School District of Monroe

Citizenship grades will be determined using a common rubric. Letter grades will be determined from skill scores using mode, recency, and professional judgement.

Enduring Skills – Enduring skills are the essential skills and competencies that students need to learn.  These skills are transferable, relevant, sustainable, and lead to deep and lasting understanding.  These are skills that promote student agency and efficacy and lead to a self-managed life. 

Standard – Different from the definition of content standards, a standard is a statement of what level of performance is required to meet an expectation.  It is the “bar.”

Proficiency Scales – The district proficiency scales are designed to provide clear feedback to students and parents regarding the level of proficiency that a student has demonstrated through evidence on a particular enduring skill

Success Criteria – Each piece of evidence students submit should strive to meet a list of established criteria that define the expectations for the assignment being evaluated.. (example: learning targets)

The following information can be used to support evidence-based conversations with your child.

Help your student locate the skills and proficiency scales on the course overview or syllabus.

These are essential for understanding how your grade is determined. The level “3” of these scales is considered grade-level proficiency.

Encourage your student to review the success criteria for each piece of evidence.

These criteria are communicated by the teacher and may change with each assessment, topic, or unit. Understanding all the success criteria is important because the criteria are the supporting skills and knowledge needed to demonstrate proficiency on the greater skill.

Advise your student to track their own level of proficiency often in OTUS.

Students in EBG courses are encouraged to track their own learning to build efficiency and to see that developing proficiency in any subject will have ups and downs.

Remind your student to communicate with their teachers.

An important part of students clearly understanding where they are at in relation to proficiency is meeting with teachers to review progress and ask questions about their skill scores.

Why are we moving to Evidence Based Teaching and Learning?

To ensure fair and accurate grading that clearly communicates what students are expected to learn and how success is measured. By anchoring learning in enduring skills, we promote student agency and efficacy while creating a culture that values growth and provides all students with clear pathways for continued learning.

What are the advantages of Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning (EBTL)?

Evidence-Based Grading provides clearer communication and more meaningful feedback for students, parents, and teachers.

1. Clarity for families: Parents and students can see specific areas of strength and areas for growth instead of just a test score or letter grade.
2. Guidance for teachers: Teachers know exactly which skills to re-teach or reinforce.
3. Support for students: Students know what they have mastered and where they need additional practice or learning opportunities.
4. Assessment for learning: Assessments are used not just to measure performance, but to identify next steps and guide future learning.

Additional benefits include:

• Increased confidence (self-efficacy): Students gain confidence as they see progress toward clear goals.
• Transferable skills: Students develop valuable skills—such as goal setting, self-assessment, and perseverance—that extend far beyond a single class or subject area.

How is Evidence-Based Grading Different From Traditional Grading?

How do standards, scales, and rubrics really work?

Reporting progress on standards and skills requires clear criteria, which are developed by teachers in professional learning communities and communicated clearly and consistently to students. Below are the proficiency scale descriptors. The district proficiency scale is designed to provide clear feedback to students and families on the level of proficiency a student has demonstrated on a particular skill.

How do re-performances work?

Students are allowed multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of classroom skills in various ways, including re-performance. Please note there is no school-wide policy for re-performance. Each curricular area administers these opportunities at their discretion. The following are common ways this could happen:

• Teachers may offer a re-performance as another attempt to demonstrate learning.

• Teachers may add sections to a piece of evidence that have students continually demonstrate knowledge from the prior unit or units. In these cases, the re-performance is embedded into assessment. There would be no need for a separate re-performance.

Why isn’t homework included in the academic grade?

Homework is practice. We do not want to penalize students while they go through the learning process. Homework completion is included in the determination of the student’s respect and responsibility scores.

How does this affect getting into college?

It does not. High school transcripts will continue to show traditional letter grades and GPA, which is what colleges and scholarship committees review. Evidence-Based Grading only changes how those grades are determined—it does not change how they are reported.

Is there data indicating this is successful?

Yes. We have consulted with several high achieving districts and high schools across the state and in Illinois who have implemented similar grading systems. We also have evidence of student growth and achievement from our own teachers who are using evidence-based grading practices.

Click below for instructions on how to view your child’s learning progress in the OTUS gradebook.

 Click to Learn How to Navigate the OTUS Gradebook