Dive Brief:

• Milwaukee grades K-8 are ditching traditional letter grades and moving to a scoring system that separates academic progress from behavior.
• The changes also may include no longer deducting points from academic grades for late work and offering students multiple chances to submit their work.
• The new report card identifies the skills students need to master, evaluates proficiency in those skills, and then offers separate feedback about work habits and effort.

Dive Insight:

District administrators say the skills-based evaluation aligns more closely with Common Core expectations. They also emphasize that students are still graded, just not with a traditional letter grade. Districts surrounding Milwaukee have also made some grading changes. Some are still using letter grades but are focusing tightly on academic performance.