We are intrigued by something happening in the classroom of Elizabeth Stallman, a teacher at Blue Earth Area Schools. She is implementing a standard-based grading system, meant to help find and target the specific academic needs of each student.

As she explains things:?”A traditional gradebook is very cumulative. You get homework assignments, quizzes and tests, which are all averaged into a specific grade. If a student bombs the first couple of things, it’s going to hurt their overall score. It’s not a very good representation of the student’s learning and growth over time.”

So a student who struggles with academic material to begin with, but understands all of it by the end of the semester gets a “C” grade, while another student who may learn faster gets a B or an A.

We’re sure there are arguments on the other side of this equation. What about doing your homework well and preparing yourself for quizzes and tests throughout the semester? Proving yourself every day, so to speak. What about the student who ends up with a “C” because they had trouble on the final test, but otherwise aced the coursework?

But according to Stallman, standard-based grading holds out the promise of finding those areas in which students need more practice and study. So they can focus their efforts on learning, rather than repeating existing competence.

Students who grasp concepts and show that they do are rewarded under the system, just as in cumulative grading. The standard-based model also holds out new hope to those who may struggle initially.

We hope the promise of this pilot project comes to fruition. Kudos to Stallman and Blue Earth Area for trying something new.