At its Jan. 14 meeting, the School Board of the City of Virginia Beach elected Kathleen Brown as chair and Carolyn Weems as vice chair. Brown has served on the School Board for two years and Weems for 22 years.
School Grading Practices
Grading Practice Development
The expectation is for teachers working within their school communities to determine how best to achieve consistency within a school either by grade level, department or specialized course. As such, school staffs have come to a common agreement about specific grading practices. The grading practices were teacher developed, reviewed by the Instructional Leadership Teams and School Planning Councils for each building, and then approved by the Department of School Leadership.
- Mathematics
- English
- Social Studies
- Science
- World Languages
- Visual Arts
- Performing Arts
- Health and Physical Education
- Technology
Mathematics
Homework
Late Work
When an assignment is not completed by the date due, teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine consequences and adjust deadlines if appropriate, considering the following:
- the nature and purpose of a particular assignment
- the timeliness of the assignment as it relates to the current instruction
- individual circumstances
Teachers shall strive to empower students to exercise developmentally appropriate responsibility through built-in processes, such as strategic planning for long-term assignments.
Zeros
Reassessment
Teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine when additional opportunities for reassessment are appropriate and/or necessary in order to obtain evidence of student learning as it relates to curricular objectives. There are no reassessment opportunities for summative unit tests. Corrections may be offered for quizzes, or concept checks and students may earn up to ½ credit back per problem if completed correctly. The corrections if offered must be turned in with the appropriate work shown and completed/returned no later than 1 week after the assessment has been received by the student.
Make-up Work
Extra Credit
English
Homework
Daily homework is an extension of the material taught in the classroom. It is designed to reinforce and extend classroom learning, to prepare students for new information, and to promote creative thinking and independent research. When assigning a homework task, teachers shall
- consider students’ readiness for a particular task and purpose.
- align the assignment to current curricular objectives.
- communicate the purpose of a particular assignment.
- consider the purpose of the task when determining whether and how the homework will be graded.
The expectation is that the learner will complete daily homework on time and to the best of his/her ability.
When daily homework is incomplete, it affects that day’s learning. Please note that the learner may or may not be allowed to participate in the ensuing class discussion or class activity if a daily homework assignment is incomplete.
Late Work
Teachers shall strive to empower students to exercise developmentally appropriate responsibility through built-in processes, such as strategic planning.
Teachers will grade and offer feedback on what the learner has completed at the time the assignment is due. If students do not turn work in on the due date, the work is considered missing.
Students who exhibit a chronic pattern of turning work in late need further evaluation and increased levels of support, such as
- parental notification.
- classroom interventions.
- referral for guidance support services.
- SRT meeting
Teachers will use an “MI” for “Missing,” which calculates as a zero. These guidelines also reflect an understanding that teachers must provide summative grades quarterly and are not expected to assign grades for work not completed.
Zeros
In assessing student learning, all student work is to be carefully considered. Every effort should be made to hold students accountable for completing missed assessments. Students who exhibit a chronic pattern of behavior around missing work need further evaluation and increased levels of support, such as
- parental notification
- classroom interventions
- referral for guidance support services
- SRT meeting
Teachers will use an "MI" for "Missing," (which calculates as a zero) until the student produces the missing work within the deadline determined by the teacher and it has been evaluated and given a score.
Reassessment
Any student who does not demonstrate mastery on a summative performance-based assessment may be given an opportunity for additional instruction and reassessment provided that the student has
- participated in class
- completed assignments
- demonstrated evidence of best effort on the assessment and the learning leading up to the assessment.
Within a week of receiving a grade on a performance-based summative assessment, the learner may request reassessment, provided that the student has met the following criteria:
- Turned the work in on time
- Demonstrated evidence of best effort on the assessment and the learning leading up to the assessment.
- Submitted a request for reassessment (within 3 days of receiving grade and feedback) to include a plan for improvement/timeline.
- Sought teacher approval for the plan for improvement.
- Completed their plan for improvement.
The learner may request reassessment on other certain graded tasks in order to demonstrate evidence of student learning as it relates to curricular objectives. The learner must meet the same above criteria and understand that the nature of some assessments makes them ineligible for reassessment.
