1. Standards-Based Grading at NFVHS
Part III
NOTE: This was presented to parents at Back to School Night August 21, 2017

2. Grading Concepts and Definitions
Assessment
Graded work that is recorded and is used to determine a student’s progress toward mastering a standard. Assessments may be tests, quizzes, papers, presentations, or other methods used by the teacher to determine student learning and understanding.
Practice
Ungraded work that students are expected to do in order to learn content, concepts, and skills as well as to reinforce and extend learning. Teacher feedback should be provided on Practice work, not a grade or score. Completion of Practice may be indicated in Infinite Campus, but will not count toward a grade.

3. Grading Concepts and Definitions
Growth Average
This is the method used to determine the score for each standard. The Standard Score is determined by the score of each assessment with the weight increasing for each new assessment. The first assessment is x1, the second x2, the third x3 and so on, and then averaged.
Learning Target
This is the goal for learning each day or for each unit. Along with the standard, it is to be visible to the students each day and on each assignment or assessment.

4. Common Questions and Answers
What kind of assessments will be used to determine the standard score?
Tests, quizzes, essays, papers, projects, presentations, and others. It depends on the class and it depends on the standard.
Does the quality of work matter?
Absolutely! There are quality standards that will be assessed. There are also quality expectations for an assignment. For example, if the standard is to write an argumentative essay, the assignment will most likely have additional expectations, such as being free of spelling or grammatical errors.
What about formative and summative assessments?
These terms are no longer used. Assessments are graded work that apply to a standard. We no longer distinguish between formative and summative

5. Common Questions and Answers
Is there a limit to the number of retakes one can have for an assessment?
Yes, most likely one.
Will retakes be “free?”
No. The student will have to do additional work of some type in order to get a retake. That will be different from teacher to teacher.
Will Employability Scores still be used?
Definitely! These are important in order to give a more complete picture of the student’s performance in the classroom. These are based on skills employers want, and are stressed at NFVHS. Every student will be scored in every class on: Effort/Participation, Class Attendance, Collaboration, Attitude/Behavior, and Homework Completion/Quality.

6. Academic Eligibility
Will be checked on the 3rd Monday of each month, with the exception of August and January.
A student will be declared ineligible if they have:
A failing grade for a course
An incomplete assessment
A standard score of 1
A student who is declared ineligible will not be able to participate in the NFVHS activity program from noon on Monday to noon on Monday. However, if the student attends TigerHawk Study on Tuesday and Thursday and completes work, s/he will be able to participate.

7. Academic Eligibility
The students who had a failing grade and are declared ineligible on the 3rd Monday will continue to have their grades monitored each following Monday. When they no longer have a failing grade for a course, an incomplete assessment, or a standard score of one, they will be eligible to participate.
New students with failing grades are not declared ineligible unless they are failing on the 3rd Monday of the following month.
If a student does not attend TigerHawk Study on Tuesday or Thursday, they will be declared ineligible.
Students who are scheduled to participate on Monday will not participate.

8. General Information
There is a significant difference between a 4-point scale and a 100-point scale. The 100-point scale is very punitive on the bottom end. Also, averaging on a 100-point scale is not as accurate of a measure as using a 4-point scale.
For college bound students, particularly with math and writing courses, many students have wasted money taking remedial classes and have been surprised because they had good grades here.
All college admissions people we have talked to have said that they want a GPA and they do not care how it is determined.
College classes taught at NFVHS will be graded according to NICC policy.