District-wide Standards Timeline 2025-2026

Standards Leadership Team Meeting Schedule 2025-2026

Standards-based learning is an umbrella term that includes a whole range of practices. Standards-based learning “takes into account modifying curricula, aligning assessments, tracking progress, setting goals with students, providing students with feedback, and aligning instruction, as well as grading and reporting” (Heflebower et al., p.3). 

Standards referenced grading is one type of standards-based grading system and the system Oak Harbor Public Schools is working towards creating. In standards referenced grading, “teachers give students feedback about their proficiency on a set of defined standards and schools report students’ levels of performance on the grade-level standards” (Heflebower et al., p.2) Updated 10/25

Currently adopted instructional materials will be used to teach the curriculum, just as they are now. However, the organization of the materials, components that are used, and implementation of the materials may need to change in order to help students meet our priority standards. Determining these changes will be part of putting together pacing guides at the end of Phase 1 and beginning of Phase 2. Updated 10/25

• November 3 (Extended Job Alike)
• December 5 (½ Day Professional Learning Day)
• December 15 (Job Alike)
• January 26 (Job Alike)
• March 30 (Extended Job Alike)
• April 27 (Extended Job Alike)
• May 18 (Extended Job Alike)

Yes. The state has adopted standards that we are required to teach. However, if we taught every core academic standard to proficiency, it’s estimated that students would be in school for 22 years! As a result, we have to prioritize what standards we invest time in, teaching and assessing in depth, so that we ensure all students leave with the skills and knowledge for future success in a path of their choosing. Updated 10/25

We are using Washington State Standards. Standards can be found on the OSPI website.

Standards referenced grade is one type of standards-based grading system and the system Oak Harbor Public Schools is working towards creating. In standards-based grading, “teachers give students feedback about their proficiency on a set of defined standards and schools report students’ levels of performance on the grade-level standards” (Heflebower et al., p.2) Updated 10/25

This is our first year and we are in Phase 1 of implementation, a building phase. This year we are focused on foundational components. Changes to instruction will come after we have completed the work of identifying priority standards, developing our proficiency scales, adjusting our pacing guides, and after ample professional learning around the pedagogical shifts needed to bring standards-based learning to life in the classroom. Updated 10/25

As a system, we will not implement standards-referenced grading until Phases 2 and 3 of our standards work. However, we recognize that many stakeholders are eager to learn more now. Standards-referenced grading shifts the focus of grading from performance to learning. This shift involves separating a student's progress toward grade-level standards from non-academic factors such as behavior. There is also an opportunity to address these non-academic areas—like behavior and social-emotional learning—by developing and using proficiency scales specifically for them. There is a team of Oak Harbor educators working on prioritizing the Washington State SEL standards and creating proficiency scales as part of our work in Phase 1. Updated 10/25

Several Washington districts are ahead of Oak Harbor Public Schools in this work. While we can—and have—looked to them as models, it’s also important that we develop ownership and expertise throughout the implementation process. We do this by working collaboratively in teams and creating consistent feedback loops during implementation. Updated 10/25

Extra credit is not part of standards referenced grading. Standards referenced grading shifts the focus of grading from performance to learning so the accumulation of points is not relevant to the reporting of grades. Updated 10/25

There are a few ways that we will ensure that grade levels and/or departments are teaching the same standards with the same materials at the same pace. At the end of Phase 1, our district will create pacing guides based on the priority standards we identify using our adopted instructional materials. During Phases 2 and 3, we will be creating common assessments to measure progress towards proficiency on our priority standards. Once standards-based report cards have been created in Phases 4 and 5, teachers will know what standards will be reflected on the report card during each reporting period, providing an extra layer of calibration across grade levels and departments. Updated 10/25

There are a few ways that we will ensure that grade levels and/or departments are teaching the same standards with the same materials at the same pace. At the end of Phase 1, our district will create pacing guides based on the priority standards we identify using our adopted instructional materials. During Phases 2 and 3, we will be creating common assessments to measure progress towards proficiency on our priority standards. Once standards-based report cards have been created in Phases 4 and 5, teachers will know what standards will be reflected on the report card during each reporting period, providing an extra layer of calibration across grade levels and departments. Updated 10/25

Student voice and choice is provided through instructional choices. For example, if you are teaching standard RL.9-10.2, which says that students must “determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text,” then you might provide two or three text options for students to select and analyze.  Updated 10/25

We can’t know for sure what standards will be assessed from year to year but we do have clues. SmarterBalanced, for example, offers a blueprint of the topics that will be assessed, the DOK level at which questions will be asked, and the overall organization of the assessment. Both teachers and students can also benefit from administering and taking the interim assessments, which provide an example of the content that is likely to be included on the summative assessment. Updated 10/25

There is no hard and fast rule for how often or how consistently a student must demonstrate a skill to be proficient, but we do have guidelines and common assessments to help determine if a student is demonstrating proficiency. A good general guideline is that a student should demonstrate a skill at least three times before we consider them proficient. This is in alignment with the emphasis on formative assessment in standards-based learning as we want to intervene early and often when students are not advancing through a learning progression and collect ample data that can be used to inform instructional decisions. Updated 10/25