We are proud to share changes to the grading and reporting system for the 2016-2017 school year for learners in grades K-6. This decision to migrate to a Standards-Based Grading system comes from the belief that grading practices should be accurate, meaningful, consistent, and supportive of individual learning.

We believe grades should accurately reflect a learner’s performance on specific educational standards. This focus on specific targets will provide vital information to learners, parents, and teachers to enhance both instruction and education.

Neosho’s learners and their educations are too complex to be reduced to a simple letter grade, and our new reporting system will not have a grade card of the traditional sense. The grading marks will indicate a child’s progress toward achieving specific grade level standards. This shift in thinking from traditional A, B, C, D, F grades to a numerical system of 1, 2, 3, 4 will focus our learners on reaching goals instead of letter grades.

We know this change won’t come without its challenges, so we have prepared and will continue to provide resources for Wildcat Families. If you have questions concerning Standards-Based Grading, please feel free to contact your school principal or the Office of Curriculum & Instruction at 417-451-8600.