Overview
Grades and Evaluation of Student Achievement
The Superintendent or designee shall be responsible for implementing a uniform system of measuring, recording, and reporting the achievements of individual students. Principals shall ensure that student grades conform to this system. The grading system will ensure that the student, teacher, and the parents can assess progress toward the educational goals of a particular course of study. The grading system shall be reviewed bi-annually, in consultation with professional staff members, parents, and students.
Students shall be informed in writing at the onset of any course of study of the behaviors and achievements that are expected of them. They shall be kept informed of their progress during the course of study.
Whenever it becomes evident to a teacher that a student is in danger of falling below average, the teacher shall arrange a conference with the student’s parent/guardian or send the parent/guardian a written notice.
Teachers are encouraged to allow for trends in the quality of student work. When a student finishes a grading period doing high quality work which requires skills acquired throughout the grading period, low grades at the beginning of the grading period need not diminish the appropriate evaluation of the student’s achievement. Similarly, high grades at the beginning need not compensate for a downward trend in achievement.
A grade report to students and parents is required on a quarterly basis. These grade reports should go to the students within six working days after the end of the quarter. Final decision on any contested grade will be the responsibility of the principal.
Grading practices will be adopted on a district basis rather than a classroom or school basis.
Grades
Pass/Fail Grading
With IEP team approval, students may elect to earn a “Pass” or “Fail” grade instead of an A-F grade in all courses taken in the Special Education Program.
Students who receive a “Pass” grade will acquire the appropriate semester units of credit for the course, and the grade will not be counted in determining class rank or honors list. Students who receive a “Fail” grade will not receive credit for taking the course.
Students shall be graded Pass/Fail for classes in which they serve as student aides and for community service unless predetermined goals and objectives related to specific subject knowledge are on file and have been approved by the principal or designee.
Incomplete (I)
* Indicates that course requirements were not completed by the student.
* An “I” must be made up within two weeks of the date when grades are issued to parents.
* If course work is not completed within the two week time period, the grade will turn into an NC.
No Credit (NC)
* Used only in two circumstances:
1) Student drops a class or is removed and has a failing grade in a class after 4 weeks have passed.
2) Student does not make up an Incomplete within 2 weeks of the end of the semester.
* Mark is used as a Semester Grade and stays on the permanent transcript.
* Mark counts as a 0 in calculating the student’s GPA.
No Credit Pass (NCP)
* Used in extenuating circumstances with the approval of district administration, when a student who is passing a class drops the class through no fault of their own (e.g. medical circumstances) after 4 weeks have elapsed but prior to completion. An NCP does not count in determining class rank, honors lists, or grade point average (GPA).
No Grade (NG)
* May be assigned to a student who has not been enrolled in class for 20 days or more total for the quarter.
* Mark is to be used in the quarterly position—it is not to be used as a semester grade.
* Mark does not figure into student grade point average (GPA).
Withdrawal (WD)
* May be assigned to a student who has withdrawn from the district but was not enrolled in the semester long enough to earn credit.
Repeated Course – (Replacing Grades)
With the approval of the principal or designee, a student may repeat a course in order to raise his/her grade. The student shall only receive credit for taking the course once. The highest grade received will be the permanent grade on the student’s transcript. All other references to the same course will be purged from the transcript.
A student may not receive double credit for the same course in district except as noted in the Program of Studies course description.
Dropping Classes
A high school student who drops a course any time during the first 4 weeks of the semester will have that course purged from the transcript. If the student drops the course or is dropped from the course after the first 4 weeks but prior to completion, the student will receive an “NC” or “NCP” on the transcript. This does not apply to students transferring out of the school.
Transcripts
High school transcripts are official documents and may be amended in extenuating circumstances, in order to correct grade errors, once courses and grades have been entered. Prior to requesting inclusion of Other Credit Options, including high school credit for courses taken during middle school, students and parents should consider the effect these non-weighted grades will have on class rank.
Graduation Standard Year (Grad Std)
The Graduation Standard Year is based on the year a student begins high school as a 9th grader and would typically finish - 4 years later. Whether a student finishes early (i.e. Junior year or half way through the Senior year) or late (i.e. fifth year Seniors) the Grad Std Year stays the same as that is the determiner of what requirements they have to meet to graduate.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
A student’s official transcript reflects both a weighted and non-weighted cumulative GPA and Class Rank. A student may have a different class rank with each. An additional 1.0 quality point will be awarded to students in approved weighted grade courses who earn grades of A, B, or C.
Other Credit Options (BP 6146.2)
Other Credit Options (OCO) is designed to give students the opportunity to choose learning experiences that are suited to their personal educational needs. The Board values other ways to accomplish learning experiences but OCOs are not shortcuts to learning. Student experiences need to include demonstration of competency to a mastery level. The Chief School Administrator/Superintendent will design a structure to support OCO within the boundaries set by Board policy.
1. Students wishing to take courses for high school credit through one of the following Other Credit Options may do so with prior school counselor and principal approval:
AR 6146.2 (a) Distance Delivery
AR 6146.2 (b) College Course Work
AR 6146.2 (c) Early College Admissions
AR 6146.2 [d] Independent Study
AR 6146.2 [e] Educational Travel
AR 6146.2 [f] Community Service
AR 6146.2 [g] Early High School Credit
AR 6146.2 [h] Physical Education Credit Wavier
AR 6146.2 [i] Supplemental and Non-public School Credit
AR 6146.2 [j] College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
AR 6146.2 [k] Test for Credit
The student must complete the appropriate OCO Form with assistance from the school counselor/principal. After obtaining school-level and parent signatures, the original OCO Form needs to be filed in the student’s cumulative file and a copy kept with the student’s counselor for transcript review purposes. If an OCO is denied, a student and parent/guardian may appeal the decision to the Office of Instruction within five (5) days of the decision. A determination by the Office of Instruction will be made in five [5] working days. These deadlines can be extended upon the mutual agreement of parties involved.
2. Students are encouraged to complete Other Credit Options four (4) weeks prior to the end of the semester. It is the responsibility of the student to know and to meet individual school deadlines.
3. Other Credit Options are only recorded on the transcript after an official transcript has been received. Once the OCO credit is recorded on the transcript, it is included in calculating grade point average (GPA) and class rank.
4. The MSBSD is not the sponsoring agency for the off-campus programs and is not responsible for the student’s personal or financial liability. Expenses for Other Credit Options are the responsibility of the individual.
5. Since Other Credit Options are recorded only upon program completion, OCO is not a course that can be included for calculating eligibility for full-time student status. Weighing the impact of OCO on co-curricular eligibility (MSBSD, ASAA, NCAA, etc.) is the responsibility of the student.
6. To further support students choosing learning experiences to enhance their personal educational needs, counselors and principals, along with students and their parents/guardians can apply for consideration to the Office of Instruction for an OCO that has not been established by these guidelines. The OCO Form 10: Application for Consideration should be used for this process.