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If we want to prepare kids for adulthood, one of the things we can do is celebrate their strengths, those assets with which they’re going to find meaning in life and be able to make contributions.
- Mel Levine
For students, grades can be a source of excitement and pride and, at times, they can also be a source of trepidation. As a mastery-based program, Laurel Springs does away with the trepidation, and imbues students with a sense of confidence and accomplishment.
Grades can be an important way for the entire learning team to gauge student progress, and to identify and mend any problems before they become serious.
The Idea behind Grading
Purpose
The primary purpose of grading is feedback. The student, the parent, the teacher, and the broader educational community of which they are a part all need to be elements of the feedback loop. Also of great importance is the use of grades for guidance (For example - What course of study should the student follow? Would honors courses be appropriate next term? Is the student ready to proceed to Spanish II or to Algebra?). Finally, grades can be a source of motivation.
Student Effort and Grading
We believe that effort is evident at a distance. It may be reflected by detailed answers, engagement with teachers, questions, timeliness of assignment completion, and thoughtfulness of responses. Behavior, in an online environment, may include respect for the teacher and a cooperative attitude toward work and learning. Instances of plagiarism can be a negative factor in this category. Attendance may translate to regularity of work, the avoidance of bulk mailing of assignments, or the commitment of adequate seat time to properly complete assignments. So, even at a distance, these factors have weight, and teachers may take them into consideration when assigning a grade.
Grades
The following are general guidelines for letter grades. Your teacher, and our courses, will provide you with specific rubrics for lesson assignments. It’s important for you and your child to discuss grading guidelines and expectations with your teacher early on, so performance objectives are always clear.
C= Passing credit
Student demonstrates basic achievement of the essential understandings and essential skills of the course. Student demonstrated growth and learning through engagement of this course, earning credit toward graduation.
B=pass with distinction/ college recommending
Student demonstrates mastery of essential understandings and achievement of essential skills of the course.
A= pass with honors
Student demonstrates mastery of essential understandings and excellence in the essential skills of the course.
Below C = no credit, redo lesson or assignment
Student failed to achieve essential understandings and skills of the course and/or failed to exhibit other growth and progress through the engagement of this course.
Making the Most of the Gradebook
The Laurel Springs online Gradebook is an invaluable tool that connects families and teachers working from a distance. It enables any member of the student’s learning team to view student progress twenty-four hours a day, from any location, and further connects and informs all of us. The Gradebook promotes regular communication between the student’s teachers and home, reporting daily and weekly feedback. As your child completes and submits work, you will find teacher response to the work, including grades, comments, and instructions. Additionally, our students can stay apprised of progress by viewing an up-to-date report card in the Gradebook’s View All Grades mode.
We strongly encourage you to take advantage of the online gradebook. It is a wonderful resource! You, as a parent, will be given a separate log-in that allows you to see the same grades and comments your child does. With everyone keeping up-to-date on student progress and monitoring the work being submitted, it further allows for in-depth collaboration in working toward your child’s best interest.
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This is your reference to our new online gradebook. The gradebook represents a significant step in our ability to work with students and parents over distance. The gradebook promotes regular communication between the student’s teachers and home, reporting daily and weekly feedback. As a student completes and submit works, you will find teacher response to that work, including grades and comments or directions for assignment “redos” for each course. Additionally, students can stay apprised of progress by viewing an up-to-date report card in the gradebook “View All Grades” mode.
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• review student progress 24 hours a day
• easily communicate with teachers
• students with either text or online courses can log in
• username and password for both parent and student sent via email at enrollment
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How to Access and Navigate Your Online Gradebook
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Login to your Aurora homepage…
Select “View All Grades” (for a cumulative report)
Or
Select “View” after course title (for single course reports)
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Single Course Gradebook Page-
displays course information and lesson-by-lesson grades
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1. Enrollment Information: Course title, Start and End dates, and date of Extension (if any).
2. Teacher Comments: Click on Comments tab to access.
3. Custom Grading Fields: Teachers can assign separate evaluation for areas such as labs, workbooks or grammar.
4. Included for Grading: Lessons included for term grade will have book symbol.
5. Lesson Status
6. Course Notes: Teachers can use this section to leave notes to the student/parent for things like vacation times or scheduling notices.
7. Contact Teacher: Sends an Aurora message to the teacher.
8. View All Grades: Allows you to view all grades for all your courses in a report card view.
9. Semester Evaluation: There will be a link to your written evaluation after lessons 18 and 36.
10. Average %: Percentage calculated after lessons 18 and 36.
11. Capstone: Indicates whether a capstone was assigned or completed.
12. Drop Grade: Indicates course withdrawal grade if appropriate.
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Comments Page-
displays overall teacher comments for each individual lesson
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13. Teacher Comments: These are overall lesson responses, not comments to individual questions.
14. Gradebook Tab: Takes you back to individual course gradebook. |
View All Grades Page-
displays lesson and semester grades for all student course |
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15. Lesson Status Color Codes16. Course Title: Links to all of your courses’ gradebooks are located on the View All Grades page.
17. Custom Grading Field: Separate area of evaluation assigned by the teacher.
18. Capstone Indicator: Legend located at the top of the page.
19. Contact Teacher: Sends an Aurora message to teacher of that course.
20. Comments: Takes you to teacher comments page for that course. |
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