School is back in session and Center Grove middle school students are piloting a new grading scale.
District officials are implementing a revised 14-point grading process for grades six through eight as part of a pilot for a new scale in the coming years.
For over a year, Center Grove administrators have been discussing ways to eliminate inequities across their secondary buildings. These discussions began after noticing that teachers at different buildings had different grading practices. A committee of 30 teachers and 18 administrators has been meeting to review grading practices and find the best ways to implement an equitable grading scale.
The group’s goal is to create a solution that has little impact on how teachers enter scores into gradebooks. Their guiding principles are making sure a grading practice is accurate and supports a growth mindset, according to Center Grove’s website.
Now, a 14-point scale will be used in the grade book for assignments, tests, labs and more.
With the new grading scale, a student’s scores will average and convert to a final letter grade on a student’s report card. The grade point average from the final letter grades will still be calculated on a 4-point scale, matching other high schools, colleges and universities.
The new process will eliminate the “power of zero” on a 100-point scale in a final grade calculation and ensure grading practices align between teachers and schools. The 14-point scale distributes grades equally, meaning a student can get a zero on an assignment and still have a chance to bring their grade up, said Shannon Carroll-Frey, director of secondary teaching and learning during a work session in May.
“When we talk about supporting growth mindset, we are not talking about giving every kid that plays soccer a metal,” Carroll-Frey said. “But we are talking about ensuring that when students have a hiccup, where it takes them a little longer to learn something, then our grading practices don’t tell the students early in the course ‘you’re done. There’s no way for you to continue successfully.’”
With a 100-point scale, an F is weighted more than other letter grades. A zero on a single assignment can have a damaging impact on a student’s grades and doesn’t accurately reflect a student’s capabilities, Carroll-Frey said.
A 14-point grading scale will accurately represent students’ learning and support a growth mindset, she said.
Transcripts, GPA calculation, report cards, courses, including both high school and dual credit and final exam weight will not change.
The new grading scale will add one step to the calculation process for a term grade. The step converts grades to a 14-point scale automatically in the district’s Skyward program.
A teacher will score an assignment, then the district’s Skyward program will determine percentage and convert it to a 14-point scale. The program will weigh the 14-point value based on category and average the weighted values for each category. Skyward sums up category averages plus exam scores to determine a final grade for a course.
Scores will be placed into one of four categories: performance, practice, progress and preparation. Each category is weighted based on importance. For example, tests are weighted more heavily than quizzes or homework. Performance will be worth 50% of a student’s grade, while practice will be worth 20% and progress will be worth 30%.
