Understanding Standards-Based Grading at Westside

Beginning in Lower School and continuing through Middle School, Westside uses standards-based grading rather than traditional letter or number grades. This approach is widely used in elementary schools and has been increasingly adopted by middle and high schools across the region and the country. At Westside, it reflects both our educational philosophy and a growing body of research on effective, equitable grading practices. It allows us to communicate more clearly what students know, understand, and can do.

Why Move Away from Traditional Grades?

Traditional grading systems typically summarize a student’s performance in a class with a single grade. That grade often combines academic achievement with non-academic factors such as timeliness, work completion, or behavior. While familiar, this approach has several limitations:

• Limited clarity: One overall grade can mask patterns of strengths and challenges within a subject area.
• Overemphasis on summative assessments: Tests, quizzes, and large projects often count more heavily than day-to-day learning and practice.
• Little room for growth: Traditional systems often do not allow for revision, retakes, or revisiting concepts as understanding deepens over time.
• Inconsistent picture of learning: A student’s grade may fluctuate depending on which skills are emphasized during a given term.
• Motivation concerns: Research shows that traditional grading tends to emphasize external motivation rather than supporting a growth mindset and intrinsic motivation.

How Standards-Based Grading Addresses These Challenges

Standards-based grading focuses on a student’s proficiency in specific skills and concepts, rather than averaging everything into one score. This approach offers several key benefits:

• Clearer communication: Multiple standards within each subject make strengths and areas for growth more visible to students and families.
• Balanced assessment: Both formative (practice, classwork) and summative (projects, assessments) evidence are used to inform grades.
• Emphasis on learning over time: Students have opportunities for reflection, revision, and reassessment, recognizing that learning is a process.
• Academic focus: Grades reflect mastery of content standards and are not influenced by non-academic factors like late work.
• Equity and accuracy: When implemented well, standards-based grading is more accurate, bias-resistant, and supportive of all learners.

Research also shows that standards-based grading can reduce student anxiety, improve academic outcomes, and strengthen motivation.

What Standards-Based Grading Looks Like at Westside

At Westside, grades communicate the extent to which a student has met clearly defined standards across different areas of learning. Achievement is described using proficiency-based language, rather than letters or percentages.

Proficiency Levels Used in Reporting

These levels help students and families understand where a student is in their learning and what comes next.

World Language Standards

World Language courses follow ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) standards and use standards-based grading. Student reports align with ACTFL proficiency levels, showing expected growth and competencies for each grade.

ACTFL defines three levels - novice, intermediate, and advanced - each with low, mid, and high sublevels. Because Spanish and English share similarities, students may reach some standards in Spanish sooner than in Mandarin. Typically, by the end of 5th and 6th grade, students reach Novice Low (NL) to Novice High (NH). By the end of 7th grade, proficiency is usually Novice Mid (NM) to Novice High (NH) in Mandarin and Novice Mid (NM) to Intermediate Low (IL) in Spanish.

Questions?

Grading practices can raise thoughtful questions, especially for families who are more familiar with traditional systems. If you have questions about standards-based grading at Westside, please feel free to reach out to your child’s division head or Director of Teaching & Learning, Catey Juravich. We’re always happy to continue the conversation and support your understanding of how we communicate student learning.

Written by Catey Juravich, Director of Teaching & Learning and Student Programs

About Catey: Catey has spent her career working with students with learning differences. She is trained in a variety of structured literacy approaches, including Wired for Reading, Slingerland, and Orton-Gillingham. Catey is actively involved in the national learning differences community and is the president-elect of the board of the Washington State Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. She completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Rochester, where she studied brain and cognitive science and inclusive education, respectively.