Assessment & Grading
Honor Roll -
Honor Roll (9-12) - Students may attain honors by maintaining an 85 or better in all graded classes and a P in all pass/fail classes. Student are allowed to carry one grade from 80-84. Students may attain high honors by maintaining a 90 or better in all graded classes and a P in all pass/fail classes. Students can carry one grade from 85 and 89. Students can earn Highest Honors by carrying a 95 average or better in all graded classes and a P in all pass/fail classes. A student who carries a 1 in any area of the Pirate Code of Conduct will not be eligible for the honor roll. A student that carries more than two 2's in any area of the Pirate Code of Conduct will also not be eligible for the Honor Roll. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 5 in-school courses to qualify for Honor Roll. The minimum required number of courses may be waived for students enrolled in multiple AP courses. Students must have a 90% attendance for the quarter and less than 3 tardies. All doctor’s excused medical absence is waived for this purpose. Students who have an Incomplete (INC) in any class at the close of the reporting period, will be ineligible for the Honor Roll for that reporting period.
Grading Practices -
We have returned to the familiar 0-100 scoring system for assignments, projects, quizzes, tests, etc. However, in order for an assignment, project, quiz, or test to be accepted and recorded in the grade book, a legitimate score of 50 or better must be achieved. Any score lower than a 50 will automatically mean the assignment, project, quiz, test, etc. needs to be done again. If repeating the exact assignment, project, quiz, or test is not possible, then a replacement assignment, project, quiz, or test, that addresses the same academic standards and skills, will be given. When an assignment, project, quiz, or test score is missing, this means your child's grade in that class is "Incomplete".
Students and staff will work cooperatively to resolve any incomplete (INC) grades as quickly as possible. Teachers will provide opportunities for the work to be submitted in a reasonable amount of time. Should the work not be submitted during that time, then more intensive measures will be taken. Students may be assigned to after-school tutoring sessions or In-School-Suspension until all work is submitted. Additionally, incomplete work will adversely impact eligibility of student participation in non-academic, school activities such as: athletics, clubs, privileges, etc.
In the past, a failing grade has been possible through a combination of poor performance or no performance. This is no longer allowable. The new grading policy means that all grades must be earned ... even a grade of failure, "F". In an effort to move toward a more proficiency-based system, a requirement by the Maine Department of Education, we must be certain that our grades document student performance. Only then can we evaluate each child's level of proficiency with respect to Maine's required academic and performance standards.
Beginning in the 2017-18 school year we are grading students on proficiencies in classroom content. This is a requirement of Maine State Law. In order for students to earn a diploma that must demonstrate proficiency on all standards. The law applies to freshmen and all subsequent classes. However, we intend to operate this system for all students starting in 2017-18. You will see assignments will be graded on standards and will be rubric based, that is the student will receive a 4,3,2,or 1 (or E, M, P, D where E = exceeds the standard, M = meets the standard, P = partially meets the standard, and d = does not meet the standard) rather than a raw numerical score. For the purpose of the traditional report card this will be translated to a 0-100 grade. We are also providing a Standards based report card at the end of the first semester and the second semester. Freshmen parents starting in the year 2017-18 need to pay attention t how well their child is progressing to meeting all standards.
Assessment Information -
SAD4 uses a variety of both formative and summative assessments to determine the growth and progress of students in grades PK-12. The calendar below shares the timeline of many of the anticipated assessments. If you have questions about any specific assessment, please contact Dr. Bartley.