• 90/10 ~ Formal/Informal Assessments

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    I.                   Background

    a.     Currently, our teachers primarily award grades based on points.

    b.     The amount of points and the types of assignments varies by teacher.  For instance, if we have three teachers teaching Biology, one may have 85% of their grade be based on assessments with 15% based on other items (homework, participation), one may have 50% based on assessments with 50% based on other items, and the other may have 25% based on assessments with the other 75% based on other items.

    c.      There are instances where some teachers do award points to students for bonus assignments.

    d.     This inconsistency leads to a weakened instructional system in which we cannot truly tell if the students are mastering the content of the courses.

     II.                 Proposed Changes

    a.     With the changing of the grading scale, we will emphasize the importance of formal assessments within our courses.

    b.     Specifically, we will implement a system in which 90% of a student’s grade is based on formal assessments (quizzes, tests, projects, performance-based rubrics, etc.) and the other 10% is based on informal assessments (homework, participation, etc.), providing teachers and administrators a clearer picture of the students’ proficiency levels towards the actual content of the course.

     III.              Implementation

    a.     Weighting Grades Presentation