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By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Austintown City Schools have introduced a new grading and report card system for the kindergarten through fifth-grade classes.
The standards-based grading system became introduced as part of the Falcon 2020 vision team planning and the guidance of the district leadership team. Students in third- and fourth-grade have already experienced standards-based grading, so the fifth-grade students are the only ones new to the system.
Instead of receiving a letter grade on their assignments, students will receive feedback with the SBG system making it easier for them to understand what they need to work on for future homework or tests. Studies have shown that traditional grading methods don’t give students feedback so they are unaware of what they should work on when preparing for the next assignment. The students are more focused on how to receive a higher letter grade, not how to understand the material more thoroughly when receiving a letter grade.
Rather than having a traditional honor roll, Austintown Intermediate School teachers will honor and recognize the students for their performance at the end of the school year.
Austintown City School District is hoping the standards-based grading system will help students become more confident with their learning.