year, the school will translate a single score for each subject.
“Standards Based Grading: What Parents Need to Know“