Grading
Elementary
Standards provide a K-12 progression of expectations of what students should know and be able to do in a variety of areas. These expectations serve as a roadmap for educators to help understand what students have mastered and what they are ready to learn next and are used to guide instruction. Adams 12 Five Star School District and Hulstrom grades kindergarten through 5th grade use a method of grading called Standards Based Grading (SBG). SBG communicates how students are progressing towards mastering any given standard:
1 - Does Not Meet Standard - The student is significantly below the assessed standard
2 - Approaching - The student is making progress towards meeting the assessed standard, but is not yet consistently meeting the assessed standard
3 - Meets the Standards - The student is consistently meeting the assessed standard
4 - Advanced Understanding - The student is consistently demonstrating understanding beyond the assessed standard. This could be achieved in a variety of ways, including but not limited to, acceleration and applying the assessed standard to solve a novel problem.
A few Important notes:
- It is typical for students, even those identified as gifted, to not yet have mastery of a standard they are newly exposed to, so do not worry if your student earns a "2".
- Additionally, all of our students are accelerated in their learning, and many are accelerated in multiple ways when compared to students at other schools. With our accelerated academics, our students may earn a "2" or "3" at Hulstrom but would earn a "3" or "4" at other schools due to the advanced academic requirements.
- If you are concerned, please reach out directly to your child's teacher, who will get back to you within 48 hours.
For grade level specific information on standards based grading, explore these links:
Middle School
The Hulstrom Middle School uses a standards referenced, but traditional grading scale of A, B, C, D, F rather than standards based grading to serve as a bridge between elementary and high school grading. Student learning, instruction, and assessment are still based on the learning standards for a particular academic area. For more information, please see this flyer.