Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
- How is a student's quarterly grade determined?
- Can essays be rewritten for a better grade?
- How is a student's overall grade determined?
- What does an incomplete on a report card mean?
- How are writing pieces assessed?
- What should a student focus on in his or her writing?
How is a student's quarterly grade determined?
Assignments are weighted as follows:
Test � 25%
Projects � 20%
Quizzes � 15%
Homework � 10%
Writing Pieces � 30%
Can essays be rewritten for a better grade?
Absolutely. Our goal for writing is to see improvement. If, after
conferencing and/or receiving feedback, a student's essay grade is not what
he or she would like, he or she may rewrite the essay for a higher grade
(within the quarter it was assigned).
How is a student's overall grade determined?
A student's overall average for the class is derived from the four quarterly
averages, plus the final exam grade, divided by 5.
What does an incomplete on a report card mean?
An incomplete means that t he student has not done the required work for that
quarter. Once that work is completed, a score will be assigned. However, if
an incomplete is not taken care of by a student in a timely manner, the
incomplete will become a score of 50 for that quarter.
In the case of the English 11 research paper and the English 11 independent
reading paper, failure to do these assignments will result in an incomplete
for the course. The incomplete will be erased and passing status considered
once these assignments have been satisfactorily completed and turned in.
How are writing pieces assessed?
All writing pieces will be assessed based on the NYS Regents Exam rubrics for
the essays of its type. If the essay assigned is different from a strict
Regents essay, then a parallel rubric will be constructed, utilizing the same
general expectations and scale. Therefore, and essay will be viewed on a
scale of 0 - 6. Each point and 1/2 point in this scale will correspond to a
numerical score. For example, a score of 6 will equal a 100. A 5.5 will equal
a 95, a 5 will equal a 90 and so forth.
What should a student focus on in his or her writing?
Writing is a complex issue, in that all aspects are important and work
together to create meaning. Therefore, proper spelling and grammar and
logical structure and grade level appropriate vocabulary are all graded and
considered important. However, a well-structured paper that doesn't say
anything important isn't very desireable (and afterall, the purpose of
writing is to communicate ideas). Therefore, the NYS Regents places a
heightened emphasis on the areas of Meaning and Development. What is the
student saying, and how well does he or she support what is said? These are
the questions we take a closer look at when assessing a student's writing.
The skills of logical thinking and logical argumentation are central to high
school English.