The 2023-2024 grading policy aims to provide a clear picture of our student’s progress while honoring each individual student’s academic experiences.
We believe grades are meant to be a holistic assessment of student learning. Our curriculum is aligned to NYS & Next Generation Standards. We believe that students who graduate high school need the ability to think critically, use evidence to support their arguments, apply what they have learned to solve real-world problems and demonstrate resilience in the face of obstacles. The individual teacher, in consultation with their direct supervisor and principal, is responsible for evaluating and determining each student’s academic achievement based on the established grading criteria. Grades are to be a fair, equitable, evaluative, and a restorative instrument, not a disciplinary device.
NYC DOE Grading for Equity, Accuracy, and Social-Emotional Well-being
Accuracy: Sharpen our focus on accurately measuring what we expect students to demonstrate in their learning so that we maintain high expectations for all students; (e.g.,Quality over Quantity).
Equity: Minimize the effects of bias and eliminate practices that penalize students who have been marginalized based on their race, culture, language, and/or ability; (e.g., We do not want to penalize students for handing in work late or being ill, etc.)
Social-emotional well-being: Contribute to a positive learning culture that promotes academic risk-taking and social-emotional well-being and de-emphasizes both competition for grades and grading based on factors beyond the scope of the classroom and beyond students’ control, such as their proficiency level at the start of the school year, housing status, and access to study space and Wi-Fi. (e.g., Honor students beyond just academic performance-Outstanding Student Effort Awards).
Considerations for accuracy, equity, and social-emotional well-being: Grading student work for understanding of concepts and mastery of skills is different from grading based on completion of assignments alone. When student work is graded based on how well students understand the content and perform in the subject, both the students and teachers are receiving valuable information about how well the students are doing.
In deciding whether to grade homework, keep in mind that completion of and performance on homework reflects students’ work habits, home environment, and access to other people who may assist them. Students have unequal access to out-of-school time and resources to support homework completion. Consider giving feedback on homework, rather than grading it. (e.g., students should not fail for not handing in homework. Consider collecting homework sometimes and use homework for formative reasons).
Each piece of graded work should correspond to a course learning goal. If an assignment does not correspond to a stated learning goal, it measures students’ compliance rather than their learning. Graded work that is not associated with learning goals inflates or deflates students’ grades. Students are better served by extra time to further explore the content and to engage in active practice of core skills. (e.g., Quality over Quantity).
While academic behaviors are important supports for learning, grades that reflect student behavior are prone to bias. Teachers may choose to give ungraded feedback on these behaviors to maintain the accuracy of students' grades as markers of academic progress on course goals. (e.g., Behavior is not a criteria for academic mastery).
Ensure that grades for standards-aligned work are not impacted by non-mastery factors, such as marking off for lateness. In addition to making grades less accurate, adding these factors directly into student work makes planning for instruction more difficult, because students may have higher achievement than what is evidenced in the grade book.
Given the varied administration schedule of the Regents exams over the course of schools may not use Regents exam scores as a factor in student grades.
Not all assignments must be incorporated into the overall grade. If an assignment is purely formative, consider a low weight or no weight so that students focus on the feedback provided rather than the impact on final grades. Students are more likely to take risks when the stakes are low.
Consider grouping grades by standards or objectives, rather than by type of work product (e.g., quiz, midterm, and final project). Providing students and families with sub-grades by objective allows them to better understand areas in which students are performing better or may need more support and in which areas. Weighting standards also communicates which standards are the most essential to success in a subject. Feedback and grades over time on specific learning goals maximize transparency and provide more directed support.
When possible, teachers should offer assessments in multiple modalities to ensure that the method of expression does not interfere with a student’s demonstration of their proficiency.
To honor the learning process of building proficiency over time, consider weighting more recent work more heavily. Weighting more recent work better reflects a student’s end-of-term mastery of course concepts and skills. Otherwise, a student who starts off with lower skills will end with a 2 lower grade than a student who starts off with higher skills even if the students reach the same proficiency by the end of the course.
Final course grades should reflect the student’s level of proficiency at the end of the course.
Consider offering students chances to improve their proficiency and their grades via multiple assessments of a given learning goal, and offering revision/re-take opportunities. Providing students with opportunities to demonstrate progress ensures that students’ grades are based on evidence of what they know and can do, rather than completion of a specific task. A higher grade then indicates a higher level of proficiency, leading to a more bias-resistant and accurate grade- improvement practice.
Allow students to re-do assignments emphasizes to them that they have control over their learning. Depending on the assignment type, this might mean revising the work, completing the work in a different way, or a new assessment specifically targeted at areas where the student did not initially demonstrate proficiency. Consider including time for revisions in the course of the day so all students have equal access to this opportunity.
