Overview

Measures including grades below proficiency (often defined as a grade below a C) are a useful way to identify struggling students and ensure early intervention. For example, Chicago freshmen with less than a C average are more likely to drop out than graduate – and conversely, among Chicago students who earn a B average or above in their freshman year, over 95% graduate. These same students have an 80 percent chance of finishing high school with at least a 3.0 grade point average.

The Ed-Fi Dashboards allow educators to set a grading scale and a definition for proficiency on that scale that works for their environment (e.g., anything below a C grade, a Needs Improvement, a numerical or percentage scale). This allows schools and districts using any measure to identify and intervene with students who have grades below the local definition of proficient.

Grades Below Proficiency Metrics