Apr 27, 2026
How West Valley Innovation Center Uses Otus to Support Competency-Based Learning
By: Otus Team
Challenge
After moving away from another K-12 grading platform, West Valley Innovation Center needed a way to support its transition to competency-based grading and give teachers, leaders, students, and families clearer visibility into student learning.
Results
In its first full year with Otus, West Valley assigned and graded 13,433 assessments, including over 12,000 rubric assessments, to bring its competency-based grading model to life while expanding visibility into attendance and intervention planning.
Key Product
Assessments, Standards-Based Grading
1
Schools
180
Students
13433
Assessments
2025
Year They Started with Otus (October)
The Challenge
West Valley Innovation Center, part of West Valley School District in Yakima, WA, opened in 2021 as a mastery-based learning school and serves students in grades 7-12 in the district that are interested in project-based learning connected to CTE pathways. Since opening, its team needed a platform that could support that change for the entire school community.
The school had previously used another K-12 product for SBG, but leaders were looking for a solution that could do more than capture scores. They sought a system that aligned with their grading approach while also helping teachers better collaborate around student performance and make learning more visible to students and families.
West Valley also wanted a stronger foundation for connecting student learning data over time. While assessment and grading were the immediate priorities, the district’s broader vision included bringing more student data into one place, starting with i-Ready and eventually expanding to additional sources such as IXL and SBAC results.
The Solution
West Valley partnered with Otus in fall 2025 and took a phased approach to implementation.
Leaders began by encouraging teachers to enter standards data in the Otus gradebook. From there, staff expanded into using rubrics to track custom standards and support their competency-based grading goals more fully. That gradual rollout gave teachers time to settle into the new system and build confidence.
Otus gave West Valley a consistent way to capture and communicate student progress toward mastery. Teachers now use rubric assessments extensively, and they also use Plus assessments for quick gradebook entry when they need to capture mastery levels efficiently.
Teams use common assessments to support PLC work, use AI to summarize assessment data and surface key insights, and view student performance alongside other important indicators such as attendance and benchmark data. For teachers, another major benefit is the ability to store comprehensive project information in Otus, giving students and families clearer visibility into learning expectations and progress.
Because family accounts are enabled, West Valley has also used Otus to support stronger communication with parents. When the school introduced a new grading model, families had access to an informational session in Otus that helped them better understand mastery-based learning and how to interpret student progress.
“West Valley Innovation Center leaders and teachers have been impressed by how Otus continually works with them to support teacher use and actively responds to feedback to improve the program for all users.”
Jed Watters
Executive Director of Innovation,
,
West Valley School District 208
The Results
In its first six months with Otus, West Valley has shown steady usage and strong adoption.
During the 2025-26 school year, teachers created 13,433 assessments, with more than 12,000 of them built as rubric assessments. That level of rubric usage reflects just how central Otus has become to the district’s competency-based grading model.
Teachers are using the platform not only to track mastery, but to make learning more transparent. Project details, rubric criteria, and progress toward standards are all in one central location and easier for students and families to follow. At the same time, school leaders and PLC teams have a more complete view of student learning by bringing together assessment data with attendance and third-party performance metrics.
Just one year in, and West Valley’s new grading and assessment platform is already supporting broader schoolwide initiatives. The district is now expanding its use of Otus into MTSS and student plans, building on the same foundation of visibility and shared understanding.
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