Eastmont Middle School implements new grading system

Eastmont Middle may be just an average school demographically, but academically it is one of the highest rated schools in the Canyons School District.

Why?

It just may have something to do with “Standards-Based Grading” – a well researched and thought out grading system that Principal Jan Sterzer has implemented, starting this year.

“Standards-Based Grading is not a ‘point system,’ but rather a ‘what you know’ concept,” Sterzer said. “The whole concept is that you are grading on what the child has learned, so when you give an ‘A,’ you know that child knows the material and mass curriculum; they’ve mastered that concept.”

Grading in this manner was decided upon after students’ letter grades weren’t matching up to the end of level testing that occurs at the end of each year to see what students had learned and retained throughout the year.

“Students shouldn’t get a ‘D’ on the end of level testing if they got an ‘A’ in the class because that (the grade) was basically the teacher telling the parent that ‘your child knows this material.’ You almost lose faith in the grading system when it’s like that,” Sterzer said. “So what we decided to do is grade on academic standards. What we’re telling the parent is that if your child gets an ‘A’ in the class, your child knows the standard.”

Going along with this, behaviors such as effort, participation and adherence to classroom rules no longer affect students’ grades. Grades are based solely on what the child knows, whereas behavior problems are handled in a different manner such as after school detention, a job in the school (cleaning desks, filing, etc.) or even suspension, based on the severity of the misbehavior.

“It’s not that we just let that [negative] behavior slide, but we don’t include it in their grade because it gives a miscommunication to what that child knows,” Sterzer said.

Administrators agree that Standards-Based Grading is a way for students to feel like they are in charge of what they know. Under this program, students are allowed to retake a test as many times as needed to show that they understand the concept of what they are being taught. They are also provided time in and after school to get extra help.

“There is no one telling them that they can’t have an ‘A,’” Sterzer said. “It is so unmotivating for a child to get halfway through the quarter and find that they have an ‘F’ grade, knowing it is almost impossible for them to pull themselves out.”

The whole idea behind this grading system is to get the students motivated to learn and to not give up. Sterzer wants her students to know that “there is nothing, at any point, that will prevent them from learning and showing mastery.”