Following an in-depth review, the Mehlville Board of Education unanimously approved changing the grading system utilized at the district’s middle schools from standards-based grading to traditional grading at its April 24 meeting.

Standards-based grading measures students against specific standards and skills, breaks down large subjects into smaller learning objectives and promotes equity. This system typically grades students on a one to four scale – advanced, proficient, basic and below basic – though as it is not standardized like the traditional grading system, critics point out a lack of uniformity. 

Standards-based grading has been in pilot or full implementation in the district’s four middle schools – Bernard, Buerkle, Oakville and Washington – since the 2017-18 school year. Recent surveys, however, showed concern about this method of grading, prompting a review. Thus, the “Middle School Standards-based Task Force” was created.

The task force – made up of the district’s middle school administrators as well as a current sixth grade parent, a current seventh grade parent, one grade-level core teacher, one encore teacher and one teacher of principal choice from each middle school in the district – met three times. At the close of the final meeting, a vote was conducted to see who was in favor of traditional grading versus standards-based grading. By a vote of 19-2, the group voted in support of a traditional grading system, both in core classes and encore classes, for the district’s middle schools. 

The new grading system will be adopted by the district next school year.