Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Standards Based Grading


As you know, the Middle School Math Department has switched to Standards Based Grading this school year.   Due to this change, your child’s progress report for math looks different.  Your child will no longer receive a “letter” grade for assignments.  Home practice is included in the progress report but is not calculated in the “grade”.  (Note the ** beside these assignments)  The “IN” indicates a child turned in the work, but it was not “graded” as a score.  “M” indicates missing, “I” indicates Incomplete, and “L” indicates late.  These assignments are included as an indicator of practice, which should correlate to their score on their post evidence for each section.  Also, “pre-evidence” is not included in the grade, but is recorded in order to show a student’s growth. 
                Just a reminder, that a score of “3” is grade level for your child.  If your child receives a 2, they are still “passing”.  A score below 2 indicates lack of understanding for that standard.  Please note, the grade will continue to change throughout the ENTIRE school year, and a 1 is not unexpected this early in the year.  As the year continues, I will contact you if I feel the 1 is something to be concerned about.  Also, a score of higher than 3 indicates above grade level for a particular standard. 
                It is VERY early, and I know there is not a lot of evidence.  The only evidence will be post-evidence, projects and a few in class assessments. We are completing our first project that is due this Monday, October 4th.  This project will be worth twice as much as our class evidence.  This is a great opportunity for your child to prove they have understanding of a standard.  PLEASE make sure THEY are doing the assignment, so I am able to assess their work as a true indicator of understanding.  Thank you for your cooperation in this. Please let me know if you have any further questions!

Stemapalooza Friday!!!!


1.      Students need to wear uniforms.  Please ask students to wear their “best” uniform – no lace up shoe/boots and other overt infractions to the dress code.  They are representing our school – ask them to be as “crisp” as possible!