Proficiency Based Learning

• Every department has developed Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs) for each course in the content area.
• ELOs are directly tied to the Missouri Learning Standards and are aligned to district-approved curriculum.
• Every ELO has a specific depth of knowledge students are expected to reach to be considered proficient in the content and successful in the next sequential concept. This depth of knowledge is communicated to students through specific criteria.
• This process brings more meaning to a grade because grades now reflect a student’s knowledge base rather than effort.

Proficiency-Based Learning is NOT:

• A change to letter grades (the A, B, C, D, F system remains).
• A change to transcript processes (grades will be transcripted in the same way they always have).
• Standards-based grading (proficiency-based learning requires evidence to determine the proficiency of an overarching skill or series of concepts).
• A change to scholarship eligibility (students will still have access to and qualify for scholarships as they previously did).

• Students own their learning and their depth of knowledge through self-reflection, additional practice, and collaboration with teachers.
• Students who need support can get it more readily.
• Students who already understand the content are more likely to be challenged to extend their learning and continue growing their skills.

• This approach strengthens the partnership between teachers, students, and families.

• Proficiency-Based Learning begins in the classroom, is evaluated in the classroom, and is continuously improved until mastery of a concept.
• Proficiency data drives content teams from every department; these teams meet weekly to review student outcomes, and teachers use these data points to inform their instruction, interventions, and extensions.
• Every course will have a Proficiency-Based Learning category as a part of the overall grade. The percentage of this category is determined by each content team.

• It is an ongoing, continuous process!
• Teachers are evaluating students for intervention and extension needs in a continuous manner.
• Teachers and students partner together to adjust intervention/extension based upon specific needs. Families now know what skills their students need and can support the learning process at home.

• Each ELO is graded on a 4 - point scale (4 = advanced, 3 = proficient, 2 = basic, 1 = below basic).
• ELOs support students in mastering content in a high-trust, low-stress environment. This environment is established through a cycle of student reflection and teacher feedback that helps students identify exactly which skills need further development or enhancement.
• Proficiency categories are a weighted part of the student’s overall grade in a course.

You may see this, or a similar rubric, in your student’s syllabi or on course content.

Here are a few things to help navigate through this rubric:

• First majority is the proficiency number scored the most on all ELOs within the proficiency-based category.
• Second majority is the proficiency level scored the second most. These scores together place the student in the letter grade column. For example:
• All 4s = 100%
• All 3s = 95%.
  • A score of 3 indicates proficiency, and a student at proficiency on each ELO is an A student.
•  Other exceptions to the first-majority, second-majority are within the rubric.

An example of identifying first majority-second majority within a set of ELO scores is:

The Proficiency-Based Learning percentages (95%, 85%, 75%, 65%) are in the middle of the Board of Education grading percentages.  Since our weighted and unweighted GPAs do not give greater points for a (+) or fewer points for a (-), we put the student’s proficiency score exactly in the middle of the grade range.  For example, a B+, B, and B- are all given a 3.0 within the unweighted GPA, or a 4.0 within the weighted GPA. 

Students own their learning in this system. Therefore, a missing ELO or an ELO that is not attempted is given a score of zero (0).  Students will partner with their teachers to set up a make-up or re-take opportunity.