Kaneland 302 to eliminate standards-based grading for next school year

The Kaneland Unit District 302 school board voted unanimously Monday to sunset the district's standards-based grading system at the end of the 2023-2024 school year for students in grades 6-12.

The board also directed district administrators to come up with a timeline and a strategy for implementing a curriculum-based grading system instead for the next school year.

Standards-based grading focuses on a student's learning and understanding of the material in a class rather than their grade.

Board member Bob Mankivsky has spearheaded a campaign against the system, bringing it up on two separate occasions as a topic for future agendas during past meetings.

" (Standards-based grading) is confusion," he said. "Rather than the underlying theme of excellence, confusion is endemic now. Students don't know, and parents of students don't know, where they stand, and are we seeing any improvement by objective measures? Is this moving Kaneland closer to becoming a high-performing district? I have to answer no."

Standards-based grading not only is disliked, but destined to fail, according to board member Aaron McCauley.

"I look back at the survey, I see that 80% of parents disagreed with it, 64% of the student disagreed, were confused and it's directly affected my household," he said. "I've heard on social media, through friends, there is such a disconnect, a disgust, anxiety, possibly depression from it.

"There has been worry about honor roll being taken away," McCauley added. "There is absolutely no way that should even be a worry or a concern, I know there are teachers not on board on it, and when you have a majority to almost a super majority of individuals, staff, students, the parents that don't work this program or are struggling with this program, it's never going to work."