(The Center Square) – Some students in Wisconsin will soon see different grades on their report cards, and there are some worries that those grades may not be enough.
Eau Claire Area Schools last week became the latest school district in the state to shift to standards-based grading.
The district’s director of secondary programming and post-secondary readiness, Michelle Radtke, said standards-based grading is a shift away from traditional A.B, C, D, and F grades and a shift toward a new scale to better measure “when learning occurs.”
“Standards-based grading is about teacher practices and feedback and student goal-setting,” she said at last week’s school board meeting.
Standards-based grading uses a 4-point scale to measure student learning. And things like attendance and class participation are not included.
That’s what worries Cory Brewer with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.
She told News Talk 1130 WISN that a simple point scale could be useful for children in younger grades. But standards-based grading may not be as useful for older students, particularly when you are looking to measure reading, writing, or math proficiency.
“On a scale of one to three, what is a three? Is that a 90% or a 98%? Is my child excelling, or is she just meeting the minimum expectations? What does that cover? How are parents supposed to know,” Brewer asked. “Another issue we see with this is grade inflation.”
Brewer said parents can very easily get the wrong idea about how well their kids are doing in school.
“If it’s going to be used, it should be used in the very early grades,” Brewer added. “But when you get into the higher grades, I think it’s not the best option. And it can tend to lower the bar.”
WILL has been vocal about the concerns of lowering the bar in Wisconsin public schools.
WILL has opposed changes to Wisconsin’s state tests and the reworked state standards that it says have made it impossible for parents to compare how their kids are reading, writing, and doing math to years past.
“I don’t want to say that all standards-based grading is a terrible, woke idea. I don’t think that would be accurate,” Brewer added. “But one of the things that we are seeing is the recommendation that teachers never give a zero. Ever. Even if something isn’t turned in.”
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Brewer said doing the work, paying attention to detail, and finishing assignments is just as important in school as learning the core subjects.
Eau Claire Schools are one of several that have adopted standards-based grading either this year or in recent years.