If students are re-assessed, consider which assessment (or which parts of each assessment) most accurately represents the student’s eventual proficiency. Rather than just averaging the two assessments, replacing the score or parts of the score is a more valid measurement of student achievement.
When students miss class time, teachers must give students reasonable chances to make up missed work before final grades are entered in STARS.
From the start of the term, share standards-aligned learning goals in student-friendly language. As students begin a task, take time for dialogue, linking the task purpose to learning goals and describing or providing criteria for success to ensure students clearly understand the purpose of each task and what is expected of them. Then provide timely feedback to students, based on the stated learning goals and criteria.
Rubrics that describe criteria for success on course goals in clear, age-appropriate language can both support learning and measure progress across time. Rubrics can be most helpful when they offer a roadmap for success on course learning goals and the same rubrics are used to guide and measure progress over time, rather than using task-specific rubrics. This allows students to see their progress clearly, as their proficiency improves over time. Consider using ungraded glow/grow feedback early in the term and scoring on a rubric as the term progresses.
Providing feedback and grades based on clearly stated learning goals and criteria reduces the power of implicit bias as a factor in grading.
Invite students and families to offer meaningful input and engage in decision making about how students will learn and demonstrate proficiency on course goals—and to co-create learning goals with teachers. Providing students and families with “progress reports” before the end of term increases transparency. Pair this with time for students to improve their competency around core learning objectives and to demonstrate their learning to improve their grades. This allows for more equitable and accurate final grades.
Student-led conferences offer learners a space to share their work with their families, to explain course goals and criteria in their own words, and to explain how their course work is evidence of their learning. Student-led conferences can offer valuable opportunities for reflection, student ownership of their learning, and clear communication about how learning relates to course grades. Consider scheduling student-led conferences in place of parent-teacher conferences.
In addition to recognizing student excellence via honor rolls and class rank we should also celebrate students who demonstrate achievement in other creative ways. Systems for celebrating student excellence can include recognizing meaningful progress as well as high grades, meaningful contributions to the school or wider community, and demonstrations of social justice and integrity. This affords schools an opportunity to celebrate what they most value and allows students of all identities to be celebrated for a variety of strengths they offer and demonstrate. (E.g., Outstanding Student Effort Award).
1) Student grades will be based on academic performance and progress, considering students’ entire body of work in each subject. Grades reflect students’ level of understanding and skills in a subject at a specific point in time.
2) Goddard’s grading scale will be based on a numerical scale (100 points) except for specific courses with pass/fail grades such as Labs or non-credit bearing electives.
3) Goddard’s grading policies will reflect flexibility with assignments, giving students different ways to show what they have learned (projects, assessments, essays, speeches, tests, quizzes, etc).
4) Grades will be calculated according to the following rubric:
a) Core Classes
i) Tests - 30%
ii) Quizzes - 10%
iii) Projects/Essays - 30%
(1) Science- Projects/Essays 20% and Lab 10%
iv) Classwork - 20%
v) Homework/Achieve 3000 - 10%
b) Electives:
i) Classwork/Participation/Projects/Essays/Assignments/Etc., - 100%
c) Classwork: Classwork rubric should clearly identify how students will earn points. Please note that non-mastery factors, such as attendance and behavior, cannot be a factor.
i) Classwork or online work means: Completion of assigned tasks, engagement, and note-taking as evident by entries in a student's notebook.
Example: You may not at the end of a term give an overall assessment of student participation based on your memory. For example, John raised his hand often and therefore receives a 100. Tom was late a few days and was generally quiet, therefore earning a 65. This is too subjective. Instead, participation must be based on evidence of collected work or a daily participation rubric. For example, each time a student contributes positively to a class discussion, the teacher records a bonus point in her grade book.
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d) Homework assignments may be collected and graded or for feedback only. The teacher may give feedback on homework based on the understanding, skills, and knowledge demonstrated by the student. Homework may be graded but feedback should be returned to students in a timely manner.
5) Grades and Comments: A grade of 65-100 indicates the student is passing. A grade of 55% or 60% indicates the student is failing. Attendance may not be a factor in the grade nor may students be penalized for not participating in class.
e) The Final Average (MP5) must be calculated from the marking period grades that were entered on the official Stars report card. For example, if a student received a 71 mp 1, 65 mp 2, 55 mp 3, and 77 mp 4, the final average would be 67.
f) The above example (e) must incorporate the aforementioned DOE grading policies regarding social emotional and equity based grading. No grades lower than a 55% are to be given on the report card.
6) Letter Grades: No letter grades of any kind may be given without permission from your direct supervisor in any marking period.
