GRADING SYSTEMS. 4. Principals shall insure that each progress reporting/grading system distributed is consistent with:

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1 A. General 1. The primary intent of the grading system is to communicate student progress and academic achievement (including achievement relative to the State content standards) on a regular basis to students and parents through both student progress reports, report cards, and other formal and informal communications. 2. Teachers shall distribute the established predetermined student learning outcomes to students/parents at the beginning of each school year or semester as appropriate. Principals shall insure that the distributed lists of predetermined student learning outcomes are congruent with the established district curriculum. 3. Each teacher shall distribute his/her progress reporting/grading system to students/parents at the beginning of each school year or semester as appropriate. Teachers shall also inform students/parents when courses require preparation and participation outside of the normal school day. Such courses may include but are not limited to advanced placement, academic challenge, and performing music groups. 4. Principals shall insure that each progress reporting/grading system distributed is consistent with: a. the district s grading policy and regulation; b. sound educational practice based on the State s curriculum content standards; and c. other teachers in the same grade or department or who are teaching the same course/subject. 5. Teachers shall have the responsibility for determining student progress/grades consistent with the district s policy and regulation. 6. Principals are responsible for the implementation of this regulation and for the establishment of more specific school level procedures as appropriate. B. Grading Guidelines 1. Teachers will record grades into the district-adopted electronic grading system. Report card grades and interim progress reports should reflect students academic growth and mastery of State content area standards. 2. There must be a minimum of nine (9) grades in a given marking period, with no single grade counting for more than 20% of a student s grade. For courses for which grades are reported only on a semester basis and for elementary Science and Social Studies, there must be a minimum of five (5) grades. Homework shall not count for more than 10% of a student s grade. 3. At the end of each marking period, any student with a class average below 55 will receive a 55 on his/her report card. This adjustment still reflects that a student has failed and is not meeting the standards; however, the student still has the opportunity to recover by earning a passing grade by the end of the year. The parent will be notified in

2 writing of the student s actual grade. For a course lasting a marking period or a semester only, the report card grade will not be lower than a Incomplete grades: No final grade may be awarded if an I exists for a marking period or an exam grade. a. Students shall have ten school days after receiving the report card to make up the work. If the student fails to make up the work within the ten school days, the work will be considered missed and a zero will be used by the teacher in computing marking period grades. b. The building administrator will handle unusual circumstances. C. Reporting Systems 1. For grades Kindergarten through 12, student report cards shall be distributed quarterly to students/parents. 2. Interim progress reports for all students will be issued midway through each marking period. 3. All teachers will keep all grades in the district-adopted electronic grading system (e.g. eschool) such that they will also be available to parents via an online application (e.g. Home Access Center). Any assignments to be counted towards the student s overall grade in the course shall be graded and inputted into the e-school system and published for parent view within seven (7) school days of the assignment being collected by the teacher. 4. Student report cards and interim progress reports shall contain separate progress ratings/grades and/or comments relative to student effort, including such factors as participation in class, appropriate diligence in homework practice exercises, aesthetic layout of notebooks, projects, etc. 5. Student report cards and interim progress reports shall contain separate progress ratings/grades and/or comments relative to student behavior, including respect for authority and the rights of others, self-discipline, and attitude. 6. Progress towards benchmarks detailed in I.E.P goals shall be sent home each marking period in conjunction with the student report card. Staff shall use the State-adopted online reporting system (e.g. IEP Plus) to record and report student progress toward I.E.P goals. 7. Given the close relationship between attendance and grades, students and parents are to be informed that poor attendance can lead to lower grades and even loss of credit. Student attendance will be reported on both the interim progress report and report card.

3 D. Elementary (Grades K-5) 1. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade will receive grades for report cards and interim progress report for ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies each marking period. 2. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade will receive semester report card grades for related arts (e.g. physical education, art, music, etc.). 3. The student progress rating scale for kindergarten for progress reports and report cards shall be as follows: O = Outstanding S = Satisfactory N = Needs Improvement U = Unsatisfactory NA = Not Applicable 4. The grading scale used to report student academic achievement for students in grades 1-5 ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies shall be as follows: Numeric Equivalent Letter Grade Achievement Relative to the State Content Standards A Distinguished or Exceeding the Standard B Meeting the Standard C Approaching the Standard D Below the Standard 69 and Below F Well Below the Standard 5. Student report cards shall include information in the elementary related arts areas (e.g. physical education, art, music, etc.) at the end of each semester. The rating scale for the elementary related arts areas shall be: O = Outstanding S = Satisfactory N = Needs Improvement U = Unsatisfactory NA = Not Applicable E. Middle School (Grades 6-8)

