Fair, Clear, Meaningful: The Power of Standards-Based Grading

The Common Parent Concern

“My child got a “Developing” for “understanding the meaning of an equal sign” on their report card. This means nothing to me, why don’t they just tell me if they got an A or B in math?

This, very common, reaction to standards-based report cards makes sense. Every adult reading this blog grew up getting As, Bs, Cs, Ds and Fs, those markings make sense to us. And we don’t like change, especially when it hasn’t been explained in a way we can understand. And I feel that this is exactly why parents don’t like standards based grading on their child's report card. It seems foreign and in some cases (as my husband would say) “soft”. But the reality is that standards-based report cards are actually giving you WAY more information than a traditional report card ever did.

Why Letter Grades Fall Short

A report card is not meant to be a punishment or a “got ya” to a child. It is a report that allows a parent to see where their child is on the trajectory of their learning path. And a traditional A, B, C report card does not give us that information that we need.

Let’s imagine… you have a 4th grader who receives a “C” in Math. You probably have a ton of questions and thoughts, right? Why a “C”? What happened? What don’t they understand? What can I do to support them? Does this mean that they are not good at math?

With a marking of a “C” you are left to wonder exactly what your child is struggling with.

Breaking Down Math: More Than Just a Single Grade

Did you know that fourth-grade math includes 34 different standards? A single grade doesn’t tell you which skills a student has mastered or where they need support—but standards-based grading does.

Most school districts that use standards based grading do not report out on ALL standards in one subject, it’s usually just standards that that district has deemed “priority”. Instead of one overall grade for math, a standards-based report card might show:

✅ Proficient – Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure
🔄 Developing – Compare two fractions with different numerators and denominators
📉 Emerging – Multiply a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit whole number

This gives parents clear insight into their child’s learning progress.

The Problem with Traditional Grading for Teachers

Teachers teach standards, not letter grades—so why do we still use them? Letter grades often get influenced by non-academic factors like homework completion, behavior, and participation, which don’t reflect a student’s math skills.

If a student gets a "C" in math, is it because they struggle with multiplication—or because they forget to turn in homework? Standards-based grading keeps academic proficiency separate from behavioral skills, making the feedback more accurate and actionable.

Instead of seeing standards-based grading as “soft,” consider the valuable insight it provides about your child’s learning journey.