The teacher may determine if a student needs alternative assessment based on learning needs.
Make-up Work
When a student is missing work due to an excused absence, teachers shall
- provide all relevant assignments
- consider the length and reason for the absence when determining which assignments will be assessed and when they are due
- accept and assess all assigned make-up work
- provide reasonable and flexible deadlines that take into consideration a student’s individual circumstances
In the event the teacher does not have adequate assessment data to provide a nine-week grade that reflects the student’s knowledge of the course learning objectives, the teacher may consider assigning a grade of “I” for Incomplete due to a lack of required evidence.
It is the student's responsibility to be aware of established guidelines and to follow those guidelines to make up the assignment.
Extra Credit
Social Studies
Homework
Homework assignments will not be calculated into the student’s cumulative grade. However, the expectation is that the learner will complete daily homework on time and to the best of their ability.
Homework is an extension and enrichment of the material taught in the classroom. It is designed to reinforce and extend classroom learning, prepare students for new information, and promote creative thinking and independent research.
When daily homework is incomplete, it affects that day’s learning. Please note that the learner may not be allowed to participate in the ensuing class discussion or class activity if a daily assignment is incomplete.
Late Work
Teachers shall strive to empower students to exercise developmentally appropriate responsibility through built-in processes. When an assignment is not completed by the date due, teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to hold students accountable while considering:
- the nature and purpose of an assignment
- the timeliness of the assignment as it relates to the current instruction
- individual circumstances
Students who exhibit a chronic pattern turning work in late need further evaluation and increased levels of support, such as:
- Parental notification
- Classroom interventions
- Referral for guidance support services
- SRT meeting
Teachers will use an “MI” for “Missing,” which calculates as a zero. These guidelines also reflect an understanding that teachers must provide summative grades quarterly and are not expected to assign grades for work not completed.
Zeros
In assessing student learning, all student work is to be carefully considered. Incomplete work will be assessed as appropriate considering the nature and purpose of the assignment.
Teachers will use an “MI” for “Missing,” which calculates as a zero. These guidelines also reflect an understanding that teachers must provide summative grades quarterly and are not expected to assign grades for work not completed.
Students who exhibit a chronic pattern of behavior around missing work need further evaluation and increased levels of support, such as:
- parental notification
- classroom interventions
- referral for guidance support services
- SRT meeting
Reassessment
Within one week of receiving a grade and feedback on a performance-based summative assessment, the learner may request reassessment, provided that the student has met the following criteria:
- Original work was submitted on time.
- Demonstrated evidence of best effort on the assessment and the learning leading up to the assessment.
- Submitted a request according to teacher's communicated method in course information for reassessment to include a plan for improvement/timeline.
- The plan must be approved by the teacher and completed by the agreed-upon date.
In other instances, teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine when additional opportunities for reassessment are appropriate and/or necessary in order to obtain evidence of student learning as it relates to curricular objectives. However, the learner must meet the same above criteria and understand that the nature of some assessments makes them ineligible for re-assessment.
Make-up Work
When a student is missing work due to an excused absence, teachers shall
- provide all relevant assignments
- consider the length and reason for the absence when determining which assignments will be assessed and when they are due
- accept and assess all assigned make-up work
- provide reasonable and flexible deadlines that take into consideration a student’s individual circumstances
In the event the teacher does not have adequate assessment data to provide a nine-week grade that reflects the student’s knowledge of the course learning objectives the teacher may consider assigning a grade of “I” for incomplete due to a lack of required evidence.
It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of established guidelines and to follow those guidelines to make up the assignment.
Extra Credit
Science
Homework
Late Work
When an assignment is not completed by the date due, teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine consequences and adjust deadlines if appropriate, considering the following:
- the nature and purpose of a particular assignment
- the timeliness of the assignment as it relates to the current instruction
- individual circumstances
Students will submit work when due. Depending on the nature of the work, an alternative assignment or time will be provided to complete the work as per the discretion of the teacher.
Teachers shall strive to empower students to exercise developmentally appropriate responsibility through built-in processes, such as strategic planning for long-term assignments.
