Grades: Aeries Software SIS*

A. 5 Categories based on the standards.

B. Grading Percentages

C. Emphasizes Revision and Improvement for each student:– Multiple Opportunities– Common Assessment (all

teachers in the subject collaborating to grade writing assignments).

Based on the Common Core Standardswww.commoncore.org

New: Correspond with student’s meeting/exceeding the standards.

S tudent

I nformation

S ystem

Scoring Guides for each assignment show exactly where student can improve skills (& grade) by revising (process of peer-review, teacher conference, writers workshop, or other revision strategy that fits the task).

Category Percent Weight

Academic Language Conventions 15

Reading 25

Speaking & Listening 25

Work Habits 10

Writing 25

Standards-Based Grading Categories

Grading terms & their % equivalent:Advanced + A+ (97)

Advanced A (90.5)

Advanced - A- (83.5)

Proficient + B+ (77)

Proficient B (70.5)

Proficient - B- (63.5)

Basic + C+ (57)

Basic C (50.5)

Basic - C- (43.5)

Below Basic + D+ (37)

Below Basic D (30.5)

Below Basic - D- (23.5)

Far Below Basic F (10)

No Evidence/Missing/Incomplete I (0)

ENG Dept. Grading EmphasizesNew:Old:

An essay final draft grade was permanent, leaving students no opportunity to learn at their pace.

An essay may be revised several times if thestudent wishes to learn how to improve skillsand raise the level of proficiency (& the grade)

Teachers planned curriculum so that a student may only have one or two opportunities to demonstrate proficiency on a skill, meaning thestudent could complete the course with a passing grade, even without meeting the standards.

Teachers of the same course give the same skills tests and essay assignments, whichthey have created as a course team bydeveloping standards-based assessments and scoring guides with clear, brief language.

Rubrics used sentences and language that was descriptive and subjective, leaving students’ sense of their writing skill uncertain, dependent on a teacher’s interpretation of the rubric.

When planning the curriculum for the year, the AmLit team makes sure to include multipleopportunities to demonstrate proficiency ona reading, writing, or language skills. The new grading system gives students incentiveto continue to improve their skills, regardless of due dates

Now, grades on SIS are

• Communication about student’s progress on the common core standards.

• Specific, based on scoring guides, about where a student can improve skills.

• Encouraging, rather than punishing: late work penalties and extra credit are extinct.

• The only way to make up for not doing the work is by doing the work.