Grading Policy

I believe three things about grades: first, that grades need to reflect the student
holistically, meaning that their progress both academically and as a growing person must be
acknowledged. Second, that summative assessment must have clearly defined expectations, be
flexible, and be collaborative between teacher and student. Thirdly grading must not occur in a
vacuum, and a students self evaluation must have a place in the grading process. Below is an
outline of what each of these things mean.
Holistic Grading
Grades need to reflect more than just academic achievement, they must also reflect
growth as a learner, and where possible growth as a person. This means that summative
assessment should only happen after a long period of scaffolded formative assessment occurs,
allowing the student to acquire and practice skills before being graded on them. The amount of
progress that a student makes over a course must also be acknowledged in the grading. I would
go about it in this way; at the beginning of a course, students are asked to take a placement test
to determine their baseline skills and abilities. Lets say a student, (well call him Carlos) places a
a standard C level, or Minimally meeting expectations. Over time, Carlos works hard and
increases his ability level to B+ or halfway between Meeting expectations and exceeds
expectations. To reflect this progress, I would add to his grade a progress mark. Have a look at
my grading scale on the last page. You will see that the difference in points between a C and
a B+ is 15 points. I would divide this number by 4, and add it to their overall score. Carlos
would then receive 3.75 points added to his overall grade. If Carlos grade at the end of the
class is 80.3, he would then receive an overall grade of 83.78. For Carlos, this is the difference
between a B and a B+.
As a person,Carlos progress is acknowledged in a Community mark, which is a rubric
and comments system designed to give Carlos and his parents an idea of how he is progressing
as a student. This reflects things such as timeliness, preparedness to work, attitude and so on,

but is not part of the academic grade. This is simply for Carlos edification, but also to encourage
him with his strengths, identify areas needing improvement, and an acknowledgement of his
individuality, which is deeply important for teenagers.
Summative Assessment
I like rubrics, particularly for tricky things like assessing a performance or a paper, since
it gives very clear guidelines for the student as to what is expected. There are no surprises in a
rubric. A rubric for a culminating task or summative mark should be either identical, or match as
closely as possible the rubrics used for the formative assessment piece. Students should also
have the ability to add value to a summative assignment, extra credit if you will; if a student is
willing to put in extra effort, or add another element to the work, the extra work should be
acknowledged. That extra however should be negotiated between the student and the teacher,
and be agreed upon by both. The more of the process the students can see and engage with,
the better prepared they are to do the work, and less likely to complain of unfairness.
Self-Evaluation
Students at the end of the class will fill out a rubric, reflecting on how they feel they have
performed in the class. The teacher will fill out an identical rubric, and then together compare
with each individual student and discuss the agreements and differences between the two
rubrics. The student will receive a mark for completion of the rubric, no matter what- this is just a
talking point for both teacher and student. The concept is to engage the student in all levels of
their education, including their evaluations.
General Policies
Assignments turned in after the due date will suffer a 5% mark reduction for every week
they are late, unless the student comes to the teacher with a concern or request for more time.
The teacher and student then negotiate a mutually equitable way to deal with the individual
need for more time. All assignments can be re-submitted once for a higher mark. Each student
gets one get out of homework free card per course, and all homework assignments must have
the same grade value.

Number Letter
Conversion
Numerical Grade

Letter Grade

Equivalent on 4.0 scale

97.5

A+

4.0

92.5

> 3.7

90.0

A-

> 3.3

87.5

B+

> 3.0

82.5

> 2.7

80.0

B-

> 2.3

77.5

C+

> 2.0

72.5

> 1.7

70.0

C-

> 1.3

67.5

D+

> 1.0

62.5

> 0.7

60.0

D-

> 0.0

< 60.0

0.0