Assessment and Grading
Grades in this class are reported using a combination of standards-based grading practices as well as traditional grading practices. In Infinite Campus, you will see three categories for students' grades; Assignments Graded for Understanding, Assignments Graded for Completion, and Content Mastery. Each category is described below.
Assignments Graded for Understanding - 90% of grade
This category includes all tests and quizzes as well as projects. Smaller assignments are also included in this section IF they are used as a summative assessment. For example, students might conduct a lab experiment in class and be asked to write a conclusion based on their data. If the conclusion is used to assess a student's understanding of the concept demonstrated in the lab, then that score would be counted in this category in Infinite Campus. This category reflects what a student knows overall in science class.
Assignments Graded for Completion - 10% of grade
This category includes assignments that are formative in nature. For example, practice problems or questions, first attempts at new skills, review sheets, and the like would all be included here. This category is meant to reflect the students' work habits and preparedness for class. These scores do not show whether a student has mastered material or not, but rather, if they attempted the assignment.
Content Mastery - 0% of grade
This category appears in Infinite Campus but is not included in the grade calculation. It is meant to communicate exactly which content expectations a student has mastered. This category provides much more information for both parents and students than the final percentage on a unit test. Here, the learning targets for each unit are 'clumped' together into important standards. A score is entered for each of these standards using a 4-3-2-1-0 scale (see below). This score is fluid and based on evidence collected over the course of a unit. It can change (both up and down) as students demonstrate knowledge in a variety of ways including assignments, tests and quizzes, lab work, in-class conversations, and teacher observations. If you see that a standard is still blank in Infinite Campus in this section, that means that particular standard has not yet been assessed (or that the teacher doesn't have enough information or evidence to make a determination of the student's understanding). The meanings of 4-3-2-1-0 are listed below.
4 = Advanced - The student consistently demonstrates understanding beyond grade level expectation for this standard.
3 = Proficient - The student consistently demonstrates independent, grade-level understanding of the standard.
2 = Basic - The student inconsistently or incompletely demonstrates grade-level understanding of the standard when working
independently.
1 = Needs Assistance - The student is unable to demonstrate independent understanding and use of concepts. However, when assistance is provided, partial proficiency is demonstrated.
0 = No understanding - The student fails to demonstrate any understanding of the learning goal even with assistance.
Please note, when using this system for communicating students' grades and understanding in Infinite Campus, the standard Junior High grading scale must be applied (93 - 100% = A, and so on). This creates a problem in the Content Mastery section. Because scores are entered using 4-3-2-1-0, the program automatically calculates a percentage based on a possible score of 4 points. This means that a score of 3, which really means Proficient, is calculated as 3/4 or 75%. This is often interpreted as a "C". It is not! Please ignore the percentage that is calculated (it cannot be turned off) and use the "standards-based" meanings of the 4-3-2-1-0 scores listed above.
Assignments Graded for Understanding - 90% of grade
This category includes all tests and quizzes as well as projects. Smaller assignments are also included in this section IF they are used as a summative assessment. For example, students might conduct a lab experiment in class and be asked to write a conclusion based on their data. If the conclusion is used to assess a student's understanding of the concept demonstrated in the lab, then that score would be counted in this category in Infinite Campus. This category reflects what a student knows overall in science class.
Assignments Graded for Completion - 10% of grade
This category includes assignments that are formative in nature. For example, practice problems or questions, first attempts at new skills, review sheets, and the like would all be included here. This category is meant to reflect the students' work habits and preparedness for class. These scores do not show whether a student has mastered material or not, but rather, if they attempted the assignment.
Content Mastery - 0% of grade
This category appears in Infinite Campus but is not included in the grade calculation. It is meant to communicate exactly which content expectations a student has mastered. This category provides much more information for both parents and students than the final percentage on a unit test. Here, the learning targets for each unit are 'clumped' together into important standards. A score is entered for each of these standards using a 4-3-2-1-0 scale (see below). This score is fluid and based on evidence collected over the course of a unit. It can change (both up and down) as students demonstrate knowledge in a variety of ways including assignments, tests and quizzes, lab work, in-class conversations, and teacher observations. If you see that a standard is still blank in Infinite Campus in this section, that means that particular standard has not yet been assessed (or that the teacher doesn't have enough information or evidence to make a determination of the student's understanding). The meanings of 4-3-2-1-0 are listed below.
4 = Advanced - The student consistently demonstrates understanding beyond grade level expectation for this standard.
3 = Proficient - The student consistently demonstrates independent, grade-level understanding of the standard.
2 = Basic - The student inconsistently or incompletely demonstrates grade-level understanding of the standard when working
independently.
1 = Needs Assistance - The student is unable to demonstrate independent understanding and use of concepts. However, when assistance is provided, partial proficiency is demonstrated.
0 = No understanding - The student fails to demonstrate any understanding of the learning goal even with assistance.
Please note, when using this system for communicating students' grades and understanding in Infinite Campus, the standard Junior High grading scale must be applied (93 - 100% = A, and so on). This creates a problem in the Content Mastery section. Because scores are entered using 4-3-2-1-0, the program automatically calculates a percentage based on a possible score of 4 points. This means that a score of 3, which really means Proficient, is calculated as 3/4 or 75%. This is often interpreted as a "C". It is not! Please ignore the percentage that is calculated (it cannot be turned off) and use the "standards-based" meanings of the 4-3-2-1-0 scores listed above.
Retake Policy
My goal is for all students to demonstrate mastery of the course content. Because students learn at different paces, an individual may not be able to demonstrate mastery at the scheduled time of a summative assessment. To allow for students' individual differences, students may retake any assessment provided they:
- complete the assigned review sheet before the first assessment
- speak to me about retaking the assessment within 3-4 days of receiving the graded assessment back
- complete some form of "relearning" prior to the retake. "Relearning" may include correcting mistakes on the first assignment, meeting with me for individual or small-group reteaching, or completing an additional study tool (flashcards, videos, etc.).