| By Big Radio News Staff |

A shift in grading scale has produced positive results at Janesville’s middle schools.

Chris Medenwaldt, the district’s director of secondary education, says this year’s change from a 1-to-4 numerical grading scale to the classic A-through-F alphabetical scale was driven by a desire to improve communication between parents and schools and increase student motivation and engagement.

He explained the change to the school board’s Personnel, Policy and Curriculum Committee last Monday.

Medenwaldt says parents often told teachers that they weren’t clear what the number grades were saying about their children’s academic performance, and new teaching hires also had little to no experience with numerical grading.

The feedback is anecdotal so far, but Medenwalt says teachers have reported increases in assignment completion and parent communication. Students are also asking teachers how they can improve their grades.