School district to launch target-based grading system

With the first day of the new school year right around the corner, the School District of Rhinelander is preparing to implement a new target-based grading system.

“Over the summer we continue to push out our newsletter around target-based grading, just giving the (general information) to families,” the district’s director of instruction, Ryan Ourada, told the school board’s instruction and accountability committee Aug. 12. “Initially, when we pushed it out, we had less than 100 hits. When our principals pushed it out a few weeks later it was over 500 and it’s continued to grow. So the awareness is growing.”

Among the materials sent to parents was a 7-minute video featuring Shane Dornfeld and Kyle Raleigh, principals of Rhinelander High School and James Williams Middle School, respectively, explaining the different components of the new grading system.

Parent tutorials will be sent out through September, Ourada added, referring to it as “just in time learning” for families so parents will have information on the new system just as their student starts acclimating to it.

“(We’re) just trying to build that comfort and understanding not only around the why and the how of target-based grading but how they can access and understand that within our parent portal (accessible through the Infinite Campus student information system).” he explained.

A parent informational meeting is also scheduled for 6 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5.

According to information included in the “frequently asked questions” section of the material sent to parents, the change to target-based grading was the result of a thorough examination of the district’s grading practices over the course of nearly four years. 

“Through this process, it became increasingly evident that students’ grades should reflect their comprehension of specific targets at a given point in time, rather than being determined by the percentage of work completed or an average of scores over time,” the FAQ reads. “Adopting target-based proficiency grading enables students to gain a deeper understanding of their learning strengths and areas requiring improvement. It also provides them with direct and timely feedback on the specific areas and skills they need to concentrate on, thereby fostering a more effective learning process.”

The foundational beliefs/pillars of target-based grading are:

• Formative practice (homework, quizzes, extra credit, etc.) is not counted within an academic achievement grade 

• Reassessment on all summative assessments without penalty

• Elimination of non-academic factors from the academic grade and report on them separately 

• Reporting student proficiency against specific learning targets/standards as the basis for the academic grade.

While there will be a learning curve as students and parents get used to the new system, there are familiar elements that will not change, Ourada noted.

“Letter grades, GPA, class rank, those are all things that still exist through our scale score,” he stressed.

The district is also using a criteria it calls the “Hodag Score”.

“The Hodag Score represents the personal qualities and traits of citizenship that, while separate from achievement, support academic performance,” the information sent to parents explains. “We believe the Hodag Score reflects the life skills that are critically important to the overall development of students.”

Listed under Hodag Score are qualities such as personal responsibility, work habits and social skills.

As the discussion continued, district superintendent Eric Burke offered advice to the members of the committee who may face questions from parents as the new school year begins.

“If you’re asked about it by the public, the word to remember is clarity,” he told the board members. “In the old system, you could get a 90, 80, 76 percent and that tells you a grade but it doesn’t tell you what you’re good at and what you’re not good at.”

With target-based grading, students and parents will know “exactly what targets they’re really good at or not so good at...” he continued, noting that there is an ability for students to “reassess” as long as they meet the criteria.

“They have to do some work in order to earn their reassessment, some practice,” he explained.

Board member Patricia Townsend, who does not serve on the instruction and accountability committee but was sitting in on the meeting, expressed concern about supporting students who may become discouraged and overwhelmed as they adapt to the system.

“I think we’re always looking at how students are responding to grading and learning,” Ourada responded. “We’re always looking at those social and emotional pieces.”

Heather Schaefer may be reached at heather@rivernewsonline.com.