Hutchinson: Standards-Based Grading Became an 'Obstacle'

The decision to back away from standards-based grading at North Andover Middle School had much to do with the confusion it caused, according to Superintendent Kevin Hutchinson.

"We went back to the traditionally scaled system simply because it was evident that it was becoming obstacle in the way of our true purpose, providing rigorous currciulum to students and giving them detailed feedback," Hutchinson said.

The School Committee recently held a meeting for public feedback, and the feedback from parents about thre standards-based grading system was that of frustration and chaos.

"All of it was not making sense to everyone," Hutchinson said. "It was making sense to some and not all. That's something we need to work on, to have people better understand standards-based education."

The school will continue with standards-based education, however, even with traditional grading.

"It just changes the reporting side," he said. "We still need to teach to standards and support students to higher levels of acheivement."

The standards-based grading already used this school year will be integrated into the traditional grading system for the rest of the school year. The middle school will send out a letter detailing that in the coming weeks.