Grading System 

Please read this letter from Dr. Ellis regarding the ELA grading policy.

The purpose of this letter is to introduce the skills-based grading system to be utilized in 6th Grade English Language Arts (ELA) classes this year. Similar to HMS Math classes, your child’s ELA grade will be based primarily on the level of achievement demonstrated on each Essential Outcome (or skill) being covered in class each grading cycle.

One of the most important aspects of skills-based grading is that a student’s final grade is determined by his/her skill level at the end of the 6-weeks grading cycle, regardless of where they started early in the grading period.  Traditionally, a student who scores a 60, 90, & 95 on three consecutive skill assessments would receive an average grade of 81, resulting in a “B”.  With skills-based grading, this student would receive an “A” on this skill since they have demonstrated achievement above the 90 level on more than one occasion. 

Grading System in 6th Grade ELA

You will see 2 categories of assignments in the Home Access Center (HAC) with the following report card grade weightings:

• Skills Mastery (99%) Documents skill achievement level demonstrated (most of the grade)

• Practice (1%) Documents student’s progress and attempts of mastering the essential outcome

Grades in the Skills Mastery category are determined by skills rubrics which are converted to numeric grades as follows:

• No Evidence = 0 (is not completing work)

• Emerging = 60 (has not achieved the minimum standard and is failing the skill)

• Developing = 70 (minimum achievement standard to “pass” the skill)

• Mastery = 90 (the target level of achievement we want all students to hit)

• Advanced = 100 (the highest level of achievement demonstrable on that skill)

Skill level attainment will be updated in the Home Access Center (HAC) every 2 weeks to reflect your child’s most current level of achievement on each Language Arts Skill being covered in that grading cycle.

Important Points to Remember as You Monitor Your Child’s Grades

• Initial ELA Skills grades in the HAC will be lower than their final grade at the end of the grading cycle.  We do not expect most students to score at the “Mastery” or “Advanced” level the first time they are assessed on a skill, and it is entered into the HAC.

• Students will have at least 2 opportunities to demonstrate achievement on each Language Arts Skill assessed in the grading cycle.

• Students who do not complete or attempt assignments will receive a missing (M) in the grade book, which equates to a numerical grade of a zero.

As you are monitoring grades in the HAC throughout the 6-weeks, ask your child to show you the skill rubric for those skills in which they need to improve.  Have your student explain to you what their current skill level is (from the rubric) and what specifically from the rubric they need to demonstrate to obtain the next higher level of skill achievement. 

We believe grading ELA students on demonstrated skills is superior to traditional grading systems for the following reasons:

• Report card grades primarily reflect the achievement level of Skills Mastery attained by the end of the grading cycle, and students are not penalized for the speed of their learning or by lower achievement levels demonstrated as they are mastering new skills.

• Parents can clearly see in the HAC which Skills Mastery students have mastered and which skills students are still developing and need additional practice throughout the unit.

If you have any questions about how ELA achievement is being determined or how we are calculating grades in our 6th ELA classes this year, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

David Ellis

Principal