Parents
Evidence-Based Reporting is about better communication. You will have access to your student's progress towards grade-level standards as students build their body of evidence. Grade-level standards are taken from North Dakota's Content Standards.
The Standards-Based Instruction and Evidence-Based Grading model is rooted in building a body of evidence that shows proficiency in a set number of transferable Enduring Skills designated by each individual course. The mode (most frequent) score is used with the ability to account for recent evidence at the end of a semester. Since middle school is reporting out proficiency progress only (and not letter grades), the credit-bearing classes offered at our middle schools will not see a projected grade; however, they will receive a letter grade at the end of each semester.
Projected Grade Table
A letter grade will be determined and assigned at the end of each semester using the table to the right.
Guidelines for Success MS.pdfMiddle School Guidelines for Success
Non-Academic factors are reported separately from academic scores. Middle School Guidelines for Success are the following: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Have a Growth Mindset. Codes used to give feedback on the Guidelines for Success are the following:
C- Consistently Demonstrates This Behavior
I- Inconsistently Demonstrates This Behavior
R-Rarely Demonstrates This Behavior
High School Guidelines for Success
Non-Academic factors are reported separately from academic scores. High School Guidelines for Success are the following: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Prepared. Codes used to give feedback on the Guidelines for Success are the following:
C- Consistently Demonstrates This Behavior
I- Inconsistently Demonstrates This Behavior
R-Rarely Demonstrates This Behavior
HS Guidelines.pdf
Family Guide to Standards-Referenced Grading for Middle School and High School
Parents/Students Guide to PowerSchool
How Parents and Students see EBR grades.mp4How to see Evidence Based Scores in PowerSchool Parents and Students.pdfFPS Codes
Enduring Skills Calculations
How is an enduring skill score calculated.mp4EBR Grade Calculations
How EBR Grades are calculated.mp4Education plays a big role in helping every student answer the question: what do you want to be when you grow up?
How can our schools and teachers do a better job of making sure students gain the skills and abilities to realize their goals and dreams? One way is to improve how we monitor and report the progress students make in the classroom. A lot has changed in education over the past century. But one thing, unfortunately, has not: the As, Bs, Cs, Ds or Fs used on report cards. Fargo Public Schools is making the switch to a new and improved grading system – called Evidence-Based Reporting – to help students, teachers, and parents know whether the work students are completing in the classroom is heading in the right direction and pointing toward the goals and dreams of our students.
What is Standards-Based Instruction?
In education, the term standards-based instruction refers to instructional approaches that are aligned to learning standards — i.e., written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. In other words, standards-based refers to the use of learning standards to guide what gets taught and assessed in schools.
What are the advantages of EBR? Improved communication and additional feedback for parents, students and teachers - parents and students will see areas of academic strength and weaknesses in the grade book rather than seeing a test score or homework assignment and wondering what the next steps might be. Teachers will know which standards they need to re-teach. Students will know which standards for which they need additional learning opportunities and/or practice.
How is the role of assessment different in this system?
In a traditional grading system, student assessments were often given for the purpose of entering a score in the grade book. Assessments in an SRG system are given for the purpose of identifying future learning opportunities for students.
Are certain standards weighted in the grade book?
No, all standards have equal weighting.
What are the FPS Grading Practices?
How will feedback be given beyond a score in the grade book?
Because teachers and students operate from common scales that define what each level 1-4 means, the feedback can be targeted. Example: “You received a score of 2 because you have sufficiently stated your claim. In order to get a 3, you will need to support your claim with text evidence.”
How do scores translate to a grade?
Teachers collect a body of evidence for each enduring skill. Teachers will collect evidence for each enduring skill. The mode is them used to determine an overall score in each skill. Final enduring skill scores are then computed in PowerSchool and converted to a grade using the a conversion scale where a 3 and above in ALL SKILLS is an A:
How will this system impact GPAs? Students will be given a score 1-4 for each reporting period to demonstrate the learning is still “In Progress”. All scores will be converted to a grade at the end of each semester. Student GPAs will be figured the same way they always have and college transcripts will look the same.
How do colleges feel about EBR?
Colleges want grade point averages to be an accurate reflection of student learning and understanding. Grades should correlate to a student’s academic performance on high stakes assessments, such as Iowa Assessments or ACT.
Is there a problem transferring EBR to college for acceptance?
No – students will still receive grades and a GPA.
How does SBI/EBR help students become prepared for college? Identifying one’s strengths and weaknesses as a learner, being self-motivated to meet course objectives, developing strong study habits, and mastering course standards are all aspects of this system that will help students in college and beyond.
Won’t we have grade inflation with such a large A range?
We anticipate the opposite. Earning an A will require a student to demonstrate grade level proficiency on every enduring skill for a course. Because we no longer give extra points for non-academic tasks, a student will need to demonstrate improved learning to raise a grade.
Shouldn’t attendance, effort and completion of homework be rewarded?
Yes, those things are important. However, they should not be graded. These are behaviors, not learning targets. Students should be held accountable for these behaviors, and their progress will be reported on the FPS Guidelines for Success.
Why do we not include homework in the body of evidence?
What is termed "homework" (practice of new learning in the classroom) is simply not factored into grades. We only want to include evidence that we know was completed independently by the student.
Grades and points have been used for a long time. Why fix it if it isn’t broken?
There is little evidence to support traditional grading practices. In fact, we have data to illustrate our traditional grading practices are broken.
How does this practice prepare students for the ‘real world’?
There are no retakes in the ‘real world’. It’s only sensible to expect different things of students during the learning process than we expect of them when it’s time to demonstrate final proficiency. Applying expectations for a high level of competency to students who are in the process of coming to know content is counterproductive, even harmful. The teacher who claims to be preparing students for the working world by disallowing all redos forgets that adult professionals actually flourish through multiple assessment opportunities and retakes. Surgeons practice on cadavers before doing surgeries on live patients. Architects redesign building plans until they meet all the specifications listed. Pilots rehearse landings and take-offs hundreds of times in simulators and in solo flights. Lawyers practice debate and analysis of arguments before litigating real cases. Teachers become much more competent and effective by teaching the same content multiple times, reflecting on what worked and what didn’t work each time. LSAT. MCAT. Praxis. SAT. Bar exam. CPA exam. Driver’s licensure. Pilot’s licensure. Auto mechanic certification exam. Every one of these assessments reflects the adult-level, working-world responsibilities our students will one day face. Many of them are high stakes: People’s lives depend on these tests’ validity as accurate measures of individual competence. All of them can be redone over and over for full credit.