Zeros
Reassessment
Students who would like to demonstrate mastery may be given an opportunity for additional instruction to be able to do a reassessment on pulse checks provided that the student has completed all assignments on time, including homework, leading up to the task. The reassessment must be completed within the teacher’s announced timeline.
Teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine when additional opportunities for reassessment are appropriate and/or necessary in order to obtain evidence of student learning as it relates to curricular objectives.
Make-up Work
When a student is missing work due to an excused absence, teachers shall:
- provide all relevant assignments,
- consider the length and reason for the absence when determining which assignments will be assessed and when they are due,
- accept and assess all assigned make-up work, and
- provide reasonable and flexible deadlines that take into consideration a student’s individual circumstances.
It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of established guidelines and to follow those guidelines to make up the assignment.
Extra Credit
World Languages
Homework
Homework is defined as a task assigned to students intended to be completed outside the classroom, and which is an extension of regular classroom instruction. This may include asynchronous tasks assigned during class time. Homework shall be used as a tool to provide teachers with information on how well students understand the information being taught in relation to curricular objectives. At times, it is appropriate to differentiate homework assignments by content and / or quantity for particular students or groups of students.
Homework assignments will be checked periodically for completion. Some homework assignments/asynchronous tasks may be graded.
Teachers may provide optional asynchronous assignments for enrichment that could be averaged into the grade. There is no penalty for not doing optional assignments, but they may not be turned in late for any reason.
Late Work
When an assignment is not completed by the date due, teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine consequences and adjust deadlines if appropriate, considering the following:
- the nature and purpose of a particular assignment
- the timeliness of the assignment as it relates to the current instruction
- individual circumstances
Teachers shall strive to empower students to exercise developmentally appropriate responsibility through built in processes, such as strategic planning for long-term assignments.
Students who exhibit a chronic pattern of turning work in late need further evaluation and increased levels of support, such as
- parental notification
- classroom interventions
- referral for guidance support services
- SRT meeting
In practice, the following guidelines apply:
- Long-term assignments will be accepted late with a penalty of 5% per day.
- Assignments submitted after 10 days will receive a maximum grade of 50%.
- Assignments will not be accepted after 14 days. Only by the discretion of the teacher will late assignments be accepted during the last week of the marking period.
- It is the student’s responsibility to inform the teacher of late work submissions.
Because homework/classwork are linked to daily class instruction, it will not be accepted late except in the case of excused absences. (See reassessment policy.)
Zeros
In assessing student learning, all student work is to be carefully considered. Reasonable efforts, such as make-up opportunities and parent contact, will be made to hold students accountable for completing missed assessments before assigning a zero. If a student has not submitted the work within 14 days, the student will earn a zero grade.
Reassessment
Teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine when additional opportunities for reassessment are appropriate and/or necessary in order to obtain evidence of student learning as it relates to curricular objectives.
The grade on the reassessment will not be higher than 80%.
For modern languages, summative assessments in speaking and writing can be reassessed.
No reassessment will be offered for reading and listening assessments.
Teachers will use professional judgment to decide whether the nature of the assessment allows for reassessment.
For Latin, assessments that require application of grammar and vocabulary simultaneously (grammar/translation assessments) can be reassessed.
Reassessment criteria for World Languages:
- Reassessment does not pertain to final exams.
- The student has earned a 79% or below on the initial assessment.
- The student has submitted all tasks.
- The student has conferenced briefly with the teacher (when applicable).
- The student has completed all remediation work (when applicable).
Make-up Work
Students who are unable to attend class or access online work should contact the teacher before the absence when possible. When a student is missing work due to an excused absence (including field trips and testing), teachers shall
- provide all relevant assignments
- consider the length and reason for the absence when determining which assignments will be assessed and when they are due
- accept and assess all assigned make-up work
- provide reasonable and flexible deadlines that take into consideration a student’s individual circumstances
It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of established guidelines, to follow those guidelines to make up the assignment, and to inform the teacher of makeup work submissions.
