Shirley Hills Family Resources

Standards Based Learning (SBL) is a grading system used in many schools across the country. This approach focuses on progress toward statewide standards for each course.

• Each course has standards that are grouped into components.
• Your child's progress toward each component will be evaluated, and students will receive ongoing feedback about their progress.
• Your child's personal management, which includes behavior, effort and timeliness, will be reported separately at the end of each term.

The standards based grading scale of Beginning Standard, Approaching Standard, Meets Standard and Extends Standard does not translate to an A through F grading scale.

The expected outcome for students in first through fourth grade is a Meets Standard. When a student receives a Meets Standard is correlates to the student meeting all grade level expectations for that particular standard at a proficient level.

On occasion, students may be given the opportunity to extend the standard. This usually involves going in-depth in a particular topic or moving to the a higher grade level standard.

Students will receive a variety of grades based on the standard and expectations. Ultimately, the goal for each student is to receive a Meets Standard (MET) on their report card. When a student receives a Meets Standard (MET) it correlates to the student meeting all grade level expectations for that particular standard at a proficient level. Students in GATES programs are expected to receive a Meets Standard (MET) according to the GATES standards and expectations based on accelerated Minnesota State Standards.

Research has shown measuring students' progress based on district and state standards is most effective in advancing learning. Standards Based Learning ensures that students' "grades" clearly represent their level of mastery of grade-level learning targets. The best preparation for the world beyond school is to learn essential content and skills well.