This policy advocacy study examined the current grade and promotion policy on record for Mountain West School District (MWSD) as it relates to mastery of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Illinois Learning Standards (ILS), the academic targets identified for students to be successful in colleges and careers. Furthermore, this study recommended changes to the existing policy at MWHS so as to report grades from coursework and those at the end of marking periods as accurately and fairly as possible, with specific skills-based feedback related to the mastery (or lack thereof) of both local and national standards that may better prepare students for performance on standardized examinations, foster more accurate grade point averages (GPAs) and prepare students for colleges and careers.
This study concluded that MWSD’s grading/promotion policy bestowed upon the superintendent (or designee) the authority to implement any system of grading/promotion, so long as it is fair, accurate, and equitable, as stated in the Illinois School Code (ISC). Thus, the superintendent or designee may implement any grading/promotion system possible as long as it complies with school code graduation requirements.
Moreover, the current policy allows for administrators to intervene in grading/reporting if it is deemed that the grade(s) reported by the teacher is inaccurate or erroneous. What is more, the policy does not advocate for any particular grading system. However, in practice, schools in MWSD use the traditional grading system to report satisfactory performance and promotion to further areas: A through F, with percentages and points aggregation. The policy does not make any reference to grading practices/reporting being aligned to national or local standards. Lastly, the policy suggests that schools have the autonomy to pursue a grading system that the local leader/principal deems appropriate for a school’s pupils.
","abstract_html":"<p>This policy advocacy study examined the current grade and promotion policy on record for Mountain West School District (MWSD) as it relates to mastery of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Illinois Learning Standards (ILS), the academic targets identified for students to be successful in colleges and careers. Furthermore, this study recommended changes to the existing policy at MWHS so as to report grades from coursework and those at the end of marking periods as accurately and fairly as possible, with specific skills-based feedback related to the mastery (or lack thereof) of both local and national standards that may better prepare students for performance on standardized examinations, foster more accurate grade point averages (GPAs) and prepare students for colleges and careers.</p> <p>This study concluded that MWSD’s grading/promotion policy bestowed upon the superintendent (or designee) the authority to implement <em>any</em> system of grading/promotion, so long as it is fair, accurate, and equitable, as stated in the Illinois School Code (ISC). Thus, the superintendent or designee may implement any grading/promotion system possible as long as it complies with school code graduation requirements. </p> <p>Moreover, the current policy allows for administrators to intervene in grading/reporting if it is deemed that the grade(s) reported by the teacher is inaccurate or erroneous. What is more, the policy does not advocate for any particular grading system. However, in practice, schools in MWSD use the traditional grading system to report satisfactory performance and promotion to further areas: A through F, with percentages and points aggregation. The policy does not make any reference to grading practices/reporting being aligned to national or local standards. Lastly, the policy suggests that schools have the autonomy to pursue a grading system that the local leader/principal deems appropriate for a school’s pupils.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Freytas, Hector"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Harrington Gibson","Dr. Carlos Azcoitia"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:32Z","subjects":["Advocacy","Standards Based Grading/Reporting","Grading","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/282","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Harrington Gibson","Dr. Carlos Azcoitia"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Freytas, Hector"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-02-27T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Advocacy","Standards Based Grading/Reporting","Grading","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/282"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This policy advocacy study examined the current grade and promotion policy on record for Mountain West School District (MWSD) as it relates to mastery of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Illinois Learning Standards (ILS), the academic targets identified for students to be successful in colleges and careers. Furthermore, this study recommended changes to the existing policy at MWHS so as to report grades from coursework and those at the end of marking periods as accurately and fairly as possible, with specific skills-based feedback related to the mastery (or lack thereof) of both local and national standards that may better prepare students for performance on standardized examinations, foster more accurate grade point averages (GPAs) and prepare students for colleges and careers.
This study concluded that MWSD’s grading/promotion policy bestowed upon the superintendent (or designee) the authority to implement any system of grading/promotion, so long as it is fair, accurate, and equitable, as stated in the Illinois School Code (ISC). Thus, the superintendent or designee may implement any grading/promotion system possible as long as it complies with school code graduation requirements.
Moreover, the current policy allows for administrators to intervene in grading/reporting if it is deemed that the grade(s) reported by the teacher is inaccurate or erroneous. What is more, the policy does not advocate for any particular grading system. However, in practice, schools in MWSD use the traditional grading system to report satisfactory performance and promotion to further areas: A through F, with percentages and points aggregation. The policy does not make any reference to grading practices/reporting being aligned to national or local standards. Lastly, the policy suggests that schools have the autonomy to pursue a grading system that the local leader/principal deems appropriate for a school’s pupils.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Collaborative & Strategic Approach To Improve School Achievement Through The Advocacy Of An Effective Grading, Promotion And Reporting Policy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Harrington Gibson","Dr. Carlos Azcoitia"],"dc:creator":["Freytas, Hector"],"dc:date.available":["2018-02-27T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This policy advocacy study examined the current grade and promotion policy on record for Mountain West School District (MWSD) as it relates to mastery of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Illinois Learning Standards (ILS), the academic targets identified for students to be successful in colleges and careers. Furthermore, this study recommended changes to the existing policy at MWHS so as to report grades from coursework and those at the end of marking periods as accurately and fairly as possible, with specific skills-based feedback related to the mastery (or lack thereof) of both local and national standards that may better prepare students for performance on standardized examinations, foster more accurate grade point averages (GPAs) and prepare students for colleges and careers.
This study concluded that MWSD’s grading/promotion policy bestowed upon the superintendent (or designee) the authority to implement any system of grading/promotion, so long as it is fair, accurate, and equitable, as stated in the Illinois School Code (ISC). Thus, the superintendent or designee may implement any grading/promotion system possible as long as it complies with school code graduation requirements.
Moreover, the current policy allows for administrators to intervene in grading/reporting if it is deemed that the grade(s) reported by the teacher is inaccurate or erroneous. What is more, the policy does not advocate for any particular grading system. However, in practice, schools in MWSD use the traditional grading system to report satisfactory performance and promotion to further areas: A through F, with percentages and points aggregation. The policy does not make any reference to grading practices/reporting being aligned to national or local standards. Lastly, the policy suggests that schools have the autonomy to pursue a grading system that the local leader/principal deems appropriate for a school’s pupils.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/282"],"dc:subject":["Advocacy","Standards Based Grading/Reporting","Grading","Education"],"dc:title":["A Collaborative & Strategic Approach To Improve School Achievement Through The Advocacy Of An Effective Grading, Promotion And Reporting Policy"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:32Z"}