Evidence-Based Grading

Evidence-based grading, or Standards-based grading was a new grading system introduced in the 2024-25 school year aiming to take the focus off counting points and shift students' focus to learning, mastery, and growth in a subject. It is planned to be rolled out to all classes over the next few years.

Mechanics

Under this system, for each test taken, students are given a score of 4, 3, 2, 1, or No Mark in each of several skill areas. A score of 4 represents a skill level exceeding understanding, while 3 is showing understanding, 2 is approaching understanding, and 1 is developing understanding.

At the end of each semester, the test scores in each skill area are composited into a single score based upon a recency-biased mode. That is to say, the final score in a skill area is given by the score that appeared the most often, with a bias towards recent scores. Then, a letter grade is assigned based on the combination of skill area scores. Exact details differ between teachers, but in general it works like this:

• scores of 3 and 4 are treated as more or less equivalent, and getting 3s and 4s in every category gets the student an A.
• one 2 in any category gets a B,
• multiple 2's generally gets a C
• one 1 generally gets a D
• multiple 1's gets an F/NM.

Additionally, evidence-based grading systems tend to focus less on homework and also allow for test retakes as a logical method of determining students' academic mastery without being held to a rigid timetable and reduce student stress.

Benefits and Drawbacks

As stated earlier, the system is intended to better gauge students' learning and improvement over the semester. It also attempts to discourage desperately seeking points rather than learning itself, though the fact that numerical scores determine their final grade by a mathematical formula still leads to students seeking constantly to jump the barrier from one score to another. Also, the system is somewhat less concrete than the traditional points-based system, leading to a certain ambiguity over what scores a student deserves, though in theory this is offset by the holistic process used to determine final letter grades. It is certainly as of this time new to teachers, who are having some trouble adjusting.

Anecdotally, it appears that EBG grading is leading to an overall grade deflation, with more people getting B's and C's and fewer people getting A's. However, this is expected to change over the course of the semester as people master the skills in the course and start doing retakes, if the system works as intended. This grade deflation still stresses out students though, as they are used to getting A's and B's. Furthermore, one student has complained that the school from which Gunn's EBG system is modelled, Adlai Stevenson High School in Illinois, has much better support for students seeking to improve their grades.

Classes using Evidence-Based Grading

According to an email sent to parents by the principal, only the following classes have fully implemented evidence-based grading:

• Chemistry and AP Chemistry ^{[what about Chemistry H?]}
• Conceptual Physics, Physics, AP Physics 1 and AP Physics C.
• AP English Literature
• Algebra 1
• AP Computer Science Principles

However, the following classes have also been implementing some parts of it:

• AP US History -- Tests are corrected instead of being retaken; projects can be revised
• American Classics H -- with Hernandez, Halter, Weymouth, and possibly others. Retake policy is unclear at this time. Class work is counted in the grade as one of the assignments.

AP Calculus BC used an evidence-based grading system (but with no test retakes and homework as a percentage of the grade) in the 2024-2025 school year, but due to its labor-intensiveness and minimal benefits it will not be continued.

Popular Opinion of EBG

Of students

Many students oppose evidence-based grading due to it causing grade deflation. An Oracle survey reported in December 2024 that around half of students thought EBG was either "very ineffective" or "ineffective", with one-quarter saying it was "neither" and one-quarter "effective" or "very effective".

Of parents

A Signal group chat on the topic of evidence-based grading attracted over 250 parents, most of whom were parents of juniors and seniors and opposed to evidence-based grading.

Of teachers

Teachers appear to have a mixed impression of evidence-based grading, with some teachers advocating for it and some teachers disliking it. Currently, there appears to be no consensus among teachers on its utility.

One teacher who has voiced her support for EBG is Ms. Pennington, who has used the system for the last few years. In a letter to The Oracle, she writes that the system rewards learning even though it may deflate grades for students who use the methods common to traditional grading to "game the system" and get high grades without real learning and growth. Ms. Zizmor has also expressed support for EBG grading, and has used it in her Chemistry classes for a few years.

Anecdotally, Ms. Merchant and Ms. Tantod have expressed opposition to standards-based grading. In particular, Ms. Tantod said that the Analysis H teachers planned to use traditional grading for as long as possible.

Biology teachers have also expressed opposition to EBG because the recency-biased system does not apply so well to the very different units of Bio.