Yorkville 115 grading policies change due to continued COVID-19 e-learning

YORKVILLE – The new "do no harm" grading mandate from the Illinois State Board of Education means grades are going to start looking a little different for e-learning going forward as opposed to traditional learning within Yorkville School District 115.

Nick Baughman, associate superintendent for learning and instruction for Yorkville School District 115, said grades kindergarten through eighth grade will operate on a straight standard grading scale, where students will be given one of three benchmarks: meeting academic standards, progressing to meeting standard or being issued an incomplete. If a student is given an incomplete grade, he said, that means the student needs more time and that time will be provided to that student, whether that time is given during what remains of the typicall school year or through summer school.

"We basically have designed a system where students will have no educational harm done to them," Baughman said.

The update comes after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently extended the state's stay-at-home order to April 30. That includes school buildings remaining closed to students through the end of the month.

Baughman said high school students still will be receiving letter grades during e-learning in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the difference this time around is that "F" letter grades will not be issued for e-learning and have in essence become incomplete grades, meaning students earning those grades have that extended time to make it up.

Baughman said high school students also will be provided the opportunity to improve their third quarter grades by finding the average of their grades earned pre-e-learning and averaging their grades earned during e-learning.

"And then we'll take the highest of the two," Baughman said.

Baughman said the district did put some criteria in place to ensure that students are attending classes virtually and completing their work, along with teachers making sure students are still engaged in learning. He said school officials also continue to be aware of what types of related struggles family units may be facing and to address those concerns accordingly.

"We wanted to ensure that we were still supporting their [students'] academic growth but we were also very conscious that these are very atypical times," Baughman said.

Baughman said the district hasn't received any official advisement from ISBE about whether schools will resume its more traditional in-person session for the remainder of the school year. He said it also might be little too early to determine whether the several weeks of e-learning so far has revolutionized primary and secondary education as a whole.

However, Baughman said, what the e-learning experience has provided the district so far is more options for instruction, including using Zoom for subjects ranging from music to English.

"What I have noticed is that we have staff members and teachers that are really using their creative abilities to try to make sure that ... kids are well emotionally and physically, but also to provide them with some sort of consistent, normal experience," Baughman said.

Ultimately, Baughman said, the state's "do no harm" policy reflects what the district has stood for all along – putting the emphasis on learning the material as opposed to the earned letter grade. He said school officials believe that learning can continue in light of the circumstances and the district is in the position to keep that up.

Baughman said school officials have been appreciative for the school board getting the district in a position where they could be as prepared as they can for a situation like this. Overall, he said, the school district has been receiving more compliments than criticism related to e-learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the state's stay-at-home order.

"Our community has been very supportive and very appreciative and I think very understanding as well," Baughman said. "I think they understand this isn't something we could plan for, but we're doing the best that we can with the resources that we have available."