7) Late Entry: Students who may have transferred from another school may have a grade of “NL” which may be given to students who are placed in a course after it has started, may have missed assignments or assessments needed to generate a complete course grade for a given marking period. “NL” does not have a pass/fail or numeric equivalent. Students who receive a mark “NL” must successfully complete remaining course requirements by the end of the 4th Quarter following the termination of the course in order to receive a final grade and credit, as applicable. Please reach out to your direct supervisor for approval before using this code.
8) Final Grades: Per DOE Academic policy, teachers must use the four marking period grades on the Stars report card to compute the final average. Teachers must correct any errors in a timely manner. Failure to do so may result in a principal override after written notification to individual teachers.
9) Attendance will not be a factor in student grades. However, attending school, participating in class, and demonstrating understanding are all essential components of student learning, and school communities must make every effort to ensure that students attend school, with a goal of every student, every day.
10) Absences or lack of engagement due to illness, covid-19, hospitalization, death in the family, religious absences, required court or immigration appearances, attendance at health clinics, approved college visits, approved cooperative work programs, school trips, lateness, other types of absences, and other similar situations approved by admin are considered to be explained absences and the student should be given a minimum of four weeks or more in which to make up assignments. Students with absences or lack of engagement must be given the opportunity to make up any missed assignments from any Marking period and the work needs to be evaluated as such without penalty for any of the hardships/issues mentioned above.
11) All teachers in all courses (core and elective) will provide an approved Syllabi to each student. The approved syllabi will provide a description of the course and an outline of topics and units that will be studied. The grading approach will also be itemized along with contact information from the teacher, etc.
Regents Exams:
1) Regents are not included in the calculation of final grades.
2) If a student passes the Regents but failed the course in a particular subject area, the student must retake the failed course.
3) During examinations, the NYSED Electronic Policy/Mandate must be implemented including no electronic devices. Students in violation of this policy will have their exam invalidated.
4) Once grades are finalized, a grade change form (Google Form) must be submitted to change a grade and be approved by an Administrator.
a). Quarterly exams may not count as two exam grades.
b) Regents are not included in the calculation of final grades.
5) During examinations, the NYSED Electronic Policy/Mandate must be implemented including no electronic devices. Students in violation of this policy will have their exam invalidated.
Grading and Awarding Credits:
1) Marking Period Grades show students’ progress throughout the course.
2) There is 1 Term for the entire year and 4 marking periods. Report cards are issued at the end of each marking period. Credit for each course is awarded at the end of the year after MP5 (Final Grades).
3) All faculty members must maintain grade records in Jupiter Ed containing the grades of all class assignments which went into the development of the overall grades given each marking period. All graded class assignments must align with the school syllabi and must clearly detail the assignment standards/topic, name, expectations, and relevant instructions for completion. Documentation, which forms the basis for grades, will be kept on file for a minimum of two years and must be available to supervisory personnel.
4) Gradebook MUST be updated at a minimum once a week so that students may check their progress on a consistent weekly basis. This is critical to holding students accountable and informing parents about their academic progress. In addition, each grading category must have a minimum of two assignments but quality over quantity should also be considered. For example, there shouldn’t be 25 assignments in one category.
5) Honor Classes, AP classes, and College Level Classes may be weighted. Physical Education courses and other special courses such as SETSS are not incorporated into a student’s GPA.
6) Pull-Out SETTS and advisory is not credit bearing
Grades and Comments:
1) A grade of 65-100 indicates the student is passing. A grade of 55%-64% indicates the student is failing. The lowest grade is 55% for any marking period.
2) Please note that a student can earn a passing grade if the student has poor attendance, but is still passing the class due to submitting assignments and passing tests, quizzes, and projects.
3) Single digit grades are permitted, from 65%-100%. Below 60 is in increments of 5, with the lowest grade being a 55. No single digit grades permitted below 65.
4) No Show: A grade of “NS” is given to a student who fails to attend a course and does not participate in any of the work from which a grade can be derived. This grade cannot be used without approval from administration to ensure that the student is a true No Show (did not attend at all, i.e., 0% attendance).
5) Late Entry: A grade of “NL” is given to students who are placed in a course after it has started, may have missed assignments or assessments needed to generate a complete course grade for a given marking period. “NL” does not have a pass/fail or numeric equivalent. Students who receive a mark “NL” must successfully complete remaining course requirements by the end of the 4th Quarter following the termination of the course in order to receive a final grade and credit, as applicable. A marking period grade of NL requires admin approval.
6) Final Grades: Per DOE Academic policy, teachers must use the marking period grades on the report card to compute the final average. Teachers must correct any errors in a timely manner. Failure to do so may result in a principal override after written notification to individual teachers.