Who establishes the grading policy for middle school students?
Grading is an attempt to determine a student’s level of mastery of particular content. Grading policies are established by the local district governing board and vary somewhat throughout the state. Most board policies are general and consistent with the intent of the law. Specific classroom guidelines are sometimes left to the individual school and/or teacher. On the other hand, some school board grading policies are highly prescriptive. When teaching to the standards, a student’s grades in a particular subject area should be based on her/his performance in meeting the state standards. Traditional grades alone are limited and often subjective measures of student progress. They are not adequate for providing specific feedback to students about standards proficiency or making high-stakes decisions regarding retention, promotion, and targeted interventions. As schools implement state content standards, a standards-based performance report will keep students and parents better informed abo
