Understanding Standard Proficiency and Rating Methods
Overview
Every time you record an assessment rating for a student on a standard, AstraGrade uses your course’s proficiency calculation method to compute that student’s overall score for that standard. This computed score is what appears in the gradebook and on progress reports — not any single assessment result. This article explains each available method and covers how to configure and change the method for a course.
The five proficiency methods
Most Recent
AstraGrade uses the student’s most recent assessment rating for the standard. Earlier ratings are ignored.
Use this when you believe a student’s current level is the best indicator of their mastery — the most common approach in standards-based grading.
Highest
AstraGrade uses the highest rating the student has received across all assessments for the standard.
Use this when you want to recognize peak performance and give students credit for their best work, regardless of when it was demonstrated.
Mean
AstraGrade averages the student’s assessment ratings for the standard.
Two optional settings let you refine how the mean is calculated:
- Limit to last N scores — only the most recent N ratings are included in the average. Older ratings are excluded.
- Drop lowest — the single lowest rating is removed before averaging. This is applied after any window limit.
Use Mean when you want a balanced view across multiple data points rather than a single score.
Mode
AstraGrade uses the rating the student received most often across all assessments for the standard. If two values tie, the higher one is used.
An optional window setting limits the mode calculation to the most recent N ratings.
Use Mode when you have a high volume of assessment data and want the most representative score rather than an average.
Weighted Recency
AstraGrade applies percentage weights to the student’s most recent ratings, in order from newest to oldest. The most recent rating carries the most weight.
You define the weights as percentages — for example, 60%, 30%, and 10% for the three most recent ratings. The weights must total exactly 100%.
If a student has fewer ratings than the number of weights you defined, AstraGrade redistributes the weights proportionally across the ratings that exist.
Use Weighted Recency when you want to emphasize growth over time without ignoring earlier data entirely.
Configuring the method for a course
You choose the proficiency method when you create a course, in the Proficiency Calculation section. To change it after the course is created:
- Open the course.
- Click Settings.
- In the Proficiency Calculation section, select a new method from the Method dropdown.
- Adjust any method-specific options — window size, drop lowest, or weights.
- Click Save.
AstraGrade recomputes all existing standard ratings using the new method immediately.
If you’re not sure which method to use, start with Most Recent. It’s the most common choice in SBG and reflects where a student is now rather than where they started.
Changing the proficiency method on a course affects how all current and future ratings are displayed. If your school reports mid-year grades based on these scores, coordinate the change with colleagues before saving.