Case Study: The Massachusetts Rethinking Grading Pilot

The Melrose High School team identified 3 anchor questions: How can assessments best serve student learning? What do we want our students to leave with? How can students drive and discuss their learning? Guided by these, they developed an integrated approach to 21st century grading that fosters equity by: (1) Supporting students’ Habits of Learning, across the academic program (2) Increasing accuracy and transparency in grading; (3) Developing new policies for Retaking and Revising Assessments, and establishing a minimum grade of 50%; (4) Proactively communicating; (5) Explicitly nurturing student voice; and (6) Adopting universal design principles for efficient assessment-building within a flexible environment.

Revere High School identified three “rethinking” arenas: 1) Clarify what it means for students to be proficient; 2) Ensure alignment with standards and other frameworks; 3) Develop consistent practices for grade calculations, the use of rubrics, and grade reporting. The pilot team collaborated to design a prototype for a common grading table, category weights connected to power standards, and a plan to develop assessments tied to those standards-based learning targets. This approach sharpens the focus on student proficiency, takes gradebook construction out of the hands of teachers and considers every step of “the what” in a more comprehensive way.

Revere High School, Part 2 – Developing a Culture of Competency: 72% of the students who attend Revere High School are learning English. A number of them have struggled to pass the MCAS (state’ graduation exam), and have also experienced course failure. As an extension of their #RethinkingGrading efforts, the District is designing a customized and personalized graduation pathway, guided by a Profile of a Graduate. To ensure teachers can effectively support students, the district is partnering with reDesign to develop and facilitate professional learning experiences and modularized courses: a commitment to developing a culture of competency for both young people and the adults who serve them.

South Shore took a professional learning community approach to refining and implementing a range of school-wide shifts, designed to make grading more fair, accurate, and helpful.The Fellow designated to lead this project served in an administrator role, and helped the school community coalesce around four areas for change: 1) developing a competency-based grade scale, 2) directly linking all assignments and grades to standards; 3) instituting a universal late work policy; and 4) implementing a revision policy focused on relearning. Background knowledge-building, feasibility discussions that incorporated community input, and formalizing a plan for change were all part of the journey, with the recognition that the school would adjust the plan along the way. In Year 2, communication, transparency with all stakeholders, and continued education have been essential, as well as continued solicitation of feedback as assessments were developed that aligned with the rollout of the new grade scale. Ultimately, South Shore is not only rethinking grading – the school is also rethinking work habits, remediation, assessments, instruction, and curriculum.