The social studies department announced the grading system for this school year will be changed from the Rainbow Chart to the Marzano Scale, both of which determine a final letter grade from standards-based grading throughout the semester.
The Marzano Scale averages the points from the four standards and directly converts that one number into a letter grade, whereas the Rainbow Chart used the result of each standard to assign a letter grade depending on the exact combination of “Extending,” “Proficient,” “Developing” and “Beginning.”
Social Studies Teacher Aaron Fazzio said the reason behind this change was to provide students with a better understanding of their progress.
“We moved from the rainbow tool because we think putting numbers to it will give students a better feel of where they are, and Schoology will give you that number,” Fazzio said.
Fazzio said, despite slight variations, the standards used under the Marzano Scale are very similar across all social studies classes to eliminate confusion. Furthermore, he said one of the main differentiating factors of using the Marzano Scale is the possibility to obtain a grade with a decimal that can be rounded, “ultimately boosting grades.”
Sara Khan (’24) said while she appreciated the rainbow chart’s focus on progression, she also likes the clarity of the Marzano Scale.
“The rainbow chart worked really well for me because it is all about improvement and demonstrating growth through each semester,” Khan said. “From what I’ve understood of the Marzano Scale, standards are still in place but it’s coming from more of an average of your standards-based grades.”
Khan said she appreciates the cumulative point system that the Marzano scale is based on, rather than the way the Rainbow Chart was based on the amount of certain standards that needed to be obtained.
“The Marzano Scale takes your cumulative grades throughout the whole year to make it a more fair and just evaluation of your work,” Khan said. “It’s similar to the rainbow chart but now it’s based on a cumulative point system, which I really like.”
With the new grading system, Fazzio said students will have a better understanding of their development in a course and still benefit from standards-based grading.
“The purpose of standardizing is to focus on skills and it can give you a better idea of what you need to hone in on,” Fazzio said. “I think the Marzano Scale is going to further the purpose of standards-based learning.”
