Santa Fe Public Schools revamps grading system

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Santa Fe Public School District is shifting to a new grading system that values the process of learning, rather than just earning a letter grade. Officials say the pandemic and remote learning setback many of their students. The school district hopes the standard-based grading system, which focuses on proficiency, will get them back on track. “Instead of waiting until the end of a quarter when you receive a grade, this whole idea is that there is specific feedback to the learning,” said Santa Fe Public Schools Deputy Superintendent, Vanessa Romero.

Romero says during virtual learning in 2020, student engagement dropped and about 30%. She also says grades 3rd-6th finished the fall semester with at least one “F.”

Instead of focusing on letter grades and student performance in class, standard-based grades rank each skill the student is expected to master on a 1-to-4 scale. As for classroom behavior, it will not be factored in grading. Instead, it will be based more on how the student is learning along the way. If a student is ranked a two, which is equivalent to the letter grade of a “C”, it still shows they are learning the skills.

Romero says one school in Santa Fe has already seen the process work. “Eco, which is one of our alternative schools, they have been doing this for two years. They use the 1-to-4 rubric and the grading scale. They are working with their students,” said Romero.

For those concerned about how the new system will affect student development, Romero says staff is currently working on converting the system into GPA standards. This won’t affect anyone playing school sports or those applying to college.

Thirteen schools in the district will start to implement the new system this fall. The remaining schools will follow next school year. Truth or Consequences municipal schools switched to standard-based grading last year. Also, an elementary school in Portales has been using it for the last three years.