WINNEMUCCA — What does that A on a child’s report card really represent? Hard work?  Mastery of a subject? Progress?

The Humboldt County School District is joining the national discussion on the purpose of grading as more states move away from No Child Left Behind and towards adoption of the Common Core Standards Initiative, with the philosophy of mastering prescribed skills.

It’s necessary, though, to have assessment tools in place that reflect mastery of a skill.  As part of the discussion on those assessment tools, districts and education professionals have begun to take a close look at grading practices.

Addressing the Humboldt County School Board on Tuesday (Jan. 10) was Kelly Novi, HCSD curriculum director, who had already met with teachers and administrators to gather ideas about the purpose of grading.  Novi is shown (top photo) taking notes while the Board of Trustees discusses the issue of grading.

One of the issues up for discussion was the link between grades and the proficiency tests students must pass graduate.  Or, to state it more accurately, the lack of a link.

There are those students whose grades are poor, yet they can pass the proficiency test first try while others have straight A’s but struggle to pass.

Trustee Ann Miller, a former teacher, observed a student’s report card grade might be heavily dependent on the homework grade, but the teacher may not know who actually completed the homework: the student or mom.

Miller said, “He might have straight A’s but what has he really mastered?”

Should grades reflect a student’s mastery of a subject?  If so, the current practice of averaging will not reflect a student’s mastery of a subject.

As Novi pointed out, if a student takes a test and receives and F, works hard, masters the subject, and on the next test receives an A, with the practice of averaging he or she will only receive a C on their report card.

That C does not reflect the student’s work or mastery of the subject.

There’s also the problem of grade deflation.  Some smart kids won’t complete work that is not challenging and in fact they’ve already mastered the subject, so their report card may not actually reflect what they’ve mastered.

If anything, the report card may be a reflection of their boredom and need for more challenging work.

The harder issue to address is that of consistency with each teacher in each classroom grading differently.  Some teachers grade easy; some teachers grade hard.

Sometimes, the grading process lacks objectivity and may depend on whether or not the teacher likes a student – or not so much.

The issue of grading was only discussed and no action was taken.