Grading and assessment are key components of how students learn during any situation. This time of remote learning does create a challenge in the way teachers have traditionally communicated feedback to students. To that end, students and families should expect that teachers will provide feedback on student work in key content and skill areas, including formative feedback aimed at improvement and feedback that indicates a student’s level of performance (grades or scores).
Taking into consideration the guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), Catholic schools must ensure that student grades prior to the transition to remote learning can only be maintained or improved, provided the student demonstrates continued engagement and ability at a passing level after the transition to instructional remote learning days.
Work assigned during remote learning must be graded. Varied assignments and assessments will ensure that students have ample opportunities to improve grades and receive feedback on their progress in learning standard-based content. Every effort will be made to work with students and families to provide opportunities for engagement that take into account individual or unique circumstances. Parents should check Power School regularly to monitor their child’s missing/incomplete assignments and grades.
If students fail to complete assignments or other related assessments during this period, the school has and will continue to engage in a series of steps to document the cause of the missing assignments.
- Ensure that the student is not impacted by circumstances out of their control, such as access to technology, ability of the parent to supervise learning and students with diverse learning needs. If the student is impacted, the school will make every attempt to resolve the issue and support the student (such as developing alternative assignments). At this time, we have confirmed that all our students have access to a device (computer, laptop, iPad, etc.) and all our families have indicated they have internet access.
- If the school can determine that these conditions are not in effect, the teacher will contact the parent/caretaker and inform them of their child’s poor performance and discuss ways to support the student and parent.
- If after an extended period of interventions with the student and parent (at least two weeks), the school will record the grade of “incomplete” for the respective subject(s). Incomplete grades can be removed at any time and expectations regarding the changing of incompletes are at the discretion of the individual school.
- All communication with students and parents will be documented for evidence to support the possible assignment of an “incomplete” grade on assignments and final trimester grade.
Please review the following chart/table for an example classroom breakdown of the types of grading available and the expectations associated with a particular grading method.
Grading Method Reason
- Letter Grades (A, B, C) Students are able to complete the work, have consistent device and internet access, and are progressing without incident.
- PASS (P) Extenuating circumstances limit the students’ ability to complete and participate in remote learning. See circumstances listed above.
- Incomplete (I) Students who choose not to complete the work. (All D’s and F’s will be represented as an incomplete)
The school is responsible for generating final report cards that include progress on the remaining trimester of the school year. SWS will distribute Trimester 3 Report Cards on Friday, June 5, 2020, therefore all student work must be submitted to teachers no later than 3:00pm on Monday, June 1, 2020.
Please note: Student work for our Graduates of the Class of 2020 (8th grade only) must be submitted to teachers no later than 3:00pm on Friday, May 22, 2020. Incompletes will be given after that deadline – no exceptions.