Cedar Rapids Community School District has a well-defined strategy for implementing competency-based learning. Amid implementation, however, they ran into challenges getting standards-based grading (a key part of their model) to really “stick” in the district.

Cedar Rapids researched other communities that have demonstrated success in building a system and culture for standards-based grading. From this research, the team learned new approaches to track individual students’ mastery of standards over time (versus having grades that reflect mastery at a singular, stagnant point in time); these approaches struck the team as potentially powerful ways to close persistent achievement gaps in the district – which, in turn, would be a compelling message to bring to students, families, and staff in attempt to get the work to “stick.”

Explore More

Offer Opportunities for Fun

Offering different ways for students to connect and engage with each other informally is incredibly important for building a strong culture...

Fitness Friday

This strategy enables students to engage, connect, and get moving at least once a week, which helps their bodies and minds during remote...

Social-Emotional Learning Small Groups

Create small groups for students to engage in guided and structured social-emotional learning while also building classroom culture and...