What you need to know about the new grading policy changes

“Formative grades count!” was a rumor quickly spreading through Wauwatosa East on September 1st. Soon enough, the rumors were proven true when teachers informed their classes of the changes made to the grading system over summer.

Although many students have never realized it, Wauwatosa already had a slightly unconventional grading system called standard based grading, or Grading for Learning. This system was first introduced to Tosa schools in 2013, and it is different from traditional grading in several ways. Standard based learning uses “standards” or “benchmarks,” as a way to break down a student’s grade. Using benchmarks help the student see what they are expected to know, and what to work towards. For example, in a math class, if a student has a weakness in graphing, grading for learning can pinpoint this to help students study for future tests.

Although the grading system as a whole has not changed this year, a few small differences have been made. As in past years, work is still graded on a 4 point scale and retakes are still available, but select classwork and homework will be graded and make up 10% of a student’s overall grade. Along with this, there has also been a minor change to Responsibility for Learning (RFL) grades, they can no longer be used to prevent students from participating in sporting events and co-curricular activities. There has been a variety of responses to the change in grading from both students and teachers, but many agree that the change was made to help students. Freshman Sylvie Leech mentions, that “it [the grading system] now rewards people who have always done their homework, and who really try in class.” Another freshman agreed and brought up the fact that if a student isn’t doing their homework, they are only hurting themselves. History teacher, Daniel McHugh, has a similar opinion: “Having formatives count is important because I saw many students not bother to complete them in past years since they were not reflected in their grade.” McHugh also expects to see better grades overall, though he wants students to realize that completing the expected work is not a quick fix to a plummeting grade.The idea of homework was always to practice skills and show mastery of it, now students that put in the effort to do so are being rewarded.

However, some people dislike the changes to the grading system. As freshman Sienna Daniels commented, “The fact that we’re being judged on our homework as if it were a test is ridiculous. Especially because we need to focus on other things beside school such as extracurricular activities, jobs, and family responsibilities.” Most students have a lot going on and the change in the grading policy may make it harder for students to juggle all of these responsibilities at once. Freshman Elyse Bartz agrees and mentions another important point, mental health, “Students need the night time to focus on household responsibilities, meals, and taking care of themselves. Having a lot of homework can take away from your sleep, and even your mental health.” Adding the stress of getting a good grade on a homework assignment may be too much for students to deal with.

There have been both positive and negative reactions from students and teachers alike, and the new grading changes will take some time for everyone to get used to. Only time will tell if the new changes will make a difference on Tosa East and Wauwatosa students.