Extra Credit
Visual Arts
Homework
Late Work
When an assignment is not completed by the date due, teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine consequences and adjust deadlines if appropriate, considering the following:
- the nature and purpose of a particular assignment
- the timeliness of the assignment as it relates to the current instruction
- individual circumstances
Teachers shall strive to empower students to exercise developmentally appropriate responsibility through built-in processes, such as strategic planning for long-term assignments. Students who exhibit a chronic pattern of turning work in late need further evaluation and increased levels of support, such as
- parental notification
- classroom interventions
- referral for guidance support services
- SRT meeting
Late work will be accepted until the end of the grading period. However, when considering the nature and purpose of a particular assignment, a late penalty of 10% per day (up to 50%) may apply according to the professional judgment of the teacher if a practicing professional in an authentic context would be penalized for missing the due date (e.g., an artist’s submission not being accepted because of a late proposal).
Zeros
In assessing student learning, all student work is to be carefully considered. Teachers should refrain from initially assigning zeroes for work that is missing as this distorts the cumulative grade and does not reflect what the student has learned. Every effort should be made to hold students accountable for completing missed assessments before assigning a zero. However, teachers can and should treat this as late work. These guidelines also reflect an understanding that teachers must provide summative grades quarterly and are not expected to assign grades for work not completed within a quarter.
Students who exhibit a chronic pattern of behavior around missing work need further evaluation and increased levels of support, such as
- parental notification
- classroom interventions
- referral for guidance support services
- SRT meeting
Teacher will use an “MI” for “Missing,” (which calculates as a zero) until the student produces the missing work and it has been evaluated and given a score OR until the quarter ends. The teacher has the authority to assign student lunch detention or after-school detention to complete late work in order to avoid a zero.
See “Make-Up Work” section for information alternatively assessing students who miss scheduled performances with advanced notice.
Reassessment
The teacher’s informed professional judgment is used to determine whether the assignment would be re-evaluated in a professional, authentic context. (For example, artists are not given a second chance to apply for gallery exhibitions or public art projects once the submission deadline has been passed. However, selected- and constructed-response assessments such as quizzes and tests may be retaken.)
Make-up Work
When a student is missing work due to an excused absence, teachers shall
- provide all relevant assignments
- consider the length and reason for the absence when determining which assignments will be assessed and when they are due
- accept and assess all assigned make-up work
- provide reasonable and flexible deadlines that take into consideration a student’s individual circumstances
In the event the teacher does not have adequate assessment data to provide a nine-week grade that reflects the student’s knowledge of the course learning objectives the teacher may consider assigning a grade of “I” for Incomplete due to a lack of required evidence.
Students who receive unexcused absences may make up assignments at the discretion of the teacher, subject to the requirements communicated (provided) by the teacher at the beginning of the year. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of established guidelines and to follow those guidelines to make up the assignment.
Students may make up classroom assignments and assessments with no penalty. Students are expected to complete all missing classwork and assignments within one week of his or her return to school.
If a student notifies the teacher in advance of an upcoming absence affecting his or her special project (public mural, exhibition, etc.) for a grade OR becomes ill and is physically unable to attend the special project, the teacher will do his best to provide an alternate assignment for the student that assesses the same curricular objectives. This assignment must be completed within one week of the student’s return to school.
Extra Credit
Performing Arts
Homework
Late Work
Zeros
Missing assignments will be inputted as a MI (which averages as a 0) until the assignment has been submitted.
Should a student miss a performance WITHOUT advance notice to the teacher, the student will be graded a 0 with no opportunity to make-up.
See “Make-Up Work” section for information alternatively assessing students who miss scheduled performances WITH advance notice or illness or emergency at the time of the performance.
Reassessment
Performing Arts students will have the opportunity to be reassessed for assignments if they seek teacher permission and coordinate with the teacher a time to complete the reassessment. The teacher will retain the higher of the two scores for the grade book. However, there are also certain contexts—such as participation and professionalism in performances and rehearsals—that do not offer the reasonable possibility of reassessment.
Make-up Work
Students may make up classroom assignments and assessments for excused absences with no penalty. Students are expected to complete all make-up classwork and assignments within two days of his or her return to school.
If a student notifies the teacher in advance of an upcoming absence affecting his or her performance for a grade OR becomes ill and is physically unable to attend the performance, the teacher will provide an alternate assignment for the student that assesses the same curricular objectives. This assignment must be completed within two days of the student’s return to school.
