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About » Grading Policy

Grading Policy

At the beginning of each term, every teacher shall explain to students orally and in writing the grading criteria that will be used for evaluating their academic performance. A copy of each grading policy will be kept in the principal’s office and the subject-specific assistant principal’s office.

The primary goals of grading and reporting are to:

  • Communicate what each student knows and is able to do in relation to curricula and common core standards.
  • Be a fair representation of a student’s performance on a variety of measures over time.

Guiding principles:

Priority will be given to
  • The most recent evidence of student learning of standards and/or checkpoints.
  • The most comprehensive evidence of student learning of standards and/or checkpoints.

Beliefs:

  1. All students are consistently held to high expectations.
  2. Grades are based on multiple and varied tasks/assessments over time.
  3. Grading practices yield grades that are understandable, meaningful and reflective of student learning.
  4. Grading scales are precise, clear and fair and are communicated to students and parents.
  5. Teachers exercise professional judgment, within the parameters of these required procedures, in their grading practices.
  6. Procedures for grading are supported, monitored, and supervised.

Procedures:

Teachers will assess student learning in a variety of ways over time within a marking period.

Departments and/or subject-specific teams within the department (example; math department and/or Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Calculus as a team will determine grading processes, including weights and proportions, and apply them consistently). The policies will be communicated to administration for approval. Once approved, the policy will be communicated to parents and students in writing.

If student(s) are not meeting the standards, re-teaching and re-assessment MUST occur. Re-teaching and re-assessment must become an integral part of the learning cycle to promote student learning. Re-teaching/re-learning may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Timely feedback on original assignment/assessment
  • Tasks assigned by teacher
  • Study packet
  • Attending a review session
  • Computer tutorial
  • Peer Tutoring
  • Whole or small group instruction
  • Teachers communicate standards to students, plan instruction to meet the learning goals, provide timely feedback to students on their performance.
  • Re-teaching occurs when teachers or students determine that students are not meeting the standard.
  • The teacher determines the method and schedule for re-teaching when tasks/assessments are re-assessed, they may be re-assessed partially, entirely, or in a different format, as determined by the teacher.
 

Assessments or tasks that provide measures of student progress within an instructional unit are to be re-assessed.

Assessments or tasks that indicate a final measurement of learning don’t have to be re-assessed, such as:  end of unit, marking period or end of semester tests, final research papers, reports, or essays, culminating projects or performances. Teachers may re-assess any student, regardless of grade on the original task or assessment. The student must meet the following criteria:

  • Student handed in original assignment

  • Student completed re-teaching/re-learning as determined by the teacher

Unique situations may arise which will require teacher and administration discretion. A poor performance on a final assessment should serve as a red flag that the student may need intervention. Opportunities for re-teaching/re-learning should continue while the opportunity for re-grading may not.

Reporting:

Our school has two semesters with 2 marking periods in each semester. A report card will be distributed at the end of each marking period to indicate progress. The final grade for each semester will go on the student’s permanent record and determine credit.

Course grades and further teacher feedback are available in TeachHub (students) and the NYC Schools Account (families). Login information is distributed by the Parent Coordinator.

Marking period and end of semester grading:

  1. There must be a fair representation of a student’s performance on the standards over time. This means using a variety of measures and a variety of methods to demonstrate mastery.
  2. There must be meaningful feedback on student achievement to students and parents.
  3. There must be consistency among departments and within subjects.
  4. There are two types of assignments/assessments:
    • Formative – Assessments or assignments for practice or for preparation for instruction. These assignments/assessments are to inform instructional decisions and to provide feedback to students to help them build skills and understanding, not to evaluate learning.
    • Summative – Assignments or assessments that are assigned to collect evidence of mastery of a skill and/or understanding after instruction, practice and feedback.

For each marking period:

No more than 20% of a student’s grade is to be based on preparedness and participation. This may include any formative assignment, compliance, notebook checks, mini-tasks, Socratic seminar, flash debates.

No less than 80% of a student’s grade is to be based on summative assessments and assignments. This is to include end of a unit, marking period and course exams as well as any assignment or assessment that is given to demonstrate skill or understanding of a concept after instruction, practice and feedback.

Grades range from 45-100, where 65 and above is considered a passing score. In rare circumstances, a student may receive a grade of: NX-student has an extreme and documented reason for missing school or school work and must make up all assignments within one term to earn credit or grade will turn into a failing grade; NL-new admit to the class-no grade equivalent; or NS-no show (equivalent to a grade of 45). The following courses award a grade of pass (P) or fail (F): Work Based Learning, and Leadership. College Now dual-enrollment courses award grades on a A-NC scale, where A-D are considered passing grades, and NC is a failing grade.

For end of semester grades:

End of semester grades must be a straight average of both marking periods. Teachers will round up when a percentage yields a decimal of five tenths or more. When a teacher has evidence that a student demonstrated a higher or lower level of performance than calculated, the teacher must consult with his/her Assistant Principal before recording the grade.

Teachers must maintain written records containing the grades on all factors that contribute to the development of the grade. Documentation must be held and then filed at the end of the school year with your assistant principal.

Grades must be entered in a timely fashion. All grades entered in the final marking period are considered transcript final grades and post on the students’ transcripts overnight. A transcript update is then required to modify a grade. Teachers must use a transcript update form and provide evidence of why there is a grade change by attaching a copy or print out of their grade book. All transcript updates will be reviewed by the principal prior to the change being entered. Unique situations may arise that require teacher and administrator discretion.

Depending on the purpose, timing and methods, any of the following can be used for formative or summative assessment purposes:

  • Projects, experiments, investigations
  • Essays
  • Quizzes, tests
  • Homework
  • Compositions – written, spoken, computer programs, musical
  • Art-painting, photography, drawing, sculpting
  • Multi-media – websites, ideas, brochures
  • Presentations – panel discussions, skits, speeches, multimedia
  • Displays – graphs, concept maps, tables, charts
  • Quick writes, journals, logs
  • Discussion and participation – Socratic seminars, literature circles, recitation
  • Simulation
  • Construction, building, or assembling models
  • Responding to signals from team mates
  • Using skills, knowledge, tools or technology in new situations.
  • This is not a full list, but some examples of what could be used to assess if learning occurred or to collect evidence of meeting course standards.

Student’s GPA is calculated using the following rules:

  1. Credit values are used in the calculations
  2. The grade average factor (GAF) is used in the calculations:
    • Regular course GAF: 1.00
    • Honors GAF: 1.05
    • College Now GAF: 1.05
    • Advanced Placement GAF: 1.10

For further details on GPA calculation, open the file below.