A parent recently posed a question we hear often:
“Guidance from the school has been that Proficient (P) is ‘good enough’ — but it feels like Highly Proficient[1](HP) is the new A. Why wouldn’t the messaging always be to shoot for HP?”
[1] “Highly Proficient” is the term this district uses for the level beyond Proficient. Many ME-SBG schools use the term “High Performance” to mean the same thing; others use “Advanced” or a similar term.
It’s a fair question, and the clearest answer starts with two math problems.
Two Problems. Same Standard. Very Different Demands.
Both problems address the same Grade 6 standard: dividing fractions. Both require real mathematical thinking. But they ask students to do very different kinds of thinking.
| Proficient-Level Problem A baker has 3¾ cups of flour. Each batch of cookies requires ⅝ cup of flour. How many full batches can the baker make? Show and explain each step. |
This problem is not simply “compute 3¾ ÷ ⅝.” To solve it, a student must:
- Read a real-world situation and recognize that it calls for division of fractions
- Execute the calculation correctly
- Interpret the answer in context.
That is genuine mathematical thinking. Now compare it to this:
| Highly Proficient-Level Problem Mr. Garcia fills his gas tank. It holds 14 gallons. Each complete round trip to work uses ¾ gallon. How many round trips can he make without running out of gas? Three students answer: • Anika: 18 trips • Devon: 18⅔ trips • Steve: 19 trips The teacher marked two answers correct and one wrong. 1. Which student is definitely wrong? Explain. 2. Explain how the teacher could reasonably accept each of the other two answers. |
What Makes the Second Problem So Much Richer?
The gas tank problem covers the exact same mathematics — dividing fractions, same standard, no new content. But it demands a different kind of thinking:
There is no single right answer.
14 ÷ ¾ = 18⅔. But what does ⅔ of a round trip mean? You could stop mid-trip — so 18⅔ is defensible. But if the question means complete round trips only, then 18 is equally correct. The student must recognize that both interpretations are valid and explain why each answer makes sense.
Being right isn’t enough — you must explain why others are wrong.
Steve’s answer of 19 is impossible — there simply isn’t enough gas. The student must articulate exactly why, not just identify it as wrong.
The student must evaluate someone else’s reasoning.
This is a fundamentally different cognitive skill from solving a problem yourself. Mathematicians, engineers, doctors, and lawyers do this routinely. Sixth graders are rarely asked to.
| The baker problem asks: “Can you apply the math in context and interpret the result?” The gas tank problem asks: “Can you use the math flexibly in an ambiguous situation and defend your reasoning?” |
Highly Proficient is not more of the same work done better. It is a qualitatively different kind of mathematical thinking applied to the same grade-level content.
A Framework Worth Knowing: Depth of Knowledge
Educators use a framework called Depth of Knowledge (DoK) to describe the kind of thinking a problem requires. Three levels matter here:
| DoK 1 | Recall and procedure. “Compute 3¾ ÷ ⅝.” Execute the algorithm. Done. |
| DoK 2 | Contextual problem solving. The baker problem. Recognize what the situation requires, choose the right mathematics, interpret the result in context. |
| DoK 3 | Reasoning and judgment. The gas tank problem. Evaluate competing solutions, navigate genuine ambiguity, defend your thinking when more than one answer is correct. |
Important: In our system, Proficient requires DoK 2. We are not giving full marks for students who can only execute procedures in isolation. A student who scores Proficient has demonstrated real mathematical thinking.
So What Does “Proficient” Actually Mean?
Here is the plainest way to say it:
| In our model, a consistent score of Proficient — across all grade-level standards — represents the kind of mastery that traditionally earned an A. |
A sixth grader who can read a real-world situation, identify the right mathematics, execute it correctly, and interpret the result in context — and do that across ratios, unit rates, percents, fractions, equations, geometry, and statistics — has real mastery. In ME-SBG, Proficient is not routine recall or naked procedure; it requires applied, contextual problem solving at the grade level.
The question “why wouldn’t we always shoot for HP?” implicitly treats Proficient as a consolation prize. It isn’t. It also assumes that Highly Proficient simply means doing Proficient work more consistently.
But that isn’t what Highly Proficient represents. Highly Proficient is not more of the same work done better. It reflects a different kind of mathematical thinking.
A common misconception — one that even well-meaning teachers sometimes hold — is that percentage scores map directly onto proficiency levels. The thinking goes: 90% or better means HP, 80% means P, 70% means “Close to Proficient,” and so on. But that’s not how it works. A student who scores 100% on a page of rote computation has not demonstrated Proficient. A student who scores 100% on a set of DoK 2 problems has demonstrated Proficient — but not Highly Proficient. The level is determined by the depth of thinking the work requires, not by the percentage of problems answered correctly.
When schools treat Proficient as something less than outstanding — as if it were merely “good enough” while HP is the real target — pressure builds to redefine Highly Proficient downward. Teachers begin awarding HP for strong DoK 2 work, because that’s the only way to make it attainable for most students. The gas tank problem disappears — replaced by harder versions of the baker problem. Advanced students lose the chance to stretch into genuinely richer thinking, and the distinction collapses: Proficient begins to feel like “barely passing,” and HP becomes the new Proficient.
Highly Proficient Is Not the “New A”
And here is something that should reframe the entire conversation:
| Most classrooms seldom offer problems like the gas tank problem. This level of reasoning — evaluating competing solutions, navigating ambiguity, defending interpretations — is rarely present in standard curriculum or typical assessments. Highly Proficient creates space for students to engage in this kind of thinking. |
This is not about accelerating into the next grade level’s content — it’s about going deeper into the same mathematics. And for advanced students, that distinction matters more than it might seem. In a traditional grading system, a student who already knows the material can coast — complete the homework, ace the test, collect the A, and learn very little. In our system, there is always somewhere further to go. Highly Proficient problems require:
- Authentic problem solving that can’t be reduced to a memorized procedure.
- Explaining and defending reasoning, not just producing an answer.
- Productive struggle — even strong students won’t hit HP every time at first.
- The habits — perseverance, self-correction, intellectual honesty — built by wrestling with problems like these, and that matter long after any single middle school standard, especially when the challenges of high school, college, and beyond arrive.
The Bottom Line
Shoot for genuine mastery first. A consistent P across all standards is a genuine achievement — the kind of broad, deep, contextual mathematical fluency that traditional grading often obscures behind a single letter. Be proud of it.
The HP is there for students who are ready to go further. And it is genuinely further — not just more.
The simplest way to say it:
| Proficient = strong success on the grade-level standard through application, not just rote work. Highly Proficient = understanding the mathematics deeply enough to make sense of less familiar situations, justify conclusions, and defend reasoning. |
Both matter. But they are not the same thing.
And Proficient is not a consolation prize.
Questions about how ME-SBG works in your school? Contact us or visit our FAQ.
[1] “Highly Proficient” is the term this district uses for the level beyond Proficient. Many ME-SBG schools use the term “High Performance” to mean the same thing; others use “Advanced” or a similar term.
