How does REL Northwest work make a difference for kids? In our nine-part blog series, you'll learn the different ways we serve students, educators, and policymakers across the Pacific Northwest. We start in Portland, Oregon, where REL Northwest is partnering with Portland Public Schools (PPS) to improve student engagement and high school graduation rates, directly addressing educational equity.

In the first phase of its work with REL Northwest, PPS selected two areas of focus to increase high school graduation rates: equitable grading and work-based learning. As outlined in their High School Success Plan, PPS's goal is to close the graduation rate gaps between white and historically underserved students by 2026.

Students who fail classes and feel like there is no chance of success are more likely to drop out. Equitable grading offers hope to students that they can succeed with perseverance. The approach prioritizes students' mastery of specific academic skills over traditional metrics such as timely assignment submissions, classroom behavior, and extra credit completion. By assessing each standard separately, teachers can pinpoint areas where students excel and where they need improvement. The information helps teachers individualize instruction to meet each student's needs and provide more targeted and specific feedback.

When schools use clearly specified grading criteria, provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate understanding, and use grading scales that do not skew students' grades downward, historically underserved students benefit (Paul & Webb, 2022; Quinn, 2021; Singlemann, 2021). Equitable grading practices correlates with increased achievement of high school students, particularly for students from historically underrepresented communities and students from disadvantaged backgrounds (Pollio & Hochbein, 2015).

Another reason many students drop out is because they lack opportunities to connect what they learn in the classroom to the "real world." Work-based learning in career and technical education (CTE) integrates classroom learning with practical, real-world work experiences. For example, students may engage in job shadowing, hands-on internships, and workplace simulations related to careers in industries such as architecture, automotive, engineering, health sciences, dentistry, hospitality, and technology through their CTE coursework.

According to the Association for Career & Technical Education, nationwide "the average high school graduation rate for students concentrating in CTE programs is 13 percentage points higher than the average graduation rate." Since 2011, students in PPS who complete just one (1) credit in CTE have graduated at an average rate of 88 percent compared to the state average of 80.6 percent and the PPS average rate of 84.4 percent. Student survey results indicate that work-based learning opportunities in CTE courses are a chief motivation for students persisting in a CTE program of study.

How are REL Northwest and Portland Public Schools working together?

Through facilitated conversations, the partnership between REL Northwest and PPS is producing tools and resources that help the district identify successes and challenges with implementation, describe the actions teachers and schools can take to move to more essential practices, and inform district efforts to support greater implementation at the schools.

Equitable Grading Practices

The PPS High School Core Academics and College and Career Readiness collaborated with REL Northwest to draft an Equitable Grading Practices Continuum that describes key research-based grading practices that support equitable grading. Some of these practices include:

• Mathematically sound scales. Use a mathematically accurate and defensible scale (Feldman, 2017, 2018; Guskey, 2013; Marzano & Hefelblower, 2011; O'Connor, 2007; O'Connor & Wormeli, 2011; Paul & Webb, 2022; Reeves, 2004; Singleman, 2021).
• Performance standards. Provide clear performance standards to students that are aligned to PPS' Adopted Standards (Brookhart et al., 2016; Carlson, 2003; Feldman & Marshal, 2020; Fernandez, 2021; Lehman et al., 2018; Link & Guskey, 2019; O'Connor, 2007; Tierney et al., 2011; Wakeman et al., 2022).
• Rubrics. Use rubrics connected to clear and transparent performance standards and/or proficiency scales to determine academic grades (Feldman & Marshal, 2020; O'Connor, 2007; O'Connor & Wormeli, 2011; Quinn, 2021; Wakeman et al., 2022).
• Non-academic factors. Mitigate the impact of non-academic factors (for example, behavior, attendance, and effort) on student academic performance grades. (Brookhart et al., 2016; Feldman, 2017, 2018, 2019; Lehman et al., 2018; Link & Guskey, 2019; O'Connor, 2007; O'Connor & Wormeli, 2011; Paeplow, 2011; Singleman, 2021; Tierney et al., 2011; Wakeman et al., 2022).
• Bias-resistant practices. Include practices that address bias (for example, accepting late work without penalties, providing alternative consequences to cheating instead of issuing zeros, not incorporating group grades into individual grades) (Carlson, 2003; Feldman, 2017, 2018; O'Connor & Wormeli, 2011).
• Multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency. Provide questions related to each learning target on more than one summative assessment (Fernandez, 2021; Marzano & Hefelblower, 2011; Tierney et al., 2011).
• Standards-based or competency-based grading model. Communicate student progress, growth, and proficiency on standards and/or learning targets (Bowen & Cooper, 2021; Brookhart et al., 2016; Fernandez, 2021; Lehman et al., 2018; Link & Guskey, 2019; O'Connor, 2007; Paeplow, 2011; Quinn, 2021; Tierney et al., 2011; Wakeman et al., 2022).

Work-Based Learning

The partnership also created a Work-Based Learning Checklist & Essential Practices handout for administrators, and PPS surveyed 120 CTE teachers and 11 Career Coordinators to gain insight in current practices to improve opportunities, and ultimately outcomes, for students. Survey questions address how work-based learning is being implemented, for example:

• What work-based learning opportunities are offered at each school?
• How do work-based learning opportunities vary? By school? By student group?
• How are work-based learning experiences created in each school?
• How is Partner Connect (a workforce and industry partnership database) being used to create work-based learning experiences?
• To what extent does the work-based learning meet Perkins V and Oregon Department of Education state guidelines or frameworks?

The project provides a model for how data-driven decision making can drive student outcomes, highlighting how REL work benefits not only immediate partners but also the wider educational community.

"My personal passion for this project lies in the potential to make a tangible difference in the lives of students from historically underserved communities . . . I hope to not just see improved data collection tools but, more importantly, improved educational outcomes and greater equity in the Portland Public School system."—Aurora Hymel, REL Northwest Partnership

Additional RESOURCES

• Read the Equitable Grading Practices Continuum for key research-based grading practices that support equitable grading.
• Download the Work-Based Learning Essential Practices handout and Work-Based Learning Checklist to gain insight in current practices to improve opportunities, and ultimately outcomes, for students.
• For more information on our work with PPS, please visit our partnership page to see current projects, completed projects, and the logic model.

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