Standards-Based Learning in MMSD

Standards-based learning (SBL) helps students develop important skills they will need to meet the challenges of college and careers.

Mastery of Core Skills

SBL requires students to show mastery of core skills before moving on to the next level.  This helps make sure that students really understand key concepts and are able to apply them through core skills.

Self-Assessment Skills

A key part of SBL is students reflecting on their own learning to recognize their mad for reading strengths and areas for growth.  By learning to assess their own performance and identify next steps, students develop a growth mindset that will help them throughout high school and beyond.

Study Habits

Self-assessment helps students learn to set goals, manage their time, and prioritize their work as they progress toward mastery. These study habits become life skills that will help them in college and their careers as they deal with an increased volume of work and the need to drive their own learning.

Critical Thinking Skills

SBL focuses on core skills in critical thinking and problem solving as students are required to analyze information, synthesize ideas, and apply their knowledge across content areas. These are essential college-level skills as students are asked to understand complex texts, participate in collaborative discussions, and conduct research. 

Things like homework and classwork (formative assessments) help students to develop and practice new skills. Homework remains essential because it is the necessary practice required for learning. We know there is a direct connection between the learning students do through this practice and how they perform on their summative assessments. By making it low-stakes (0% of the final grade), students are encouraged to make mistakes and seek feedback without the fear of lowering their grade, supporting a growth mindset. 

The current implementation is focused on updates across high school levels to better align with standards-based systems used in elementary and middle school levels.  

East High School has already made a shift to standards-based learning with updates to grades based on mastery of core skills.  LaFollette High School, Vel Phillips Memorial High School, and West High School are in progress of implementing standards-based learning in classrooms and will update grades based on mastery of core skills starting in the 2027-2028 school year.  Alternative Schools and Programs are also making adjustments to align grading and reporting systems with core skills.  

For many students with an Individual Education Program (IEP), the Standards-Based Learning (SBL) and Grading processes are identical to those applied for students without an IEP in all or the majority of their classes. 

The expressed purpose of special education services is to foster progress toward Grade Level Standards or the Essential Elements (alternative learning standards) in the content area(s) in which the student has identified learning needs. 

SBL breaks every course down into specific Core Skills, and allows for more precise tracking of individual student growth than traditional grading. Rather than one overall grade that might hide a student's specific strengths and learning needs, you will know exactly which skills your child has mastered, which skills they need to continue working on, and how these skills are being supported through  In this way, SBL is well-aligned with the delivery and goals of special education in any content areas for which a student has identified a learning need, annual goal, and services.

• Focus on Individual Goals: In an SBL classroom, the focus is on determining each student’s present knowledge and skills, and what they need to learn next. This aligns perfectly with the way IEP goals are written and monitored.
• Accommodations: Supplementary aids and services (e.g. preferential seating, breaks, additional time, speech to text technology) will continue to be implemented as written in student IEPs. SBL ensures that these supports are used to help the student demonstrate their true proficiency in the core skills of each course.
• Modifications: Any student whose IEP team has determined modified instructional and assessment materials, and modified learning outcomes are necessary will be afforded such modifications within SBL and Grading.
• Specially Designed Instruction (SDI): SDI will be implemented as written in student IEPs, with the aim of fostering attainment of knowledge and skills within the SBL framework.

Standards-Based Learning is designed to be highly supportive of students who are learning English as a second language. In a traditional points-based system, a student’s grade can often be lowered simply because they are still developing English proficiency. SBL changes this by focusing on what a student knows, rather than just how well they can, read, write or speak in English.

• Language and Content in Assessment: While language and content are interconnected, SBL enables teachers to evaluate students’ mastery of core disciplinary skills (such as scientific inquiry or mathematical reasoning) and recognize their ongoing English language development through the use of WIDA language expectations, features and functions within the success criteria. This ensures English Learners can demonstrate subject proficiency as they continue building language skills.
• Clear Success Criteria: SBL uses rubrics with clear "success criteria." For English Learners, these rubrics provide a roadmap of exactly what is expected, often using visual aids and clear language that helps students understand the goal without getting lost in complex instructions.
• Multiple Ways to Show Learning: Because SBL prioritizes "Multiple Opportunities," English Learners are encouraged to demonstrate their understanding in various ways—such as through oral explanations or visual projects
• Growth-Focused Feedback: Instead of a single letter grade that may feel discouraging, students receive specific feedback on the skills they are mastering. This builds confidence and agency as they see their academic progress alongside their language growth.

Actually, it’s the opposite. In a traditional system, a student can fail a test, accept a low grade, and never actually learn the material. In Standards-Based Learning, we move away from "accepting the F" and instead require students to stick with a topic until they can demonstrate mastery.

• Learning is the goal, not just the deadline: In the professional world, if a project doesn't meet standards, it is revised until it does. We are teaching students that "not yet" is not an excuse to stop trying.
• Redos are earned, not automatic: A "redo" is not a simple "do-over." To re-assess, students must first demonstrate they have done additional learning. This might include attending a tutoring session, completing missing practice work, or meeting with the teacher to review mistakes.
• The "safety net" for growth: High-achieving students often feel more comfortable taking academic risks—tackling harder problems or more complex texts—knowing that if they struggle initially, they have a structured pathway to improve their score through persistence and continued practice.

See this parent resource for suggestions on how to talk with your child about standards-based learning. 

View the Standards-Based Learning Parent Resources page

Report Cards and Transcripts will continue to show a letter grade for each course. GPAs will be figured the same way as they always have and college transcripts will look the same.  

In addition to the course letter grade, progress reports and report cards will now also include information about a student’s mastery of core skills for the course. Throughout the semester, student scores will be communicated using proficiency scales and will be converted to a letter grade for the 9-week, 13-week, and semester grade reports.

Students still receive letter grades and GPAs, therefore there will be no impact on athletic eligibility.  Maintaining eligibility is based on continued progress in demonstrating proficiency in core skills in each course.

Since students still receive high school transcripts with letter grades and calculated GPA, there will be no impact on the way colleges view grades.

You may also be interested in hearing from a Panel on College Admissions on this topic (hosted by Waukesha School District, 2016).

This is an aspect of our multi-year implementation plan for Standards-Based Learning strategy that is still being finalized. Our goal is to ensure that any conversion from rubric scale results to letter grades is accurate, consistent, and transparent. We will share updates as decisions are made.

Two websites to review for summaries of research:

• What does the research say about standards-based grading? By Matt Townsley & Tom Buckmiller (2016)
• Research Supporting Proficiency-Based Learning: Grading + Reporting from Great Schools Partnership