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IKA-R1 Grading
Policy Academic Achievement K-8 Academic Achievement shall
be at least 90 % of the total Grade for each subject. The
following areas would be part of a normal grading procedure. Each teacher will be expected to report to
students and parents the percentage of the academic grade that each area
includes:
The maximum percentage for
any single area shall not exceed 30%. Homework and final exams/mid-term exams
may not exceed 20%. Each teacher shall submit his or her grading policy and
procedures to the Building Principal for approval, no later than the first
Friday of the school year. Upon receiving approval of the plan, each teacher
shall provide parents and students with a copy of their grading policy and
procedures. Homework for this purpose is defined as a short term
assignment given one day and due the next school day. Long term projects, writing assignments,
and reading related to a specific subject may exceed the homework
guideline. The guidelines listed in
this policy may be altered by approval of the Building Principal on a case by
case basis. The principal and
supervisor may review the educational needs of the students, and approve a
change in grading procedures or policies.
This approval must be granted on an annual basis. High School Advanced Placement (AP) classes
and performance based classes at all levels may require different grading
criteria in achievement and effort. Non-Academic Factors K-8 10% of the academic grade may
include the following non-academic items:
Effort, behavior, class participation, work
completion, following rules, and teamwork. Each teacher’s grading policy will
clearly define what factors are used and the method for evaluating those
factors. Each teacher shall submit a
grading policy to the Building Principal within the first week of each term. High School Competencies and Grading For
each course the teacher shall define summative and formative
assignments. The summative assignments
shall account for 75% or more of the final grade, with the formative
assignments 25% or less. Students must
be provided multiple opportunities to demonstrate competency on course
performance indicators. Assessments
must be offered in a variety of forms (papers, projects, labs, tests,
quizzes, oral presentations, demonstrations, authentic activities, etc.)
addressing diverse learning styles. Final
exams or mid-term exams may account for a maximum of20% of the final grade
for the course. Each
teacher shall submit his or her grading policy and procedure to the Building
Principal for approval, no later than the first Friday of the school
year. Year-long courses shall be
defined prior to the start of the year, semester and quarter courses within
the first week of that term. Upon
receiving approval of the plan, each teacher shall provide parents and
students with a copy of their grading policy and procedures. Homework Homework for this purpose is defined as a short term
assignment given one day and due the next school day.
Long term projects, writing assignments, and reading related to a specific
subject may exceed the homework guideline.
The amount of homework
assigned to students shall be different for elementary, middle and high
school students. Suggested total times
for daily homework are: Kindergarten 0-
20 minutes Grades 1-3 0-
30 minutes Grades 4-5 0-50
minutes Grades 6-8 0-75
minutes Grades 9-12 0-120
minutes Parent involvement in
homework is important. It is appropriate to inform and communicate with
parents about homework, but it is important to expect students to solve the
problems. Students should be
responsible for content and homework completion, and parents can help
facilitate the completion of the homework. The purpose of homework
shall be readily identifiable and clearly articulated. The form and feedback provided on homework
may vary depending on the purpose of the homework. Three common purposes are: practice skills, preparation for a new
topic, and to elaborate on introduced material. If
homework is assigned for practice, it should be constructed around content
with which students have a high degree of familiarity. If homework is assigned, it
should be commented on, marked, or reviewed.
The approaches to providing feedback for homework should vary,
depending on the purpose of the homework. Each homework assignment does not
need to be graded, but should be collected and reviewed. Each teacher will be expected to establish
and communicate a homework policy. Building Principals will provide an
outline of the school’s homework policy. Classroom teachers may modify the
policy with the approval of the Building Principal. Each
classroom teacher shall provide a homework policy to parents, as approved by
the Building Principal. The key
components of the policy shall include:
The policy should allow for
emergencies and help students deal with those emergencies. Students should be rewarded for effort in
homework, not penalized if they made errors based on work assigned beyond
their abilities. Accepting late assignments, grading late assignments The acceptance and grading
of late assignments is a policy that shall be developed by each individual
teacher, approved by their supervisor and provided to parents and students as
part of the homework policy. It is expected
that the policy for each teacher will balance the need for completing
homework and assignments in a timely manner, and the understanding of life
events and the impact they may have on completed work. Each teacher will be expected to consider
all factors, when asked by a parent and student to accept a late
assignment. This does not mean all
late assignments must be accepted, but within a teacher’s policy, there
should be a review of the factors involved in the late delivery of the
assignment, and consideration of the factors. Several research studies
have shown that, timely grading of student’s papers, may improve the turning
in of assignments. The studies have
also shown that the requests for accepting late papers are reduced, when
graded assignments are quickly returned. Acceptance of revised work A teacher may set up a
policy to have students revise work and adjust the grade according to the
teacher’s policy. This information
needs to be included in the teacher’s assessment policy that is sent home.
The following procedures are all acceptable standards to use in grading the
revised work.
Mid-term Reports Mid-term Reports are required
for all students grades 3-12 in all schools. Communication with the parents
and students is required if the grade drops to near failing between the
mid-term and final grade. Communication with parents
in K-2 classrooms is important and should be provided for any students
working below grade level. Formal Assessments The purpose of assessment
is to evaluate student progress and share that progress with students and
parents. All tests shall be returned
to students within five school days of the completion of the test,
under normal circumstances. Teachers
are expected to communicate with students and parents if there is a need for
a change in the expected timeline for returning tests. If a test is given before a vacation
period, it is expected that the test will be returned within two school days
after the vacation period. The day of
the test is not counted when computing the return date of the test. Timeline for returning student work It is important to provide
feedback to students on their performance as soon as possible. The following is a guideline and each
professional may need to adjust the timeline according the subject matter. Class work will be marked, recorded in the
student information system and returned to students within five school days
of the completed assignments, unless there are unusual circumstances. Homework will be recorded in the student
information system and returned within three school days, and the homework
policy will be followed. Writing
assignments, long term projects, and major research projects, will require
more correcting time, and a longer period before work is returned. When developing a timeline for student
projects, it is recommended each teacher include the expected return date of
project grades on the timeline. A
classroom teacher may send corrected homework home in a packet on a weekly
basis, but feedback to students on their work should be provided within the
three day period. All marks should be entered in the student
information system within the timeline established for returning student
work. Adopted: Amended: August 12, 2010 Amended: February 10, 2011 |