Rogress Reporting Philosophy at Scholars Academy for The Gifted

Growth Mindset: At Scholars Academy, we believe that learning is a journey, not a destination. Each scholar is on a unique path, moving from what they know today to a new understanding tomorrow. Our progress reporting reflects this, focusing on extending skills, knowledge, and personal growth. It’s not about the letter grade; it’s about each scholar’s internal drive to build on yesterday’s knowledge and stretch their potential even further.

Why We Don’t Use Letter Grades at the Progress Report Level

Fostering Internal Motivation: Traditional letter grades often create a focus on external validation—an “A” representing an endpoint. For gifted learners, grades can sometimes mask the underlying purpose of learning: self-improvement and discovery. Many of our scholars, if their organizational skills are on point, could achieve top grades with relative ease. But academic performance, especially for gifted learners, shouldn’t rely solely on executive functioning skills.

Instead, we aim to develop internal motivation in our scholars, encouraging them to pursue deeper understanding and a genuine love of learning. By taking grades out of the progress report, we allow scholars to concentrate on what truly matters—challenging themselves to know more than they did yesterday, to understand more deeply, and to apply their learning in meaningful ways.

Our Approach to Progress Reporting

Daily Growth and Reflection: Our progress reporting at Scholars Academy is built on daily insights from a wide variety of assessments, work samples, and observations. These methods allow us to see each scholar’s personal growth journey, focusing on how they’ve expanded their skills and understanding each day. Teachers adapt their instruction to support individual learning needs, guiding scholars to build on strengths, address challenges, and uncover new areas of interest. Through this approach, we foster a growth mindset where students find value in learning itself and are encouraged to continually improve upon their own performance.

Our Progress Reporting Marks and What They Mean

Each mark serves as a guidepost for a scholar’s progress, aimed at showing how far they’ve come and where they can go next:

• 1 – Beginning: Scholars marked as “Beginning” are exploring new material, discovering fresh ideas, and learning new skills. They’re in the early stages and may need extra support, but they’re on a path toward growth.
• 2 – Progressing: This mark shows that a scholar is building understanding, steadily moving forward, and meeting grade-level expectations. Progressing scholars are developing confidence as they integrate new concepts with what they already know.
• 3 – Applying: Scholars marked as “Applying” consistently use and understand the content independently. They’re engaging deeply with the material, demonstrating understanding in practical ways, and mastering grade-level skills.
• 4 – Extending: For scholars at this level, learning is about pushing boundaries and going beyond expectations. These students demonstrate creative, independent thinking and take their understanding to new heights.

This scale helps scholars, parents, and teachers alike to recognize growth and effort over time. It shifts the focus away from a “final grade” and onto the continuous process of learning, encouraging each scholar to value their progress and keep moving forward.

Myriad Learning Beyond the Report

More Than Meets the Eye: Progress reports can only show a small part of the learning journey. Every scholar is developing essential skills beyond academic content, from collaboration and critical thinking to resilience and adaptability. These invaluable “soft skills” are what truly prepare scholars for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. While our progress reports capture growth in specific areas, they are just one way of seeing each scholar’s unfolding potential and the myriad ways they are learning and growing every day.

By focusing on growth over grades, Scholars Academy empowers each student to build internal motivation, viewing learning as a fulfilling, self-driven pursuit rather than a task for external reward. It’s about taking yesterday’s understanding and reaching for a bit more today—learning not just for school but for life.