Over the past few years, Madison has made various changes to its grading system and the ways it fosters student learning; some more drastic than others. As students adjust to their new classes this year, these changes have become very clear. Although change isn’t inherently bad, many aspects of the new grading system at Madison have less to offer than prior years.

Cons:

The new system has its shortcomings, which negatively impact the opportunities and success of the student body. In past years, students relied on retakes as a second chance to boost their grade after a less than satisfactory performance. While retakes may cause students to be less properly prepared to succeed the first time, they provide an additional opportunity which students can depend on. This year, retakes have been removed from nearly all classes, taking away this “second chance” from Madison students.

Classes have also integrated a skill-based replacement grade system that requires students to re-assess specific skills multiple times before solidifying their grade. Although its intention is to show a student’s growth as they learn new skills, it is a repetitive testing process that can be strenuous on many Madison students without yielding positive results.

“Having retakes gave me the sort of cushion I needed in case I messed up on a test,” Jordan Goh (’24) said. “Especially in science classes, where I would simply retake my test during Warhawk Time or after school and see immediate results.”

Another disadvantage is the implementation of practice grades. Assignments marked as “practice” grades, such as homework and quizzes, don’t end up influencing the gradebook at all under this system. This leaves students with little incentive to complete their work and causes them to avoid completing their assignments. In doing so, they are even less prepared for their assessments, creating a negative cycle of negligence.

Pros:

Though many students harbor frustrations about the new system, it provides numerous benefits that were not present in previous years. The shift to a skill-based learning and assessment system allows students to carry skills beyond the classroom, applying what they learned in post-secondary and daily life.

“We really started to focus on what skills do our students need when they move on from Madison High School, regardless of where they’re going or what they’re doing,” Derek Rauenzahn, a Madison staff member said. “And that really started to shift our lens, to creating and working on skills based, standards based, mastery learning with the goal of our students mastering the skills they would need to enter into whatever comes next for them.”

Each student enters a course at a different level; they may have moved from another county or country, have a language barrier or have more or less experience than other students in a certain skill. The new system ensures that each student has an equal chance of success, regardless of their level when they enter the course. If two students achieve mastery by the end of the year, then it doesn’t matter if one student started at a proficient level and the other at an achieving mastery level, because they are both graded in a way that reflects their final skills on the subject.

The re-implementation of plus and minus letter grades allows for a more precise measure of a student’s performance. A teacher does not need to decide between two grade extremes, but can settle for an accurate score that may fall just short of a full letter grade. Additionally, the use of practice grades allows teachers to evaluate whether students deserve leniency in their assessment grades. In essence, the new grading system is the only way that all students can be judged based on their performance equally, and not hindered by factors outside of their control.

“A lot of the work we’ve done is to try and create this opportunity for students to have this same experience regardless of what their needs might be.” Rauenzahn said.

No matter where you start or what your future goals are, the new grading system will more accurately judge your personal performance than in years past, and better prepare you for whatever step comes after high school.