Grading in Texas History this year may look a little different than what most students and families are used to. While I will go over all of this information with our students in class, I want to make sure our families have the information as well. I have implemented a "standards-based-ish" grading system in class and have seen many students find success and acknowledge their opportunities to show growth with it. What does this mean? Students almost always have an opportunity to improve their grades if they are willing to put in the work. There will be some assignments where this isn't possible because they are not directly tied to a standard in class, a DOL, or a project. These will always be communicated to our students. However, all mastery assignments have the potential to be brought up.

What is a mastery assignment?
Some families asked if there would be homework in class this year. There will be, but students almost always will have time to start on their homework in class. This ensures they have the opportunity to get started and ask clarifying questions if they have them. Mastery assignments are classwork/homework that is directly tied to a standard to practice their learning. You will see these in the grade book with a standard in the title. These are the grades that students have the opportunity to raise based on their growth. DOLs (these are quizzes in my class) and tests will often cover multiple standards from a week or era. If a student scores higher on a standard on a DOL or test than their mastery assignment, I will raise the mastery assignment score to their highest demonstration of mastery.  The only limitation is for students who do not complete the mastery assignment. If this is the case, a student will not receive higher than a 50 until the mastery assignment is completed.

How could this look for my student?
"Student A" makes a 60 on their 2.A Mastery Assignment. They work really hard and when they take the DOL that week, they get an 80% on all of the questions that cover standard 2.A. I will go back into the grade book and change their 2.A Mastery Assignment grade from a 60 to an 80. When the student takes the era test, they get 100% of the questions covering standard 2.A correct. I will go change their 2.A Mastery Assignment grade from an 80 to a 100.

"Student B" does not turn in their 2.A Mastery Assignment. They have a 0 in the grade book for this assignment because it was never completed. When they take the DOL, they get 40% of the questions over standard 2.A correct. I will change their 0 to a 40 in the grade book for their 2.A Mastery Assignment. When the student takes the era test, they get 80% of their standard 2.A questions correct. Because this student never completed the mastery assignment, their 2.A Mastery Assignment grade will only raise to a 50 in the grade book.

At no point will a student's grade ever decrease. Students will keep the highest mastery grade possible.

I know this system may take some adjustment, but I am confident the students will catch on quickly!