Starting this year, the Aliso Niguel High School has implemented a new approach to grading that is aligned with the Capistrano Unified District’s recommended grading system, which puts everything on a four-point grading scale.
This new grading system, which places a stronger emphasis on assessing students mastery of course material, has been gradually gaining popularity among teachers throughout the district as more educators begin to adopt it.
The change is a response to the board policy 5121.1 of Capistrano Unified School District, which was released in early 2023. This policy emphasizes the district’s aim to give students and their families “Course grades that reflect a true assessment of student mastery of the content”.
This new approach aims to tackle the issues associated with conventional grading, in which final grades usually represent a mixture of exams, quizzes, engagement, and various other elements without consistently providing an accurate representation of a student’s comprehension of the material.
Under the four-point grading scale, students’ work is assessed on a scale of one to four, with four indicating an advanced level of understanding, three representing proficiency, two showing basic understanding, and one indicating that more work is needed to demonstrate mastery of the lesson.
At Aliso Niguel High School, there are currently seven teachers utilizing this new grading system throughout the campus. One standout educator embracing this system is Mr. Biggs, the AP Literature and Honors English II instructor, who is excited about this transition.
Biggs spoke on this issue, “This system allows for the students to really see what they are being assessed on and what specifically they need to work on. I personally make sure to clarify the purpose of each test and assignment for both the families and students”.
One benefit of this new system is that it shifts the focus and worry of the students from their grades to their actual comprehension of the lessons. This system simplifies the assessments by providing a direct and specific goal for the students, with some teachers allowing retakes and redos.
According to the students, this new grading system is very different to their previous classes throughout the past years.
Sophomore Emma Cox said, “Though it’s really different, I think it’s great in some aspects. I definitely think that we are all still getting used to it because it was a big change, but I think that it’s going to benefit us in the future. Especially since more and more teachers will be doing it.”
The district’s plan is for more teachers across different schools to start implementing this system. It is currently being observed and experimented with the future goal to become the main grading system.
