Philosophy: It is the philosophy of the West Ada School District to assess and report student achievement in a manner that clearly measures what students know, do and understand based on a clearly identified set of learning intentions and student success criteria definitively aligned to State standards. The goal is to improve student learning by reporting student achievement that is accurate, consistent, meaningful, and supportive of learning.

As a general practice at Victory Middle School, student assessments of learning i.e. evidence of learning will make up at least 80% of a student’s final grade. Practice i.e. homework and daily work will constitute no more than 20% of the total grade in the course.

Assignments are expected to be completed and turned in on time because . . .

·         The completion of all assignments is a critical component of student learning.

·         The completion quality of all assignments is a critical component of student learning.

·         Students who complete assignments are prepared to maximize their learning.

With this premise in mind, as well as our mission of “Partners in Learning, Preparing for the Future”; the staff at VMS has agreed to adhere to these guidelines in regard to daily work, homework and practice-based assignments, and student assessments.

Grades in PowerSchool

At VMS we use proficiency scales to guide instruction, assessment, grading, and reporting.  Proficiency scales are tools that provide clarity in learning expectations and outcomes. Feedback using proficiency scales will communicate to students their level of understanding and performance as it relates to the learning target.  We have found that using these tools greatly increases understanding and clarity for all stakeholders (teachers, students and parents).   Once a student has had the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of a particular learning intention, this level will be converted to a % and reported in PowerSchool Gradebook using the conversion chart below.

Conversion Scale from 4.0 scale to 100 point scale

4.0 = A 100%

3.5 = A 98%

3.0 = A 95%

2.5= B 85%

2.0 = C 75%

1.5= D 65%

1.0 = D 60%

Below 1.0 = F 50%

Gradebook Categories: Teachers will utilize two common categories in the gradebook (Practice and Evidence). Grades will be updated on a regular basis, at minimum every two weeks.

Due Date:  The date that the evidence was due to the teacher.  Any evidence not turned in on the due date or not of good quality will be marked as missing and a corresponding grade entered until completed by the student.

Deadline:  The last date the evidence will be accepted for credit.  Evidence turned in prior to or at the deadline will receive the grade earned without penalty.  These dates will be clearly defined by the teacher.  Any evidence turned in after the deadline will receive no credit and will be marked with an NHI (never handed in) indicator. Deadlines are:

Due dates and Deadlines will be clearly defined by the teacher.

Practice:

·         Assignments may be re-done before the Deadline. Practice earning a low score may be re-done before the deadline and must be of good quality and effort for full credit.

·         Late work will be accepted for full credit and students will receive the score they earned if submitted after the Due Date.

·         Late work will not be accepted after the Deadline.

·         There are times when there will be exceptions to this general policy regarding late work. These exceptions will typically occur because of the nature of the assignment, project, lab requires them to be done within a timeframe that is shorter than the designated deadline.  These exceptions will be clearly communicated by the teacher when they occur.

Evidence of Learning:

·         Evidence could consist of assessments, projects, labs, examples of writing, etc.

·         Students who score below 95% will be allowed to resubmit evidence.

·         Students who score 95% or higher, cannot resubmit evidence, as 95% would be considered evidence that the student has demonstrated a proficient mastery of the assessed content.

·         Students can resubmit evidence ONE time only.

·         The student will receive the higher of the two grades up to 95% after the resubmission is completed.

·         Students who are requesting a resubmission of evidence will be required to complete any missing practice work before the opportunity to resubmit evidence.

·         If the student wants to set up a resubmission of evidence, they must arrange a time with the teacher to do so.

·         Students have one full week from the date the evidence is returned to the student, to arrange and complete the resubmission.

·         All resubmissions must be completed by the late work deadlines listed above.

·         End of Course/Final Exams cannot be re-taken as they occur the last two days of the term.

**Students who are absent will be given 2 days per absence to complete any missed work while they were absent.

***Students with accommodations for extended time will be given the agreed-upon amount of time.