At the start of the school year High School began its transition towards standard based grading (SBG), a system that will replace the current method and has affected teachers and students alike.

For the next few years the grading system will transition slowly into being standards based; with the new methodology the school will try to change the focus of the students from grades to the actual learning.

“Research shows what is truly important is what you have learn and what you learn shows up in summative assessments, not formative, that’s a process,” Jorge Vasquez, High School Academic Advisor, said.

The main idea of SBG is to allow students to learn in their own way, putting forth assignments but not requiring them and testing their learning with or without them on summative assessments.

“It’s not about percentages, summative, formative, not about rewards or punishments; learning is a process,” Ruth Allen, Superintendent of TCS, said.

The school is trying to redirect the focus of the students from the numbers they are getting to the actual learning inside the classroom, the information that is being taught to stick, not to vanish when the grade is in.

“With this system we are giving the importance to the activities that really matter,” Vasquez said.

Some students haven’t gotten the same idea of the system and think that it is an excuse to not do the work that is assigned to you affecting how responsible students are and will be in the future.

“Formative assignments disencourage the students from doing all their work as it doesn’t affect their grade,” Valentina Velez, 11th grade student at TCS, said.

Still, the school is trying to communicate the intention of SBG to the students and the faculty members so they can start adapting and the community receives the impact it is looking for.

“The teachers are in charge of talking about the new system constantly inside the classroom so students get it,” Vasquez said.

There is still a lot of work to do as to the understanding by the community and the implementation of the system itself, still, it is known that the change will have an impact in the community.

“The school is teaching us that if you are the best you’ll be the best but if you are not the best you will never be the best,” Velez said.