Book Study - Grading for Equity
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Considerations for Equitable Grading Practices
- Grade books are communication tools and should be used as such. Both the assignment description field and the individual student comment field should serve to inform stake-holders of a student's progress.
- Grades on summative assessments should be the only scores reflected in a student's final course grade.
- A "zero" may be recorded in the grade book to serve as a placeholder for evidence that is currently missing (if the student has not completed an assessment no evidence of learning can be documented), but for which the teacher is actively pursuing documentation (a missing assignment or assessment).
- Documentation of students who have failed to submit an assessment is crucial as is appropriate contact with the student and other stake-holders (parents, counselor, administration). It is expected that the assessment be taken or submitted and that teachers follow the protocol for ensuring that the student is assessed: ICU, seminar placement, parent contact, office referral. A zero cannot be a final grade (see below).
- A failing grade (F) will be documented as 50% of the total points possible.
- A "zero" for which no documentation is ever received will convert to a failing grade equivalent to 50% at the end of the grade reporting period.
- A "zero" for which insufficient evidence of learning is received will convert to a failing grade equivalent to 50% at the end of the grade reporting period.
- Submitting work late is a behavioral issue and should be treated as such; students' grades cannot be penalized for submitting work late. FHS teams are currently investigating a means of reporting behavior in addition to reporting academic progress. It is important that we track these detrimental behaviors and work to correct them while not allowing them to be reflected in the academic assessment.
- Progress demonstrated through practice activities (bell-ringers, note-checks, etc.) can be recorded in the grade book for communication purposes, but should not count toward a student's final grade (one method for achieving this is to use categories and select which categories will be reflected in the final grade; this can be done with or without using weighted grades). The final grade for a course should be based on students' performance on assessments which demonstrate their mastery of the course standards.