- My student's current grade is not up in parent portal. Why is this?
- Why is your grading policy set up like it is?
- Why don't you have worksheets available for extra-credit?
- Why is my child's grade low in the beginning of the grading period?
My student's current grade is not up in parent portal. Why is this?
Grading takes time. Language arts grading is complex. In order
to give your student the individual care he or she deserves, I
need to read and respond to numerous things, and I have to do
that for ever student in my class. I will do my
best to post grades in a reasonable time, without compromising
the quality of assessment your student receives.
Why is your grading policy set up like it is?
My grading system tries to strike a balance between my covert
curriculum and scaffolding.
Responsibility is the core of my covert curriculum, as you can
see with my tardiness and materials policy. My grading system is
designed to allow students to recover if they miss work, but
still holds them responsible.
Lessons build off of each other. For example, let’s say I have a
five point assignment. A student decides that five points is not
really important and he/she blows it off. Now let’s say that
assignment was the base of my next ten assignments in the unit.
That student not only blew off the points, but blew off the
essential concept or term needed for the other assignments, which
means those other assignments are lacking (quality,
understanding, and points wise) too.
As for the quarter grade being deducted for a missing assignment,
that falls into scaffolding and responsibility as well. It is
not up to the student to decide which assignment is worth turning
in or not, they are not designing their own curriculum. A
quarter is plenty of time to get work in. If there is work out
by the end of the quarter, it should be reflected in the grade.
Why don't you have worksheets available for extra-credit?
Too many students let their grade slip during the quarter and
then try to revive it with extra-credit worksheets at the end.
My extra credit is set up to encourage quarter long effort.
Please don't ask for any alternative options; four extra credit
options is plenty.
Why is my child's grade low in the beginning of the grading period?
Assignments are weighted. Early in the grading period there are
not a lot of assignments, so each assignment carries more
weight. Missing one assignment when I've only assigned three can
affect a grade considerably. This usually averages out by the
end of the grading period.