Grading Policy

Grading occurs within classrooms to provide a pure representation of a student’s level of mastery of standards to all stakeholders involved in the student’s academic plan. The following policies and practices will reinforce this purpose:

Zero Policy

Every effort will be made to ensure that all students complete assignments. This will include a loss of privileges for students who fail to maintain their responsibilities for completing assigned classwork and homework. Work assignments must be completed at all levels of education and in life.

Graded Items Policy

Teachers will only grade assignments that represent a student’s independent ability to illustrate mastery or progress toward mastery. Some classwork and all homework items that are practice will be assessed formatively by the teacher. Unit assessments and other summative assessments may be weighted more heavily, as they are a better representation of a student’s mastery of a standard.

Re-do Policy

When a student completes an assessment that does not accurately represent their level of mastery, the teacher may offer re-do opportunities. The number of re-dos allowed will be determined by the teacher and/or support team on a case-by-case basis. The grade assigned will be the most recent score. For K–2 students, additional instruction and practice will occur before reassessment.

Extra Grade Opportunities

Teachers may provide extra grade opportunities to produce a more accurate representation of a student’s mastery. Extra credit points should be minimal and directly related to academic standards.

Late Work Policy

Late work will be accepted without a grading penalty. Students will face non-academic consequences such as a loss of privileges and re-teaching of study habits to reinforce the importance of timely assignment completion.

Homework Policy

Homework will be used for practice and review. It will be checked, discussed, and used as an instructional tool. Homework supports the reinforcement of taught standards. Daily homework should not exceed 30 minutes for grades K–2 and 45 minutes for grades 3–5. It should be intentional practice at a level appropriate to ensure student success.