August 12, 2019
Dear TMS Family,
Trenton Middle School will again have teachers piloting a grading approach known as “Standards Referenced Grading”. We believe that this new grading approach can benefit students, teachers, and parents/guardians.
Standards referenced grading shows how students are performing on a set of clearly defined learning targets called standards. The purpose of standards-based grading is to identify what a student knows, or is able to do, as opposed to simply averaging grades/scores over the course of a grading period, which can mask what a student has learned, or not learned, in a specific course. A standards referenced grading system measures a student’s mastery of grade-level standards by prioritizing the most recent, consistent level of performance. Thus, a student who may have struggled at the beginning of a course, when first encountering new material, may still be able to demonstrate mastery of key content/concepts by the end of a grading period.
A student’s performance on a series of assessments will be used to determine a student’s overall grade in a course. Practice assignments are just that, practice, and should serve primarily as a source of feedback and instructional support for both students and teachers. Scores on practice assignments should not be used as a major component of a student’s academic grade. Teachers may require students to complete all of their practice work prior to allowing them to take, or retake, an assessment. The chart below shows how students will be scored.
| 4 - Exceeding Standards | Consistently meets requirements for exceptional work related to course standards and demonstrates a deep level of knowledge and skill for this point in the school year |
| 3 - Meeting Standards | Consistently meets requirements for proficient work related to course standards and demonstrates grade level knowledge and skills for this point in the school year |
| 2 – Approaching Standards | Consistently meets some requirements for proficient work related to course standards and demonstrates some grade level knowledge and skills for this point in school year |
| 1 – Attempting Standards | Consistently meets few requirements for proficient work related to course standards and demonstrates little grade level knowledge and skill for this point in the school year |
In order to stay in line with our current grading practices, final scores for all standards will be averaged at quarter and semester to determine the student’s final grade. The following chart will be used to determine the final percentage grade.
| Average Scale Score Across Multiple Standards | Traditional Grade |
| 3.26-4.00 | A |
| 3.00-3.25 | A- |
| 2.84-2.99 | B+ |
| 2.67-2.83 | B |
| 2.50-2.66 | B- |
| 2.34-2.49 | C+ |
| 2.17-2.33 | C |
| 2.00-2.16 | C- |
| 1.76-1.99 | D+ |
| 1.26-1.75 | D |
| 1.00-1.25 | D- |
| Below 1.00 | F |
Standards Referenced Grading will be piloted by Mrs. Rongey (5th grade Science), Mrs. Gibler (5th grade ELA), Mrs. Taylor (6th Grade Science), Mrs. Orndorff (7th Grade SPED Math), Mrs. Otto (8th grade ELA), Mrs. Keuler (8th grade Science), and Mrs. Crimi (8th grade computers).
If you have any questions or would like further information please feel free to contact the above teachers, or Mr. Gott at Trenton Middle School 660-359-4328.
Sincerely,
Daniel Gott
Principal
Trenton Middle School