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Mt Vernon district to expand standards‑based grading to second grade, officials say
Summary
Dr. Edwards proposed expanding standards‑based grading to second grade next year, separating academic proficiency from habits of success and requiring Skyward/report card updates and teacher training; the board heard the plan but took no vote on the change at this meeting.
Dr. Edwards, principal at Fortville Elementary, told the Mount Vernon Community School Corp board that the district plans to expand standards‑based grading to second grade for the 2026–27 school year to align grading with the district’s essential learnings and improve clarity for families.
"We are proposing to expand that to second grade for next year," Dr. Edwards said, describing a proficiency scale of 1 to 4 and a plan to separate academic achievement from behavior and effort. He said the change would let teachers give more specific, timely feedback tied to discrete skills rather than averaging early low scores into quarterly grades.
The proposal calls for academic reporting in ELA and math linked to the district’s essential learnings, a separate "habits of success" or behavior/effort reporting line, and a simplified related‑arts reporting structure. Dr. Edwards said the district would use existing proficiency scales where possible and update Skyward report cards to support the new format. "This allows us to have a much heavier weighting on most recent and what we believe is most accurate measurements," he said, highlighting the intent to make grades more useful and actionable for students and parents.
Implementation steps include finalizing language over the summer, updating Skyward and report cards, providing professional learning for teachers (especially those new to the practice), and a roll‑out in August for K–2 with time through the first nine weeks to refine the system. Dr. Edwards acknowledged challenges: teacher calibration across classrooms, parent understanding of the new report format and ensuring the district continues to report behaviors that support achievement.
Board members asked for clarifications during the presentation but did not vote on a policy change at the meeting. The presentation emphasized that kindergarten and first grade already use standards‑based grading and that expanding to second grade should be an incremental transition for students and families. Dr. Edwards said the move is aimed at equity and accuracy in reporting student performance and will include supports so teachers can implement the system consistently.
The district’s next steps are to finalize reporting language and training plans over the summer and report back on readiness; the board packet included sample language and implementation timelines but no formal policy vote was taken at this session.
