Dear Students and Parents,
We hope this e-mail finds you and your family in the best of health. This guideline includes details of the grading practices Harmony will implement during at-home learning.
Harmony’s main focus during these historic times is on the continuance of the learning process for our students, not on the grading of assignments. Best formative practices are promoted to include timely feedback, multiple opportunities, and additional time to ensure mastery of the concepts. Our administrators, teachers, and specialists are well- prepared to provide support and direction more than ever during this phase of distance learning.
Below you can find the details of grading for Perks-Kindergarten, Grades 1-8, and high school.
Pre K – Kindergarten
PK and Kindergarten teachers will provide assignments in Google Classrooms. Just like regular school time, they will continue grading in Skyward on academic indicators based on student progress in distance learning. Progress reports will be provided every three weeks.
GRADES 1 – 8
Core Courses: Students will be assigned weekly assignments in core courses (Math, science, social studies, and language arts). Students are expected to return their assignments in various ways (Google Classroom, other integrated platforms, a picture taken). Math and ELA labs will be graded under the main course. Electives/Specials: Teachers will assign optional weekly experiences in electives, technology applications, PE, and Fine Arts courses. No submission is required in those classrooms.
Grading on Google Classroom: Progress Monitoring
○ Grades will not be assigned until April 13, 2020 so that students and families can adjust to the routines of distance learning.
○ Starting April 13, numerical grades will be assigned by teachers in Google Classroom gradebook.
○ We ask our teacher to provide multiple opportunities to complete assignments. Retest and flexible deadlines are promoted.
Skyward Gradebook: Official Grading
○ No numerical grades will be assigned in Skyward during distance learning time (4th Quarter). Students will receive one of the performance indicators (PI) below at the end of a week based on their progress on Google Classrooms.
■ E-Excellent
■ S-Satisfactory
■ N-Needs Improvement
■ I-Incomplete
○ Overall Quarter4 PI: Teachers will enter an overall PASS/FAIL/ or INCOMPLETE indicator for 4th quarter grade by the end of distance learning time. For electives and specials, teachers will enter X-Not Assessed indicator as Q4 grade.
Final Student Failure/Promotion Decisions: School Promotion Committee
● Student failure decisions will occur after the closure of distance learning. The school promotion committee should factor in both three-quarter performance and performance indicators during digital learning time.
*** High school guidelines apply to high school credit courses in middle school such as Algebra-1 & LOTE-I.
HIGH SCHOOLS
Core Courses: Students will be assigned weekly assignments in core courses (Math, science, social studies, language arts, and AP courses). Students are expected to return their assignments in various ways (Google Classroom, other integrated platforms, picture taken). Students will be taking weekly assessments. Electives/Specials/CTE: Teachers will assign weekly experiences in technology applications, PE, CTE, Fine Arts, and other electives. Students will submit their assignments. No weekly assessment is promoted in those classrooms.
AP Courses/ Dual Credit / On Ramps Courses: Weekly expectations may vary for AP/Dual credit courses based on approved syllabi by college board and local
community colleges. Local Credit Courses (Math Lab, ELA Lab, SAT/TSI Prep): Local campuses will decide on the level of support in those classrooms. Assignments will be optional and no submission is required. On the other hand, teachers may assign work from lab resources and grade it under the main class.
Grading on Google Classroom: Progress Monitoring
○ Grades will not be assigned until April 13, 2020 so that students and families can adjust to the routines of distance learning.
○ Starting April 13, numerical grades will be assigned by teachers in Google Classroom gradebook.
○ We ask our teacher to provide multiple opportunities to complete assignments. Retest and flexible deadlines are promoted.
Skyward Gradebook: Official Grading
○ No numerical grades will be assigned in Skyward during distance learning time (4th Quarter). Students will receive one of the performance indicators(PI) below at the end of a week based on their progress on Google Classrooms.
■ E-Excellent
■ S-Satisfactory
■ N-Needs Improvement
■ I-Incomplete
○ Overall Quarter4 PI: Teachers will enter an overall PASS/FAIL/ or INCOMPLETE indicator for 4th quarter grade by the end of distance learning time. For electives and specials, teachers will enter X-Not Assessed indicator as Q4 grade.
Final Credit Awarding: School Graduation Committee
● Credit awarding decisions will occur after the closure of distance learning. The committee should factor in both three quarter performance and performance indicators during digital learning time.
Progression Plan During Distance Learning Time
● A student who did not receive a half credit for fall semester (semester average less than 70) in a course may still receive a full credit by factoring in the performance in third quarter and distance learning time. If the average of the first three quarters is higher than 70 and receives an overall PASS indicator for the 4th quarter, the student should be awarded the full credit.
● If the average of the first three quarters is below 70, the student may still earn a full credit based on distance learning performance and the school committee decision.
GPA/Senior Class Ranking
● Credits earned from both regular courses and weighted courses (Honors, AP, Dual, PLTWY) in the spring semester (third quarter plus distance learning time) will not be counted towards GPA.
● Final senior class ranking for class of 2020 will be calculated based on GPA calculation at the end of Fall 2019 semester.
Credit Recovery Options
● Our campuses are encouraged to provide distance learning options for those students in June/July to receive their missing credits. Valedictorian, Salutatorian
● The GPA and Class Rank as of the end of the first semester in the 2019-2020 school year will be used to determine Valedictorian and Salutatorian honors.
* All these guidelines are subject to change based on most updated TEA guidelines.
