As students and staff attend classes this year, some are also participating in a new grading pilot called “Standardize Based Grading”. The English 9 team and several other teachers are participating in the new system.

Kaneland became introduced to this new grading system when Rick Wormeli a National Board Certified teacher and author of the book “Fair isn’t always Equal” came to speak to the staff.

“He talked to us about some of his ideas that he has implemented on standardize based grading and some of it we agreed with. We found some of his ideas like test retakes and essay resubmission interesting,” English teacher Emily Fuchs said.

Retaking tests and quizzes along with rewriting essays are among the techniques being used in some classes this year at KHS. Kenneth Dentino’s math classes have an opportunity to retake every quiz or test taken throughout the school year.

“It gives the students an opportunity to have multiple attempts to master the standards,” Dentino said.

According to Michael Purcell director of educational services 6-12 the grading system puts emphasis on the amount of information a student learns, not the grades they receive.

“What we want to do is de-emphasize grades and emphasize learning,” Purcell said.

He also explained other philosophies discussed in Wormeli’s book, specifically the concept that no work should be considered optional and the ‘killer zero’.

“So you have this big assignment and you don’t do it, now there’s really almost no chance of getting higher than a D or an F in the class, but that doesn’t mean you have learned any less about that topic,” Purcell said.

With the pilot in place, the district will begin taking data and receiving feedback in October to assess how the system is fitting in at Kaneland. They plan to receive that feedback from teachers, students and their families.