Understanding Grading at Futures Lab
Updated August 2021
Target Audience:
- Home campus counselors, teachers, administrators, and other service providers who may need to periodically assess student progress that includes attendance and grading in Futures Lab classes.
- Current and prospective students, parents, and their guardians or caregivers.
What do we know about traditional grades and grading practices?
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Grades tend to reduce interest in learning. When learners are told that something “is going to be on the test,” they are more likely to view it as a chore.
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Grades tend to disincentivize students from opting in to challenging tasks. When the goal is a “good grade,” students are inclined to take on an easier task which gives them the highest probability of success.
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Grades tend to reduce the quality of students’ thinking. Students recieving numerical grades demonstrate significantly less creativity.
Source: Alfie Kohn (1999) “From Grading to De-grading”
But I get a grade on my transcript; how will that grade be determined?
Below you will find grading agreements that we have put in place to support external stakeholders in understanding student progress at Futures Lab.
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Students will earn a grade in all Futures Lab classes that will appear on their transcripts. Those grades will be:
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Accurate (Both mathematically sound and easy to understand)
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Bias-resistant (Reflective of students' content knowledge)
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Motivational (Grades should support a growth mindset and provide opportunities for redemption)
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Teachers have autonomy in establishing class grading practices.
- Practices will be communicated to learners and families
- Teachers will post an update in Synergy at least every two weeks that reflects the student’s progress to that point.
- A student will receive a letter grade at the end of each semester (a semester is one quarter for 10-credit classes and two quarters for 5-credit classes).
- Over the course of the semester, there is a wide range of acceptable grading practices:
- Traditional HS grading
- 100-point scale
- Weighed or “straight points”
- Minimum grade is a 50%. (Why no zeroes on the 100-point scale? We’re glad you asked.)
- Modified grading practices
- Example: 4-point scale where 0 = F and 4 = A
- Example: S/U/0
- Other, holistic grading practices. In order to assure we are keeping stakeholders informed of the progress of each learner, this is reflected in Synergy as an “S/U” system. A final letter grade will be entered for each learner at the end of each grading period.
- S = No concerns. The teacher is comfortable that the learner owns their learning. The learner…
- Demonstrates regular attendance
- Regularly participates in one-on-one meetings with the teacher to discuss current progress
- Is either caught up on all class projects OR is aware of what they are missing AND has a plan to get caught up
- U = Concerns. The learner…
- Has not attended
- Has not been responsive to Tier 1 / Universal interventions
- Has been referred into the Futures Lab MTSS process
- S = No concerns. The teacher is comfortable that the learner owns their learning. The learner…
- Traditional HS grading