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Standards Based Report Cards

Dear PUSD Families, 

In Prescott Unified School District, we are committed to helping every student grow and succeed. As part of this commitment, we are excited to announce our transition to standards-based grading and reoprt cards for our K-8 students. This shift is designed to provide families, students, and educators with clearer, more meaningful information about student learning and progress.

Why Are We Making This Change?

The purpose of grades in PUSD is to serve as a clear and purposeful tool for communicating student achievement. Our goal is to ensure that everyone - families, students, and educators - has a shared understanding of what students are learning, how they're progressing, and where they may need support.

With Standards-based grading, your child's progress will be measured against specific academic standards. This approach helps us provide:

  • Clarity & Ownership: Students better understand their learning goals and take ownership of their growth.
  • Actionable Feedback: Grades give clear information on what students have mastered and where they can improve.
  • Equity & Consistency: All students are assessed using the same expectations, ensuring fairness and transparency.
  • Motivation & Growth: Students are encouraged to develop their skills and see learning as a continuous process.

Importantly, grades will be based only on academic achievement, not behavior, participation, or work completion.

How Are Grades Determined?

Grades are based on how students perform on Common Formative Assessments (CFAs) and quarterly benchmark assessments that are aligned to essential state standards in each subject area. Teachers record multiple assessment opportunities, and the highest level of demonstrated proficiency becomes the final grade for that standard.

Students will also complete classwork and homework aligned to the standards that inform instruction and allow students to practice essential skills. These assignments will not factor into the final grade but will be used to assess non-academic areas like responsibility and work completion. 

Subjects like social studies and electives will use teacher-created rubrics and proficiency scales to determine student progress toward essential standards.

Final Grades on Report Cards

Final quarter and semester grades reflect a student's highest level of mastery demonstrated on a CFA or benchmark assessment:

In addition to CFAs and benchmark assessments, students can demonstrate mastery at the highly proficient level of a standard through other assignments that provide meaningful evidence of their understanding. These may include:

Performance Tasks: Extended activities that require students to apply their knowledge and skills in real-world or complex scenarios. Examples include problem-solving tasks, lab investigations, or project-based learning assignments.

  • Classwork and Exit Tickets: Daily work that allows students to practice and apply a concept in smaller chunks. When aligned to the standard and evaluated with a clear rubric or success criteria, these can offer valuable insight into student mastery.
  • Writing Samples or Reflections: Responses that require students to explain their thinking, justify their reasoning, or reflect on their learning process. These help assess depth of understanding. 
  • Quizzes or Quick Checks: short, targeted assessments focused on specific skills or concepts related to the standard. These can help confirm whether a student has reached proficiency.
  • Student Conferences or Oral Explanations: One-on-One or small group discussions where students verbalize their understanding or walk through their problem-solving process.
  • Projects or Presentations: Larger, summative tasks that synthesize multiple standards and allow students to demonstrate learning in creative or interdisciplinary ways.

Academic vs. Non-Academic Grades

To ensure that grades reflect what a student knows and can do, academic grades are separated from non-academic behaviors. Academic grades measure understanding of grade-level content and skills. For non-academic behaviors, students will be rated on PUSD's schoolwide core values:
►Respectful
►Responsible
►Safe
►Kind
►Productive
You can view the proficiency scales for these core values HERE

Sports Eligibility (No Pass No Play)

To support strong academic and behavioral habits, students must meet the following expectations to remain eligible for middle school sports:

No more than 2 missing assignments
No more than 1 unexcused absence in a week
No more than 2 lunch detentions and no in-school suspensions (ISS) in a week

We believe this shift will lead to more transparent and accurate grading practices that truly reflect each student's learning journey. Thank you for partnering with us as we take this important step forward.

If you have questions, we encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher or school principal. Together, we can ensure every student has the tools they need to succeed.