GRADING PRACTICES: GRADE SCALES

K-2 Grade Scale

Students in Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades will receive marks for their proficiency toward the grade level standards using the following scale.

4 = Applies grade level skills with greater depth or complexity

3 = Demonstrates grade level proficiency 

2 = Approaches grade level proficiency 

1 = Displays a significant lack of grade level proficiency 

Students in 1st and 2nd grades will receive marks for their overall performance in each course of study using the following letter grade scale.

E = Excellent (87%-100%)

S = Satisfactory (58%-86%)

N = Needs Improvement  (42%-57%)

U = Underperforming (0%-41%)

PROCEDURES FOR RE-ASSESSMENTS AND LATE WORK 

In Kindergarten a majority of assignments are completed as a class with support and guidance. Students will be prompted and reminded to turn in work following each lesson. If a student needs support with specific assignments, that will be addressed in a small group setting and work will be collected at that time.

●        Students needing extra help will receive it from their teacher during Multi-Tiered Systems of Support in class

●        In order to accurately reflect a student’s academic performance level, teachers will accept late work and missing work for full credit if the work is submitted within the timeframe and procedures developed by the school and before the end of the grading period.

○        Students will still be responsible for turning in late work in addition to their current coursework, which results in the natural consequence of a heavier workload. The primary consequence for students not completing the work is to complete the work.

Kindergarten students are given multiple opportunities to show mastery and understanding of a particular skill. There will be multiple assignments to measure understanding throughout the grading period.

Learning is a journey that is often not linear. Some students learn content and skills quickly while others may require more time or feedback in order to learn. The primary objective of grades is to report where a student is in the learning process, regardless of how much time or effort the student needs to get there.

●   Students will be afforded extra time for learning; however, there is an ending point for each course in which final reports on a student’s learning must be conveyed.

●   Final assessments or end of term capstone projects and performance assessments will not be eligible for retakes.

●   Assessments/assignments may be in an alternate format for reassessment.

●   Students are required to show evidence of learning and applying the teacher’s feedback in order to earn a reassessment opportunity.

PBIS

All students are taught to follow the HAWK expectations: Honorable, Accountable, Willing Attitude and Kind. These expectations are outlined in this HAWK Matrix. Students earn Hawk Bucks for demonstrating these expectations that they can use to purchase items or experience coupons in the Hawk’s Nest.

All Things EQ

We have implemented a philosophy called “All Things EQ.” While your IQ is your book smarts or school smarts, your EQ is your emotional quotient or self-smarts. 

The EQ philosophy focuses on the following key questions: 

• How can I be kind and helpful in this moment?

• How are you showing up at school today?

• Am I making an honest effort?

• Am I focusing on solutions instead of problems?

To reinforce the EQ philosophy our 6^th graders are trained to be our EQ Ambassadors so they can be role models for the rest of the students. In addition, each teacher is holding class meetings every Friday, showing videos that focus on the four key questions and we have daily announcements focused on the core questions and weekly motto. 

LLM/Generative AI Student Statements

After careful consideration and in alignment with the developmental needs of our students and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), DVUSD has determined that the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT,  is not suitable for students in grades K-8 (13 years of age and younger) and will not be utilized or endorsed in academic contexts.