• Grades are based on student achievement, knowledge, and skill proficiency demonstrated on course standards.
  ● The grading policy for each subject will be clearly communicated with parents and students.
  ● The assessments and assignments that make up a student’s grade will be clearly communicated in the SIS electronic
  grade book.
  ● Assignments will be graded and grades will be posted within 7 school days after the due date with the understanding
  that major projects/papers may require additional time to ensure quality feedback (per FCPS policy).
  ● Parents and students are encouraged to access the SIS grade book on a regular basis.
  ● Student progress will be communicated regularly through electronic progress reports.
  ● All grades entered into the gradebook will relate directly to the standards listed in the Program of Studies or other
  designated curriculum and should reflect a student’s mastery of content or skills.
  ● Student’s attendance, effort, attitude or other behaviors will be communicated to parents through report comments or
  other means that do not include grades.
  ● Students will not be given extra credit or grades for activities such as bringing in classroom materials, providing
  parent/guardian signatures, participating in fundraising/charitable events, or participating in non-curricular activities.

All Lake Braddock teachers will record your grades in the gradebook using Letter Grades.

• Category weighting: LBSS Gradebooks will have Two  Weighted categories (New FCPS Policy)
  • Summative (70%): Culminating assessment tasks that measure mastery of standards. Assignments in this category are eligible for reassessment. 
  • Formative (30%): Assessments that provide students with feedback toward mastery of standards and smaller assignments that allow students to practice content and skills. Formative assessments allow students to understand areas to target for improvement. Of the 30% in this category, up to 10% may be counted toward homework. Assignments in this category are not eligible for reassessment. Teachers will have the option to split Formative into categories: 20% Formative/10% Practice
  • Standards Based Grading: LBSS will use a uniform grading policy of 70/30 as set by the county. SBG will no longer be allowed unless it is implemented within the 70/30 split of the gradebook..
• Rolling Gradebook: We will continue to use a rolling gradebook (Rolling Gradebooks will adhere to expectations that refer to quarters: e.g., minimum number of assignments per quarter, maximum assignment weight per quarter). 
• Grade Input: Grades recorded in the gradebook may be numbers, percentages, or letters. Letter grades should only be utilized for assignments and assessments that are designed using defined levels of proficiency that are aligned to rubrics (e.g., performance-based assessments, projects, essays, assignments utilizing IB rubrics, etc.). (New FCPS Policy)
• Minimum number of assignments per quarter: 7 assignments
• Maximum Weight of assignments: 35% within a quarter 
• Maximum Assignments per Quarter: LBSS will have a maximum of 16 graded assignments per quarter. Teachers may be approved by an administrator to have additional assignments beyond 16.

• Think of end-of-quarter report cards as quarterly interims or snapshots of your learning so far. Final grades are the only ones that count towards the GPA. 
• Instead of averaging each of the 4 quarter grades, rolling gradebooks are set up so that the final course grade is determined by averaging all of the assignments and assessments throughout the year.

• All assessments in the Summative Assessment category are eligible for a second chance and the opportunity to earn up to a 100%. Students will have multiple opportunities throughout a two week period to complete their second chance. The highest grade will be recorded in SIS. If a summative assessment provides students opportunity for feedback from a teacher prior to the final deadline, there does not need to be any additional opportunities to redo the assignment after the deadline. The feedback received prior to the deadline will include a scored rubric and clear guidelines such that students can make adjustments to their original attempt to earn the full 100%. If a student does not complete a second chance within the originally scheduled timeframe, they can still have another opportunity to complete the reassessment at a later time per FCPS policy for a Rolling Gradebook. These times may be set by the teacher on a scheduled basis but must be posted in Schoology with enough advance notice for students to prepare.

   

• The exception to this are assessments such as Final Exams, PALs exams, music performance assessments, Driver’s Education State Assessment, Concerts/music performances, Science Fair Projects, major projects or writing assignments where drafts is submitted for feedback prior to the final submission (i.e. essays, projects).

   

• Second chance assessments may be in an alternate format.

   

• Students will need to demonstrate that they have done the necessary preparation to be offered the opportunity on a second chance assessment. Preparation and readiness will be defined by the collaborative team.

Two options are available for Teachers to supports students after a Summative Assessment.  

• Option 1: Summative assessments will be returned to students and they will be allowed to keep their summative assessment. An appropriate amount of class time based on the length of the assessment will be dedicated to reviewing the summative assessment and it will occur prior to the scheduled reassessment. During the review, teachers will either go over specific questions or be available to answer student’s specific questions about their assessment. Students will have at least four additional opportunities to come in during WIN time or after school to get additional time to review the assessment with the teacher prior to a reassessment. 

               OR

• Option #2: Summative assessments will be returned to students but they will not be allowed to keep them. There will be class time (based on the length of the assessment) dedicated to reviewing the summative assessment before collecting them back to be held by the teacher. During the review, teachers will either go over specific questions or be available to answer student’s specific questions about their assessment.

During the in-class review of their assessment, students will be provided a formal feedback form that will be used to track their performance and to keep for review. Feedback forms will include:

• The specific topic or standard each question asked in kid friendly language
• A section to total up scores for each topic/standard overall. 
• Correlating resources, assignments, or notes students can reference for each topic as they relearn material prior to the reassessment. 

Teachers will allow no less than four opportunities for students to come in for additional time to review their original assessment during WIN time or after school prior to the scheduled reassessment.  

A zero may be entered into the gradebook when a student does not submit an assignment or does not make a reasonable attempt to show evidence of their learning on an assignment. A “reasonable attempt” is defined as when a student submits an assignment with some evidence that an attempt was made to demonstrate knowledge. (New FCPS Policy)

• If a zero is entered into the gradebook for a SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT a personalized two-way communication will be sent to the parent/guardian in the form of a personalized email, talking points, or phone call)
• If a zero is entered into the gradebook for a SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT, teachers will allow a student to go back and redo that assessment at any time during the school year. However, the missed initial deadline counts as the first attempt.

Late Work: 

• Summative Assessments: There is no late work penalty for mastery assignments turned in within the two-week grace period. After the two-week grace period the grade will be entered as a 0%.  
• Formative Assessments: Your teacher may or may not accept late non-mastery assignments for full credit. Look at your teacher’s syllabus for more information.

To ensure consistent expectations at Lake Braddock, all courses will use the following comment codes to communication information about assignments:

• RAM - Required Assignment Missing: This summative assignment is missing and is a 0% (F). 
• MG - Minimum Grade:  You scored below a 50% (F) but you showed reasonable effort and your score is entered as a 50% (F). 
• NLA - No Longer Accepted: The deadline has passed on this formative assignment and will now be assigned a 0% (F). 

• All students that pass an AP or Dual Enrollment course, will have an additional 1.0 quality point added to the final
  grade for the purpose of calculating their GPA.
• All students that pass an Honors course, will have an additional 0.5 quality point added to the final grade for the
  purpose of calculating their GPA.
   

Collaborative Teams will determine if a graded final exam or culminating activity will be given during the designated final exam period. Final exam or culminating activities can comprise no more than 20% of the student’s final grade for the year. Final exams and midterms are not eligible for retakes if entered in the Final Exam category.

Lake Braddock respects the need for families to have time together over the holidays and extended breaks. It is our hope that everyone gets a well-deserved break from the rigors and demands of school. Thank you, Teachers, for following these guidelines:

• Students should not be assigned to complete work over school breaks.
• Schedule no major assessments immediately upon return from break (at least first 2 class meetings).
• For classes having long term assignments, refrain from scheduling due dates immediately after the holiday (at least first two class meetings).