New Standards call for new ways of grading students

It is no secret that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are complex. After all, they were designed to be research and evidence based, internationally benchmarked, rigorous and aligned with collegiate and career expectations, according to the CCSS' website. However, with more complex Standards in place, many school districts are realizing they need new ways of evaluating students' academic progress.

In Illinois, officials from the Danville School District No. 118 decided to revamp their report cards so that students were no longer receiving letter grades, The Commercial-News reported. Pupils are now evaluated on a scale of one to four on subjects such as English language arts and mathematics. Those who receive a one are performing below the CCSS, while a four signifies they have exceeded them.

So far, kindergartners through second-graders have been the only ones to receive the updated report cards. However, there are plans to begin providing pupils in grades three through five with them as well.

"The traditional letter grades of A, B, C, D and F [don't] really tell the parents anything," John Hart, the District's special education director, told the news source.