Extra Credit
Health and Physical Education
Homework
Late Work
When an assignment is not completed by the date due, teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine consequences, considering the following:
- the nature and purpose of a particular assignment
- the timeliness of the assignment as it relates to the current instruction
- individual circumstances
All late assignments are accepted up until a weekbefore the end of the quarter.Students will receive half credit for any assignment that is submitted two weeks past the due date submitted.
Zeros
In assessing student learning, all student work is to be carefully considered. Reasonable efforts should be made to hold students accountable for completing missed assignments before assigning a zero. A zero is assigned if the student neglects to turn in the assignment a week before the end of the quarter.
Reassessment
Teachers shall exercise informed professional judgment to determine when and how additional opportunities for reassessment are appropriate and/or necessary in order to obtain evidence of student learning as it relates to curricular objectives. The criteria will be dependent on the curricular objective trying to be obtained.
Make-up Work
Extra Credit
Technology
Homework
Late Work
Students are highly encouraged to submit all assignments on time to support workplace readiness skills. Assignments may be submitted late at the teacher’s discretion based on the criteria below.
For non-credit bearing classes: In the event work is submitted late, the student will conference with the teacher to develop a plan for completing the assignment. The late work may be penalized at the discretion of the teacher, not to exceed 10% of the points possible for the assignment. This policy does not apply to the tutorials and modules that are self-paced based on the students’ readiness level.
For credit bearing classes: Students will be given a “soft” due date for all production based in class assignments. Final due dates for these assignments will occur three class bells after the “soft” due date.
Any student missing the “soft” due date will need to initiate a discussion/meet with the teacher no later than a class bell before the final due date so that there is an agreed upon plan of action for assignment completion and submission. If the student chooses to not abide by the agreed-upon plan of action, the teacher will enter a score of “0” for the assignment.
Students who elect not to meet with the teacher will be expected to meet the final due date. The teacher will enter a score of “0” if students miss this deadline.
Zeros
Teachers will refrain from initially assigning zeros. To avoid a zero, students will be given a second chance to submit work after conferencing with the teacher to devise a plan to turn in the assignment. If the student chooses to not follow these new guidelines and fails to submit the assignment, then a zero will be given for the assignment.
Additionally, the teacher reserves the right to assign a lunch or after school work session as a component in which to further help assist the student in completing his/her assignments.
Reassessment
In an effort to foster responsibility, accountability, and ownership in the learning process, students will be given advance notice of all assessments and assignment due dates.
Reassessments for technology classes will be based on the criteria below.
For non-credit bearing classes: Students may be given opportunities for reassessment, at the teacher’s discretion. Students will conference with the teacher to discuss a reasonable plan for reassessment.
For credit bearing classes: Students will be given many opportunities to practice and are given individual feedback concerning the learning and acquisition of content knowledge in the classroom prior to any formal assessment. Because all assignment and assessment information is provided in advance, reassessments for formal assessments (tests) will not be given unless a student fails a test and an extenuating circumstance exists. If an extenuating circumstance is the cause for a student failing a test, the student will have three days once the failing grade is posted to seek permission in writing for a reassessment from the teacher. The reassessment may occur at the teacher’s discretion on an individual case by case basis.
Make-up Work
In the event the teacher does not have adequate assessment data to provide a nine-week grade that reflects the student’s knowledge of the course learning objectives, the teacher may consider assigning a grade of “I” (Incomplete) due to a lack of required evidence.
Students who receive unexcused absences may make up assignments at the discretion of the teacher, subject to the requirements communicated (provided) by the teacher at the beginning of the year. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of established guidelines and to follow those guidelines to make up the assignment.
Students will be given the opportunity to make up work he/she has missed due to an absence based on the criteria below:
It is the student’s responsibility to get work missed due to an absence. Students who miss a class bell(s) for any reason will be given the opportunity to make up any missed assignments. The normal guidelines will involve a one-to-one ratio. If a student misses two class bells, then he/she will be given two class bells to make up an assignment. If a student needs more time due to extenuating circumstances, he/she may ask for an extension. A decision will be made at the teacher’s discretion concerning an extension based on an individual case by case basis.