Four years ago, two teachers at Ecker Hill went to a conference and came back with a grand idea that would change the way Park City grades its students. Instead of A-F letter grades, the district would implement a 1-4 scale, with a 1 meaning that the kid doesn’t get it at all and a 4 meaning that the student has exceeded the learning target. For the past two years, Ecker Hill and Treasure Mountain have been trialing the program. It’s called Standards-Based Grading.
According to school district spokesperson Melanie Coltrain, the trial has gone so well, and there have been so few complaints, that they have decided to roll the program out at all Park City Schools in the 2020-2021 school year, with a few tweaks.
The tweaks include subtle changes to the scoring paradigm. Instead of a one to four scale, the district will be implementing a one to two scale. If the child has the knowledge to teach the class, they will receive a two. If they are not able to teach the class they will get a one.
When asked how this will translate into traditional grades for college entrance Ms. Coltrain commented, “It’s pretty simple. If you get a two, your college transcript will reflect a 4.0, or an A in old-world terminology. If you get a one, your college transcript will reflect a 0.0 or what some people would call an F. It’s really egalitarian and exciting from our perspective. We are going to be very unique.”
Look forward to this new grading system coming to a school near you in the next nine months.