4 1. The grading scale used to report student academic achievement for students in grades 6-8 shall be as follows: 2. Numeric Equivalent Letter Grade Achievement Relative to the State Content Standards A Distinguished or Exceeding the Standard B Meeting the Standard C Approaching the Standard D Below the Standard 69 and Below F Well Below the Standard 3. No pluses or minuses shall be used to supplement the above listed grading scale. 4. The Honor Roll shall be based upon academic achievement. a. Students who have earned a 3.5 to 4.0 grade point average shall be placed on the Distinguished Honor Roll. b. Students who have earned a 3.0 to 3.49 grade point average shall be placed on the Honor Roll. c. To be eligible for placement on the Honor Roll, a student shall have had to have earned at least a 3.0 grade point average with no grade being less than a C in any subject/course. d. Grades earned in school-approved programs which the student has elected to take shall be counted, as appropriate, toward placement on the Distinguished Honor Roll or Honor Roll. F. High School (9-12) 1. Grade Point Average (GPA)/Class Rank shall be based on academic achievement grades earned in all courses. 2. Foreign exchange students shall not be ranked. 3. Life Skills students who are working toward attainment of a Certificate of Performance shall not be ranked. 4. Both non-weighted and weighted GPA and Rank information shall appear on the student s transcript. 5. For the Class of 2014 and beyond a. Students will receive (numeric) percentages on their report cards to show their actual progress rather than a letter grade. A grade scale will appear on the report card that will show the letter grade in comparison to the percentage that a student has attained from their classes.

5 b. Designated Honors, Advanced Placement, General courses and/or other preapproved advanced courses shall be given weight when calculating grade point averages and establishing class rank. Information regarding those students who have taken these most challenging courses will be provided to college/university officials. A B C D University of Delaware/Advanced Placement/Academic Challenge (level 4 & 5) Honors/Academic Challenge (level 1, 2 & 3) All other courses G. Student Grade Changes c. The Honor Roll shall be based upon academic achievement on a non-weighted level. i. Students who have earned a to grade point average shall be placed on the Distinguished Honor Roll ii. Students who have earned an to grade point average shall be placed on the Honor Roll. iii. To be eligible for placement on the Honor Roll, a student shall have had to have earned at least an grade point average with no grade being less than a in any subject/course. iv. Grades earned in school-approved programs which the student has elected to take shall be counted, as appropriate, toward placement on the Distinguished Honor Roll or Honor Roll. v. Students must be taking at least four credits per year, or the equivalent, in order to be eligible for either the Distinguished Honor Roll or the Honor Roll. In addition, students must meet the district academic eligibility requirement for participation in school activities. vi. Students who withdraw from a year-long course with a grade lower than a shall be ineligible for the Honor Roll for that marking period. vii. Courses from which a student withdraws with a mark of Withdraw- Passing (WP) shall not be counted. 1. A student and/or parent/guardian who believes there is good cause to change the grade on an individual project, such as a test, or a grade that assesses a student s collective performance, such as a grade for a marking period or semester, shall first request the student s teacher to review the matter. The request to the teacher must be made within five school days of the date the student received notice of the grade in question. Within three school days following the day/date the request is made, the teacher is to inform the student and/or parent/guardian of his/her decision.

6 2. If the teacher decides to not change the grade, the student and/or parent/guardian may appeal the teacher s decision to the principal. Such an appeal must be in writing and submitted to the principal within five school days following the teacher s decision. The principal will review the matter and make a written recommendation to the Superintendent. The written recommendation of the principal shall include the name of the student, the name of the teacher, the title of the course, and the rationale for the recommendation. The principal s written recommendation must be communicated to the Superintendent within three school days. The Superintendent is to communicate his/her decision within three school days. The Superintendent s decision is final. 3. If the Superintendent changes a student s assigned grade, he/she shall give written notice of the change to the student and/or parent/guardian, teacher, principal, and the Secretary of Education. The notice shall include the name of the student, the name of the teacher, the title of the course for which the grade was changed, and the reason(s) for the grade change. 4. In situations when the timing of decisions is important (e.g., graduation), all parties are to make a good faith effort to expedite matters and hasten the process of decision making. F. Miscellaneous 1. Parent conferences relative to student progress shall be scheduled as needed. The approved school calendar shall provide for parent conferences on or about the end of the first quarter. Whenever possible, such conferences are to be arranged in order to accommodate parents schedules. 2. Principals shall communicate the progress report/grading system to parents sometime during the first quarter of the school year. EFFECTIVE: 9/1/85 REVISED: 9/1/86, 9/28/87, 10/10/88, 9/1/94, 3/25/96, 8/23/99, 11/6/99, 8/14/00, 7/1/05, 10/13/05, 7/1/06, 7/1/07, 7/1/08, 7/1/10, 4/19/11, 8/7/15