Kaneland’s new responsibility standard encourages students to be responsible when homework has no grade weight. 

     The student responsibility standard focuses on how responsible a student is as an individual. Students are graded on how prepared they are for classes and how on time they are when turning in their assignments. 

     “I remember at the end of last year when they talked about how it was something that they wanted to implement,” English teacher Christina Staker said. “They asked for feedback in our department meeting on the wording for it and if we thought that it was something that was going to be feasible to do or not.”

     The teachers have been talking about this for a while, but Kaneland students are just hearing about it this year. They are not sure how it will affect their grade. Sophomore Lucy Wold has not heard much about it and only has a general idea of it.

     “I know they do it based on your homework and in-class attention,” Wold said. 

     Wold believes that it just adds unnecessary stress. She feels stressed because she does not understand how it will affect her grades. 

     “A lot of people get their [homework turned in], and it just makes [them] worried about getting everything perfect,” Wold said.

     “It’s just one standard in the realm of all the standards that you have in class,” Staker said. “It’s really not much different than if you struggled with one of our skill standards in class, but you did fine with the others. It might be a matter of getting an A- instead of an A, but it shouldn’t drastically impact your grade.”

     The student responsibility standard is new to the whole school. Kaneland mostly transitioned to standards based grading in the 2021-22 school year. With standards based grading, students are not graded on their homework or formative work. They are just graded on summative assignments such as tests, projects and essays.

     “I do feel like [the student responsibility standard] is something we need with the shift toward standards based grading,” Staker said. “Students [are] unable to see the value in doing formative work and hitting those deadlines. We’ve gotten lax with that type of responsibility.”

     Kaneland has implemented this new standard so that students are being responsible. There are certain responsibilities that every student should have, according to Facultyfocus.com. 

     “If students are serious about learning – even if they simply want to pass the course or their only motivation is a good grade – then they should have responsibility for coming to class prepared, taking notes, voluntarily participating, confronting their preparation and performance and developing their skills as learners,” Facultyfocus.com writer Maryellen Weimer said. 

     The new student responsibility standard was made to help students be prepared for summative assignments. Kaneland has been working to make it clear as to what the standard is.