Wilkes County Schools will be utilizing standards-based grading in grades K-2 for the 2014-2015 school year. Top researchers in education are challenging schools to analyze their grading practices so they are accurate, consistent and supportive of student learning. Grades should provide vital information to students and parents to enhance both teaching and learning. Grading helps identify which learning goals have been attained, where additional work is needed and can serve as a basis for school improvement efforts. Standards-based grading communicates how students are performing on a set of clearly defined learning targets called standards. The purpose of this type of grading is to identify what a student knows, or is able to do, in relation to a learning target, as opposed to simply averaging scores over the course of a grading period. Standards-based grading separates academic performance from work habits and behavior in order to provide parents a more accurate view of a student’s progress.