NASHUA – Acing a test won’t just get Nashua students an “A+” under a new grading system adopted by the Board of Education Monday night. It will also get them a 100, a 4, and a recap of their course proficiency.

As New Hampshire looks to move to a so-called competency-based education standard, as opposed to the traditional credit-based approach, school officials implemented a new system that will use a 1-4 “grade” based on what level of proficiency a student has demonstrated in a given subject regardless of the number of “credit-hours” he or she has sat through. The change is meant to help students be more prepared for college or the workplace, according to officials.

“I’ve spoken to too many employers who say students don’t have not only the math background, but the ‘soft skills;’ the district-wide competencies,” said Nashua Superintendent of Schools, Mark Conrad.

As and Bs won’t go away completely; student report cards will still reflect traditional grades that teachers will calculate using a Rosetta Stone of sorts that integrates the traditional grading system with the 1-4 competency-based system.

The crux of the move is to evaluate students on what they know rather than how many hours they have spent in a particular class; the reasoning being two students can take the same class and have widely different proficiency levels.

The previous education system used the Carnegie unit, or credit unit, to track student progress based on how much time students have spent on a subject. Students are given grades on a scale of 1-100, but move forward in the course based on whether or not course competencies have been mastered.

The new system, piloted last year and to be implemented in fall, gauges student progress based on mastery of course competencies, measured from 1 to 4

Each number represents the level of proficiency a student has received, with 1 being not proficient, and 4 being fully proficient.

In the competency-based education system, students can retake exams and rewrite essays to improve proficiency in a subject.

To help reconcile the changeover between the two grading systems, Nashua educators developed a composite grading chart using the four-point competency-based grading scale and the traditional 100-point scale, comparing them side by side.

“A lot of work went into the two high schools to work on and identify a compromise solution,” Conrad said of the grading chart.

Using the chart, a grade on the four-point scale can be translated into a letter grade between a “C-,” or 70-72 points, and an “A+,” or 97 to 100 points.

Scores falling below a C- do not have a corresponding letter grade or a 100-point scale equivalent. Instead, the scores are designated a competency grade of either a one for “in progress,” or zero for “no evidence” of progress toward course competency.

“I think the work the teachers did on this was important. This seems to be more widely accepted. I’ve heard from parents, they’re glad to see the letter grades; it’s more familiar, most of them came through the system that way,” said board member Dorothy Oden.

The school board approved the composite grading chart Monday, and Conrad said district staff will continue to fine-tune the language describing each proficiency level on the chart.

“There are a few things that still need to be worked on, one of these is the descriptors,” he said.

“With the descriptors, it says ‘here’s where you’re at, and here’s how you can do better,’” said Nashua High School South principal Keith Richard. “The conversation between student and teacher changes,” he said. “We are raising the bar. I believe students will rise to the challenge. It’s going to be a growth process.”

One obstacle board members wanted to address concerned how fair the new system is for students. Because each teacher sets the rules around “recovery,” or work done to improve proficiency, members questioned whether each student gets the same chance to re-do their work.

Nashua High School South student liaison to the board, Dody Eid, said consistency of rigor between different teachers has always been an issue.

“There’s always variability, and that’s something that’s really impossible to attack from where we’re sitting in this board room right now.”

However, Eid said competency-based grading is a step in the right direction.

“I find when the teacher tells me why I got a grade based on the competencies, that’s helpful for me,” he said.

Conrad said the competency-based system will make it easier to show students how their proficiency with a subject corresponds to their grades.

“I think we’re actually moving in the direction of better consistency with this grading system,” he said.

For the class of 2016, the change won’t have any bearing on college admissions as colleges will receive the same information they always have. “GPA, class rank in graduations will not change,” said Richard.

Tina Forbes can be reached at 594-6402, tforbes@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_TinaF.