Frequently Asked Questions

Is it okay for parents to contact you?

Yes, please do! Email me at taylour.hudson@lcps.org and Mrs. Forbes at teresa.forbes@lcps.org. Conferences are available upon request, by phone or in person. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email me I would be more than happy to assist you and your child in any way I can.

Are there times outside of class when my child can receive additional help?

YES! During my office hours! See the homepage of the website or contact Ms. Hudson to see when those are! 

What do the letters in the grade book mean?

Please check with individual teachers for more specific details about how each handles their grade book, but this is what the letters mean in our classes.

• 'V' means a grade is pending, I typically use this code when I received the work but have yet to grade it. 

• ‘X’ means the student is exempt from the assignment and it will not affect his grade. 

• ‘Z’ means the work was due, but not submitted and is factored as a ‘0’ until the work is completed.  The zero will be replaced once the work is submitted and graded.

• ‘R’ means that a student earned less than 50%, but the teacher put 50% in the gradebook, as a minimal grade.  

• 'Q' means the child was absent on the due date and needs to make up the work ASAP before it becomes a Z or a 0. 

What do the terms ‘diagnostic,’ ‘formative,’ and ‘summative’ mean?

• ‘DIAGNOSTIC’ means pre-test. Students have not been taught the material, but we want to know what they might already know. It does not factor into the quarterly grade. 

• 'FORMATIVE’ means that the teaching and learning is still happening and we are just performing a check to see how the student is progressing. 

  • LCPS's Definition:  Formative assessment is an assessment for learning that occurs during the learning process and is designed to guide next steps toward mastery. The goal of formative assessments is to monitor learning, provide feedback, and set goals to move learning forward. Information gathered during formative assessment is used to inform next steps in instruction. Formative assessments will not be used to determine final grades.

• ‘SUMMATIVE’ means that the teaching is finished for that topic and the students have had opportunities to learn it. We are summarizing the student’s learning and the grade is factored into the quarterly report. 

  • LCPS's Definition: Summative Assessment is assessment of learning that occurs at the end of a learning cycle and is designed to determine a student’s level of mastery of specified content or competencies. Summative assessments become the source of information for grading.

Are there opportunities for retakes if my child doesn’t perform well?

• YES! My retakes policies differ slightly depending on if your child is in my research/academic biology class or in my AP biology class. HERE is a link to my AP Biology grading policies. And HERE is a link to my research/academic biology grading policies. 

What is your cell phone practice? 

I will be following the LVHS cell phone and audio device practice for the 2023-2024 school year. Therefore cell phones and audio devices will not be accessible during intructional time. Upon entering the classroom students will: 

• Power down their cell phone and place them in cell phone cubby. 

• Airpods, earbuds, headphones and other audio devices shall be turned off and placed into your backpack.

• Cell phones and audio devices shall remain off and away during the entirety of class and VikingTime.

• E-hall pass and Remind are accessible via Chromebook.