Grading policy and Power School codes:
The following codes are used in Power School:
"abs" = absent and counts as a zero (until the assignment/assessment is made up
"nhi" = not handed in and counts as a zero and is permanent. nhi indicates the student did not hand in an assignment when it was due.
"0" = zero indicates the assignment was not done at all or completely - assignments must be done in their entirety for students to receive
check mark in PowerSchool for having it done - these checks and zeros do not impact a student's grade, it simply allows us to track
the student's work habits.
Homework policy:
Homework is viewed as practice and as such, it is not graded. I do record their homework habits in Power School with either a check mark or a zero (done or not done.) Students that do not complete their homework will be assigned homework detentions (either during lunch time or after school.) I expect them to complete all the homework practice assignments. Their homework habits will impact their class participation grade in the class.
Sometimes, assessments are given as homework assignments and those will be graded; however, routine worksheets and practice online work is provided for the student to learn. I do not grade them on how quickly or slowly they learn but rather once enough opportunities have been provided. I will decide when it is time to assess and will typically announce assessments so that the students can prepare and put in their best effort.
"abs" = absent and counts as a zero (until the assignment/assessment is made up
"nhi" = not handed in and counts as a zero and is permanent. nhi indicates the student did not hand in an assignment when it was due.
"0" = zero indicates the assignment was not done at all or completely - assignments must be done in their entirety for students to receive
check mark in PowerSchool for having it done - these checks and zeros do not impact a student's grade, it simply allows us to track
the student's work habits.
Homework policy:
Homework is viewed as practice and as such, it is not graded. I do record their homework habits in Power School with either a check mark or a zero (done or not done.) Students that do not complete their homework will be assigned homework detentions (either during lunch time or after school.) I expect them to complete all the homework practice assignments. Their homework habits will impact their class participation grade in the class.
Sometimes, assessments are given as homework assignments and those will be graded; however, routine worksheets and practice online work is provided for the student to learn. I do not grade them on how quickly or slowly they learn but rather once enough opportunities have been provided. I will decide when it is time to assess and will typically announce assessments so that the students can prepare and put in their best effort.
Class participation:
Class participation is key to any learning, but especially in the world language classroom.
Class participation equals 10% of the students final marking period grade. This grade will change as the year goes on to reflect their participation or lack thereof. At the end of the marking period, the grade may once again be adjusted based on the number of classes in a marking period.
Speaking the language is very important.
In Power School 10% of the student's grade is "% of Italian / Spanish" This represents how much language your student is using in the classroom. Expectations are different in a year 1 class vs a year 5 class, so the percentage is according to those expectations. Regardless of year of the language, each student should be using what they have learned as often as possible. This grade changes often during the marking period and is adjusted at the end of each marking period to reflect overall performance.
Class attendance is very important; making up the work is not the same as doing in class. Additionally, there are penalties for missing too many classes during a marking period. Currently the policy is being reworked given recent State of Connecticut policy changes. Regardless, students that miss too much school during any given marking period will be penalized their class participation grade.
Class participation equals 10% of the students final marking period grade. This grade will change as the year goes on to reflect their participation or lack thereof. At the end of the marking period, the grade may once again be adjusted based on the number of classes in a marking period.
Speaking the language is very important.
In Power School 10% of the student's grade is "% of Italian / Spanish" This represents how much language your student is using in the classroom. Expectations are different in a year 1 class vs a year 5 class, so the percentage is according to those expectations. Regardless of year of the language, each student should be using what they have learned as often as possible. This grade changes often during the marking period and is adjusted at the end of each marking period to reflect overall performance.
Class attendance is very important; making up the work is not the same as doing in class. Additionally, there are penalties for missing too many classes during a marking period. Currently the policy is being reworked given recent State of Connecticut policy changes. Regardless, students that miss too much school during any given marking period will be penalized their class participation grade.
What makes up the student's grade?
Students' marking period grades are based on student individual work (60%), student group work (20%), % of language used in class (10%) and class participation (10%).
Student work can be: tests, quizzes, speaking quizzes, projects, presentations in class, homework assignments, dialogue presentations. The total number of points for any task determines it's impact. Tasks with higher point values will have a greater impact on the average than will smaller point values (example: a test that equals 85 points vs. a classroom assignment worth 10 points)
Student work can be: tests, quizzes, speaking quizzes, projects, presentations in class, homework assignments, dialogue presentations. The total number of points for any task determines it's impact. Tasks with higher point values will have a greater impact on the average than will smaller point values (example: a test that equals 85 points vs. a classroom assignment worth 10 points)