Portland middle schools to adopt standards-based grading this fall

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Big changes are coming for sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Portland Public Schools this fall.

Students will no longer receive letter grades when they return to school in late August. Instead, teachers will use a standards-based approach to assess student learning.

The change will impact students at all PPS middle schools as well as students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades at the district’s Kindergarten through eighth grade schools.

In an email sent to parents July 16, Robert Gray Middle School Teacher Melissa Sagba said that the new system will focus on learning, not grades.

The idea is to shift from the traditional grading method, which rates how well a student performs a given assignment, to using a rubric to assess how well a student understands the material.

Sagba said the new standards-based grading system will look different for each classroom, but that grading lets students know how well they understand a concept.

For her 6th grade math class, students will practice math problems in a workbook and participate in quizzes known as “Questions of the Day” to take some of the pressure off. Their work will be evaluated according to a rubric that provides clear guidance on what can be done to improve.

Portland Public Schools declined a request for an interview. According to their website, standards-based grading is intended to gauge how well students meet learning standards.

Forest Grove School District uses standards-based learning for grades 7 through 12, a spokesperson told KOIN 6 News in an email.

Beaverton School District uses the system across all grade levels.

“In a standards-based grading system, teachers break down broad academic goals into specific learning skills and targets. This helps students clearly understand what they are expected to learn and why. Teachers regularly assess student progress and provide timely, meaningful feedback on the learning,” said Dr. Shelly Reggiani in an email. Reggiani is the associate superintendent at the Beaverton School District.