Grading and Reporting in Middle School

Reporting on Learning

JIS has developed a comprehensive reporting system which aims to engage and inform students, parents and teachers as we support a child’s learning. Through ongoing feedback, conferencing, goal setting and reflection, students are able to know themselves as learners and grow toward the established learning goals. Parents are engaged in this process through Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences, formal semester reports, the online gradebook, email, phone calls and bulletins. 

Parents and teachers can arrange conferences at any time throughout the school year. 

What We Value

• Taking risks and learning from failure.

• The role of ongoing and timely feedback is an essential part of the learning process.

• De-emphasizing grades as a motivator and emphasizing Resilience, Resourcefulness, Relating and Reflectiveness.

• Engaging students more in self-directed learning and self-assessment.

Report Cards 

The school year is divided into two semesters, each two quarters long.

Quarter: The online grade book is updated by teachers and grades will be current at the end of each quarter. 

Semester and Year-End Reports provide feedback on student performance at semester and year-end and will include the level of proficiency and comments from the teacher.  Semester grades are a compilation of grades from each of the two preceding quarters.

Reporting dates will be published in the weekly parent bulletin and on the MS google calendar.

Students who arrive after the beginning of the semester will receive a report at the end of the semester. 

Students arriving before the end of quarter 1 or quarter 3 will receive a complete end-of-semester report card with teachers' comments on their progress. Most learning strands will have a grade, but if a strand was not assessed due to a late start, an 'NG' (not graded) may appear.

Students joining after the beginning of quarter 2 or quarter 3 will get a report card, but it may not be complete. Teachers will comment on student engagement and provide grades where possible, though it's unlikely for all subject strands to have grades.

Students who leave before the end of the semester:. 

Students departing before quarter 1 or quarter 3 ends will not get a report card.

For those leaving after quarter 2 or quarter 4 begins, a report card may be provided upon request. However, some strands might be marked as 'NG' (not graded) if the student was absent during the assessment.

 GRADING & REPORTING EVIDENCE OF LEARNING  

Students are given final grades in the various reporting strands in each subject. There is no one overall grade for the subject,

In determining Proficiency Levels teachers adhere to the following guidelines:

1. 1. The final level of proficiency is based on criteria and a body of evidence using the most consistent and recent evidence. 

      • • Middle school teachers at JIS do not use averaging, percentages, (+/-), or total points to calculate grades.

        • Middle school teachers do not rank students in the class or across the grade.

   2. A body of evidence is formed by providing students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills along the way.

   3. The use of criterion based rubrics clearly describes what students will need to produce in order to achieve the proficiency level of Meeting for all major assessment tasks.

   4. The reported grade represents the current levels of proficiency against the learning targets.

   5. Effort, participation, attitude, and other behaviours are reported as part of the JIS 4Rs. Students' approaches to learning are  NOT included in level of proficiency, unless they are a stated part of a learning goal.

POWERSCHOOL GRADEBOOK 

As JIS has a comprehensive reporting system each part of the system is designed to build and support the other components. No one piece/tool in the system is intended to communicate every aspect of learning.

Purpose of the Online Gradebook

1. Capture a record of the student's learning.

2. Communicate to parents and students an evaluative judgment based on the student's learning.

3. Provide summary feedback on a specific piece of work or a body of work (comprehensive comments will be attached to the student's work). 

4. Communicate work habits (e.g. late, missing, incomplete work).

What should be visible for parents

Assessments that may contribute to the body of evidence must;

1. Be reflected in the grade book using the subjects grade scale.

2. Be updated as evidence is collected.  

3. Be consistent within the subject and across the grade level.

4. At the end of the quarter, teachers will ensure a proficiency level reflects the most current evidence.

5. Ongoing feedback in the form of comments are be specific and constructive.

6. Codes may be used to indicate Late, Missing, Collected or Exempt work.

The Online Gradebook is not

A place to communicate and share rubric information about progress. This is done in other forums such as Conferences, Google Classroom, work sent home and parent emails.

Updated August 2024