Student Survey Results for April 21

AES High School - Spring Semester - SY1920

Grading and Reporting Guidelines

Updated: April 22, 2020

Types of Data and Feedback collected:

• Survey data and written comments and emails from students

• Group discussions and written feedback (emails) from parents

• Survey data and written comments from HS teachers and counselors

• Feedback from universities and colleges

• Feedback from 36+ international and US public schools and school districts

Decisions, Guidelines, and Rationals for Semester 2, SY1920

Decisions and Guidelines:

Rationale:

1. We will give a semester 2 grade to all the students in Grades 9, 10 and 11

   1. Students in 9th and 10th will get Numeric Grades: 1 - 7

   2. Students in 11th will get Letter Grade: A - I

   3. The Administration is discouraging a focus on reassessment and instead focus on learning new material.

   4. No final semester exams will be administered for semester 2

40% of 9th and 10th-grade students and 50% of 11th-grade students requested to receive a semester 2 grade, which they felt:

• will help them be better prepared for next year knowing how they did this semester

• it might be a motivating factor in difficult times to push them in their learning

Out of 36 schools that responded to a Principal Net survey:

• 72% plan No Change in their grading system for S2.

• 15% Plan some version of grading but only improvement possible.

• 39% of those schools have a Standards-Based system leading to a letter grade (similar to AES)

This re-emphasis the message that learning will continue until the end of the year within the context of Continuous Learning. It also offers clarity for universities when reading AES transcripts. We realize that universities are going to interpret all grades from Spring 2020 within the context of the global pandemic.

2. Teachers will look at the last authentic overall grade they have on each student (which could be the grade they had mid-March or as far back as Semester 1 final grade) to decide the baseline for the final Semester 2 grade

3. The time period between March 12 and April 24 is considered a grace period. If a student failed to turn in an assignment/assessment, we do not expect students to make up any missing from that time. In alignment with our overall approach, only assessment data from this time period that improves a student’s grade will be used in the determination of the final Semester 2 grade.

4. Teachers will use the baseline grade and assessment data collected starting April 25 to determine the final semester 2 grade. Once again, this additional data can only improve the final Semester 2 grade and not lower it.

5. Students are expected to fully attend classes, participate in learning, and complete assignments from now until the end of the year. Failing to do so may result in a Semester 2 grade of Incomplete. Please refer to the details below for more information.

Giving grades that can only improve or remain the same does no harm for the other 50%-60% of students who requested the alternate PASS/FAIL grading system.

This provides students and families who were in transition throughout the last several weeks, a buffer, and it honors the hard work our students are continuing to do given the current situation.

This re-emphasis the message that learning will continue until the end of the year within the context of Continuous Learning.

6. Teachers will continue to focus on learning and should continue to offer formative assessments which will be the body of evidence to understand student learning for the remainder of the semester.

Daily/Weekly formative assessments of various types, whether it takes 5 minutes or 45 minutes, could provide needed feedback for students in their learning journey.

7. Any additional summative assessments and reassessments will be at teachers’ discretion for the remaining weeks of school.

Providing/Administering authentic summative assessments could be challenging because of our current situation.

* We would like to see less focus on summative assessments/reassessments and more focus on learning during the last 5 weeks of school.

8. We have relied on and will continue to rely on teachers' professional judgment in the determination of all grades.

* In any situation where Academic Honesty was in question, teachers will not use that data as part of the evidence towards the final grade. HS Administration will take proper action and provide consequences as per the high school handbook related to Academic Honesty.

Teachers are the best judge when it comes to determining the Level of Achievements for each student. They know their students’ past and present academic status. They can easily pinpoint any significant deviation of achievement for any individual students.

9. Students are reminded to focus on their learning and preparing themselves for the next academic year, by making sure they do all the assignments in a timely manner and keep consistent communication with their teachers.

Many of the knowledge, skills, and experiences that are being learned will directly impact how our students will perform in the coming academic year(s).

Students who are in Year 1 of any IB Course will continue to learn the remaining curricula and need to be ready for Year 2 of IB Courses in SY2021.

10. We must recognize that these are not normal times, and we trust that we all are doing the best we can.

If necessary and when appropriate, we should give the benefit of the doubt to the student.

** Teachers could give “Incomplete” as a grade for semester 2. An incomplete grade will award No Credit for that course.

HS administration and teachers will communicate directly with those students and parents if needed. Parents and students are also welcomed to reach out to teachers, counselors, and administration if they have a situation that prompts an exemption from this grading system for Spring 2020. If a student receives an “incomplete” final semester 2 grade, it will be possible to change that grade to “complete/pass” by completing any/all missing assignments/assessments, as per the collaborative decision/agreement by the HS Admin, Faculty, Parents, and the Student. The grade change must happen within the first 6 weeks of the new school year. A plan detailing what needs to be completed will be created by the teacher and signed by the student, parent, teacher, and counselor. The deadline for work to be turned in is May 15th.

** We encourage students and parents to reach out to individual teachers if there are any questions or concerns about learning and we request to avoid focusing on grades and GPA in this unprecedented time.