A standards-based approach is more equitable for all students. It allows parents, caretakers, and students to understand more clearly what is expected of students and how to help them be successful in their learning. It measures how well a student understands the material and how they are progressing toward learning goals. Progress is based on a specific set of standards that students need to meet for each grade level. Teachers gather evidence to determine what each student has learned and how that student is progressing toward end-of-year expectations. This approach builds consistent grading practices.

The standards-based approach incorporates equitable grading principles that support three components: accuracy, bias resistance and intrinsic motivation. Woodland has adopted six (6) equitable grading principles that reduce student failure and leverages a positive and trusting learning environment.

Students in Primary, Elementary, and Intermediate Schools will shift from current traditional grading practices to standards-based grading and report cards in the 2023-2024 school year. Middle School students will shift to standards-based grading and report cards in the 2024-2025 school year.

If you would like to read a quick overview of standards-based grading click on the "Parent Friendly Summary". This 10-minute VIDEO also provides an overview of WHY Woodland shifted from traditional to standards-based grading.

What will remain the same?

• The curriculum will remain the same.

• Report cards will have a summary letter grade for each subject. 

• Students in receiving special education services will still have IEP goals and be assessed on grade level standards.  IEP and 504 accommodations will still be implemented. 

• Students will be expected to complete learning tasks and engage in class to maximize learning. 

• Students will follow ROAR expectations.

• National Junior Honor Society, Honor Roll, and GPA

What will be different?

• Middle School students will shift to trimesters starting in August. 

• Report cards will report out on academic domains (broad concepts) of learning for each subject area.

• Report cards will reflect performance ratings (1, 2, 3, or 4) in addition to letter grades.

• Learning habits will be reported out separately from academics based on ROAR (Respect, Ownership, Accepting, and Ready).

  • Respect and Accepting

  • Ready and Ownership

• Students will have ample opportunities to retake and redo assessments to ensure learning of content takes place.  As a result students will have to take ownership of their learning by completing learning tasks, study, be in attendance at school, ask questions and engage with the content. 

• Success Center for Retakes and Redos before and after school

• Comments will more specific on the report cards.

• To be eligible for athletics, students cannot have a current term level of a 1 (Beginning) in academics or in the learning habits.

Using a 1-4 rating system more accurately measures and describes what is intended to be measured: mastery towards a learning standard. This provides valuable feedback for students and families. The focus of these ratings is on learning, not failing.

Kindergarten through 5th grade families will receive new standards-based report cards in the 2023-2024 school year. Middle school students will have standards-based report cards starting in the 2024-2025 school year.

Woodland District 50 believes that report cards should be meaningful, accurate, and actionable for students and families.

The academic standards for each grade level and course can be found on the links to these pages. The trimester they will be reported to families and students is listed on the right in the pages below.

Academics and Learning Habits will be reported separately allowing teachers to identify and address specific behaviors that may impact student learning. Learning Habits are aligned with ROAR expectations: Respect, Ownership, Accepting, Ready. Students will be assessed using the same performance ratings such as Exemplary, Meeting, Approaching and Beginning. The rubrics for each Learning Habit are linked below in both English and Spanish.

There is a rubric for each Learning Habit so students understand how to meet expectations. These are the links to each of the ROAR Learning Habits:

Respect Respectuso

Ownership Responsabilidad

Accepting Aceptación

Ready Estar Preparado

Effort & Sportsmanship

Esfuerzo Espíritu Deportivo

Over the next two years, we will implement Trimesters in grades 1-8. ImplementingTrimesters means that families will get report cards three times each school year. Trimesters allow additional time for staff to teach, to provide feedback, and to give students opportunities to show what they know through reassessments, if necessary. The following chart describes the transition for each school over the next two years:

The link below provides specific dates for the 2023-2024 school year including midterms, when report cards will be available on Skyward, start/end dates for each grading period and when retakes/reassessments are due.

A standards-based report card identifies the most important grade-level standards students should learn and are expected to exhibit mastery. Instead of letter grades, students receive scores on a 1-4 rating scale.