Standards Based Grading (SBG): Our Journey

The road to standards-based grading in the Quakertown Community School District has been a long journey.  Discussions about this approach to student assessment began as early as 1999 when the concept was introduced to the K-12 faculty on the first day of the school year.  Shortly thereafter, the process of establishing district standards and benchmarks began, and the instructional staff began looking at revising the curriculum to adequately address State standards and district benchmarks.  In 2001, the enactment of No Child Left Behind into law confirmed the need to continue in this direction. 
 

The curriculum continued to be revised over subsequent years, and district-wide assessments were created in all subject areas to test how well students were achieving the standards.  Intensive research, teacher training and collaboration also took place during this time.

 
In 2004, standards-based grading was implemented in all elementary grades district-wide. In 2005, a pilot group of secondary teachers implemented standards-based grading in their classrooms. In the fall of 2009, after more teacher training and many public presentations to help educate and inform parents, standards-based grading was implemented in the middle and high schools.

 
We now provide a standards-based education for our students where their grades truly reflect what they know and are able to do.

 
For more information, contact Terry San Angelo at 215-529-2016 or tsanangelo@qcsd.org.