Johnston County Public Schools has announced that Standards-Based Grading (SBG) will remain an elementary practice, based on an independent study conducted for the district by Research Triangle Institute (RTI), an independent non-profit research firm.
Standards-Based Grading uses academic performance indicators to communicate student progress throughout the year. In standards-based grading, comparing a student’s performance with others is not important.
The school system conducted the survey in January and early February to gather input from parents and stakeholders about this practice and whether it should be used at the secondary level. Of the 9,596 respondents, 70 percent said they would not be interested in seeing SBG move to the secondary level; 15 percent said yes; and, 15 percent said they needed more information.
The school board agreed to keep Standard-Based Grading in place in elementary schools.
“We are committed to ensuring academic success, and our students are more successful when we are communicating effectively with the people who influence their daily lives outside of the classroom,” Superintendent Dr. Ross Renfrow, stated.
