Wakefield Middle School Grading Policy2019-2020 Wakefield Middle School is committed to maintaining rigorous performance and achievement standards for all students and to providing a fair and consistent process for evaluating and reporting student progress that is understandable to students and their parents and relevant for instructional purposes. Grades will reflect a student's mastery of the learning objectives defined for the class.
GENERAL GRADING POLICY: Students are expected to complete and submit work on time.Parents may actively monitor student performance by checking grades in Homebase/Powerschools. Families without internet access may request grade reports from the school data manager. In addition to checking Powerschools, students will receive an interim in each class at the midpoint of each quarter. Interims should be sent home on the following dates: September 26, December 12, February 27, May 14.
Students can receive partial credit for late work completed correctly; however, students will earn a zero when they do not submit an assignment. (Student grades will not be negatively impacted by non‐academic or non‐curricular variables (such as no name on the paper, wrong size paper, parent signature, etc.), except when items are specifically addressed in a rubric for a formal paper or project.)
Cheating is a violation of the WCPSS Code of Student Conduct and will be addressed through the Wakefield Middle School discipline plan.
Teachers will update grades in the PowerSchool System at least once per week.
Grading Scale: A90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F Below 60
Core Content Teachers will use the following distribution to calculate grades: Classwork25% Quizzes 35% Test/Major Projects 40%
HOMEWORK: Homework is a valuable task to be completed to practice, review, and re-engage in the content covered in class. However, homework rarely demonstrates a student’s mastery of the learning standard. Homework can be assigned in order for students to review the learning for the day or to prepare for the next day’s learning. Students should complete homework assigned and expect to use the work in the following day’s class. Homework will not have a direct impact on a student’s grade as a grade should be a reflection of learning, not a behavior.
LATE-WORK(not due to absences) Students and parents are responsible for monitoring Powerschools and teacher websites to stay apprised of missing assignments and work with their students to submit work in a timely manner. Students may submit late work (classwork, projects, and quizzes) up until the summative assessment for a unit of study.Late work will be assessed a 25% penalty if turned in within the first 3 days after it is due. If turned in more than 3 days late, it will be assessed a 50% deduction. If the assignment is due less than 3 days before the summative assessment for a unit of study, students will be given the appropriate amount of time after the end of the unit to turn in the assignment, with the late penalty.Late work will be graded based on accuracy in addition to the penalty for being late. All submitted late work will receive a minimum score of 25%.
MAKE UP WORK (due to absences) Students who are absent on the day that the work is assigned will be given the equal number of days absent to complete the assignment upon return to school. Special consideration will be given to students with longer absences due to extraordinary circumstances. Students who are present on the day the work is assigned but absent on the day it is due, must turn in the assignment on the day he or she returns to school.
GRADE-RECOVERY/INTERVENTION: Students atrisk of academic failure may access additional support and instruction during the Wolf Time, Think Tank Tuesday, and after school tutoring.
Students scoring below a 70% on a test or major project will have the opportunity to complete a PLT selected grade-recovery activity, such as a re-test, test corrections, or an alternate assignment. The PLT determines the timeline for work completion. Students can earn a maximum score of a 70% after completing the grade-recovery activity. Points deducted for late work cannot be recovered. The teachers will meet with all students failing a course at the Interim to establish a plan for grade recovery. Parents are required to sign and return interims for students failing a course. The counselor, grade-level administrator and parents, in addition to the teachers, will meet with all students failing a class at the quarter to develop an intervention plan/contract/monitoring system to promote future success.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEMONSTRATED MASTERY Teachers can give students opportunities to enhance grades that are connected to learning outcomes and consistent within PLTs. They will only be offered to students who have not demonstrated mastery of a standard.