Teachers across Indian Prairie School District 204 use more than 250 different gradebooks to calculate and track student grades — and that indicates a problem, administrators say.
Grading is not consistent across the district of nearly 26,000 students and 34 schools, Superintendent Adrian Talley said. So he tasked administrators to undergo a three- to five-year process to make it better.
“We have to get to an equilibrium across our district,” Talley said. “We have to bring all of this into alignment so that we have more similarity across our district than dissimilarity.”
The goal is to improve consistency and equity of grading practices, so students at each level have the same type of grading experience, no matter which school they attend, said Louis Lee, deputy superintendent.
Weighted grading pilot coming up
The district plans to test a new recommended grading practice at the middle and high school levels next year.
The idea is to begin weighted grading by dividing student work into two categories — formative and summative.
Formative work — which includes quizzes, homework, and anything that helps teachers gauge student understanding of new concepts — would be weighted at 20% of a student’s grade. Summative work — things like unit tests, midterms or final exams — would be weighted at 80%.
“We know that this model is just going to encourage students to continue to engage in that overall process” of learning, Lee said. “All of this underlies the continuous improvements cycle that’s constantly occurring with our students.”
Committee reviews grading best practices
A committee of educators and administrators researched best practices for the past year before recommending 80/20 weighted grading. Committee members sought strategies that promote student development, achievement, equity and engagement — goals identified as top priorities in the district’s strategic plan and Portrait of a Graduate learning framework.
Three middle schools and some teachers in other buildings already implement weighted grading, administrators said. But the precise weights teachers assign for formative and summative work varies, creating disparities across the district.
Measuring mastery, promoting equity
Montrine Johnson, assistant principal for curriculum and instruction and Waubonsie Valley High School, said the 80/20 weighted grading scale best measures student understanding, learning, and growth.
“So the practice and feedback weigh less than the mastery itself, where students can demonstrate what they know, have learned, and are able to do. Our rationale behind that is it is really grounded in equity,” Johnson said. “It promotes equity by looking at the student’s mastery of the content and skills.”
Weighted grading concerns
Administrators acknowledge there are critics of the weighted grading plan, and school board members raised plenty of questions during their Monday, July 7 meeting.
School board member Allison Fosdick asked how the weighted grading formula encourages students to demonstrate both mastery of concepts and “soft skills.” School board members Susan Demming and Mark Rising said they wondered how weighing summative assessments at such a high percentage could affect students with test anxiety or create excess pressure.
Rising also said placing such strong emphasis on summative assessments devalues development of accountability and responsibility.
“I fear we are creating not a more equitable system,” Rising said. “I fear we’re creating a more inequitable system.”
Administrators say the recommended grading practice strives to create a balance that clearly communicates learning and provides consistency.
Next steps for grading policy changes
If the pilot of 80/20 weighted grading goes well during the 2025-26 school year, the district could spend the 2026-27 school year training teachers before implementing the plan as a standard grading policy beginning in August 2027. So far, no decisions have been made.
Subcommittees of the group examining grading practices are also reviewing topics including retakes, homework/extra credit, the effect of zeroes for noncompletion, student behavior, individual education plans, and — at the elementary level — standards-based grading. Lee said leaders of these panels may bring forward additional recommended changes in the future.
If you have a story idea, send us a tip!
