Elementary Grading Practices
Welcome to Elementary Grading Practices! This website is designed to support teachers, families, and leadership with Standards-Referenced Grading.
This video explains how proficiency scales are developed.
Proficiency Scales
Elementary teachers, K-5, will use proficiency scales developed at the district level to plan and measure student progress toward learning targets.
Behaviors vs. Academic Grades
Social skills, turning in and completing assignments, effort, and behavior are reported separately on the progress report when implementing Standards-Referenced Grading and using Proficiency Scales. These are important aspects for success in school and life; however, they should not inflate or deflate a students academic grade which reflects their understanding of grade level standards.
Student Evidence of Learning
Body of Evidence
A body of evidence is a collection of the student’s work on an academic standard. A proficiency score should not be derived from a single assessment/task. Best practice is to have at least three data points. Also, a score should be the most reasonable representation of a students' status at a particular point in time. The intent for each learning task assigned by teachers will determine whether the task is formative or summative.
Formative Tasks
Formative tasks are designed to provide practice opportunities toward gaining proficiency. Formative tasks are used to provide meaningful feedback and the information gained is used to adjust instruction to support students.
Summative Tasks
Summative tasks are designed to assess student proficiency toward mastery. Summative tasks are provided after sufficient formative assessment and instruction have occurred. Informal observations of students demonstrating proficiency or unit assessments are examples of summative tasks.