6-12 Mathematics Grading Policy
In the interest of education equity and equal opportunities for all students, the mathematics department has adopted a uniform grading policy throughout the middle and high school, with minor variations that have been pre-approved by the mathematics supervisor. This policy exists to maintain the integrity of the placement process and also to ensure that every student at Duxbury is held to the same standard. The details of this policy are listed below:
Term Grades
All term grades are broken down by the same percentage. Homework is worth 15% and Assessments are worth 85%. For AP courses, homework is worth 5% and assessments are worth 95%. Homework can sometimes include in-class activities and the assessment category can include quizzes, activities, tests, and projects.
Homework
Homework is graded on effort and worth a total of 15% of a student's term grade (5% for AP courses). Teachers set the expectation for format and quality of homework within their course expectation sheets at the beginning of the school year, but overall the expectation is that students show their work when needed and attempt every problem in order to receive full credit on a homework assignment.
Assessments
The assessment category constitutes 85% of a student's overall term grade and can include different assignments ranging from quizzes, chapter tests, larger unit tests, in-class activities and alternative performance assessments (95% for AP courses). The variety of assessments ranges based on the nature of the course curriculum and the learning objectives for the course as determined by the Common Core Frameworks. Not all assessments are weighted equally, but instead weighted with respect to the amount of material covered or the type of the assignment.
Assessment Retake Policy
The general policy is that students cannot retake an assessment to replace or adjust an original assessment score (although there are minor exceptions to this policy in the Middle School grades). Variations in this policy have been pre-approved by the mathematics supervisor and take into account the developmental differences between Middle and High School students as well as accommodations based on an Individualized Education Plan or 504.
As a department, we value consistency and education equity. The policies above have been developed in order to ensure that all students are equally prepared for the next academic year and that all term grades are an equal representation of a student's ability. For questions on any of the above policies, please contact the mathematics supervisor for grade 6-12, Theresa Raftery (traftery@duxbury.k12.ma.us).
