Curriculum

Book Policies
Section 05000 Students
Title Grading, Students K-12
Code 5054
Status Active
Adopted August 7, 2018
Last Revised April 12, 2022
Prior Revised Dates 05/14/2019

A. Classwork
1. Classwork is a reflection and practice of the core standards and skills with support and constructive feedback
within the school day.
2. Classwork comes in many varieties, which include but are not limited to: journals, bell ringers, practice,
student self-assessments, projects, and group/center work.
3. Late work will be accepted and assessed within two(2) weeks of the due date. Work assigned within the last
two weeks of the term is due three calendar days prior to the end of term. Work turned in three calendar

days(not class periods) before the end of the quarter forfeits the opportunity for revisions due to quarter-
end deadlines. Late work may result in up to a 15% reduction at the teacher's discretion in the overall score

for that assignment. This practice must be included in class disclosures.
4. Students with excused absences have three school days to make-up work without penalty.
B. Homework
1. Homework is defined as work and study at home that is prepared and planned ahead of time to enhance
intended learning objectives. It is work that can be done at home without the help of the teacher.
2. Refer to the homework guidelines for more information.
C. Assessment
1. Assessments are to reflect Core Standards and student mastery and/or progress of core standards.
Assessments should measure student learning, and proficiency and guide instructional planning for teachers.
2. Assessment comes in many varieties, which include but are not limited to: bellringers, tests, projects,
formal/informal assessments, quizzes, demonstrations, papers, and portfolios.
3. Assessments taken late for excused absence after the three-day makeup window provided by the teacher
may incur up to a 15% reduction at the teacher's discretion of the overall test score.
4. Students can redo assessments, but are limited to two, in order to demonstrate proficiency. Additional
preparedness may be required before a request to redo an assessment is allowed.
a. Due to the limited availability of comparable forms of respective district benchmark assessments, only
one retake will be provided.

D. Grading
1. Student work and assessments will be based on standards from the Utah Core.
2. Grades on report cards will accurately reflect students’ academic proficiency in relation to course standards.
3. Extra points can be given through additional opportunities for all students to demonstrate increased
proficiency through retakes (refer to Section A.8). Non-content-related materials cannot be assigned for
extra points.
4. Attendance, tardies, and behavior will not be included in the academic grade.
5. Grades will be determined based on the Tooele County School District grading scale.

K-5 Grading Scale

K-2 3-5 % Equivalent

K-5 Grading Scale

4-Mastery 4-Mastery-A 100-85%
3-Proficient 3-Proficient-B 84-70%
2-Developing 2-Developing 69-55%
1-Emerging 1-Emerging-D 54-40%
F Below 40%

Grades 6-12
Grade Percentage

A 93
A- 90
B+ 87
B 83
B- 80
C+ 77
C 73
C- 70
D+ 67
D 63
D- 60
F Below

6. Grades will be updated weekly in the student information system.
7. Student proficiency is measured as a grade that is comprised of assessment, classwork, and homework.
8. Final Grade Weighting
Assessment: No less than 50%
Homework: No more than 0-10%
Classwork: Remaining percentage of the whole
E. Concurrent Enrollment, Advanced Placement and other exempt classes.
1. Concurrent Enrollment (CE) and Advanced Placement (AP) courses are college courses and must follow the
expectations of university and college board guidelines.
2. Other exempt classes that have USBE grading requirements, like Drivers Ed, must follow the rules and
regulations set forth by USBE.
3. Students will be provided a disclosure and syllabus with expectations that follow university, college board, or
USBE grading requirements.

TCSD Pass/Fail Course Grading Criteria
The purpose of this document is to clarify the proper application of pass/fail and letter grades within District policy.  
Only courses meeting designated criteria may award letter grades. If these criteria are not met, the course awards a pass/fail grade by default. 
For a course to award letter grades, all the following criteria must be met: 
    The course is taught by a Utah or TCSD licensed teacher. Additionally, for courses with subject-specific credit, the licensed teacher must be endorsed (or in process) in that subject.
    The course has either:
o    State or national standards; 
OR
o    A TCSD curriculum guide that has been approved through the TCSD course addition/revision request procedure. This is necessary to establish rigorous content standards for the course.  
    The course adheres to the principles of the TCSD grading policy (11012), which requires:
o    Inclusion of assessments and assignments based on mastery and/or progress of core standards, with assessments accounting for a weight of no less than 50% of the final grade. In courses without core standards, assessments and assignments must be based on mastery and/or progress of national standards or the content standards established in the approved TCSD curriculum guide; 
AND
o    Attendance, tardies, and behavior are not included in the academic grade. 
 

Homework defined:

Homework is any schoolwork completed outside the classroom.

Purposes of Homework

Tooele County School District believes homework is a valuable learning tool when it supports the goals of education, is purposeful, and meaningful. Homework should require thought, effort, and the competent demonstration of learned skills.

·         Pre-Learning: to provide an introduction to a topic, to determine what the students know or are interested in learning, or to stimulate interest in a topic.

·         Check for Understanding: to gain insight into the student learning.

·         Practice: to practice already learned skills only after the teacher has adequately checked for understanding. It is most effective when distributed over several days.

Processing: to have students reflect on concepts, think of new questions or apply skills learned to synthesize information such as long term or summary projects.

Expectations for Students

Homework should have a focus on learning that helps students acquire knowledge or skills through experience, study or by being taught.

·         Students have a right to receive help with concepts they do not understand as designated by the school (e.g. before school, after school, tutoring, etc.)

·         Homework shall be attempted; however, a passing grade shall not be put in jeopardy because of homework.

·         A child’s right to playtime, downtime, and adequate sleep shall not be infringed upon by homework.

Students and parents should communicate in writing to the teacher when a child does not understand or is too tired to finish homework. Families shall be entitled to weekends and holiday breaks free from assigned homework.

Expectations for Home

Families are encouraged to:

·         Provide a place for homework.

·         Provide a time for homework.

·         Provide a routine for homework.

·         Partner with the school in providing homework support.

·         Allow your child to work on homework independently; give support as needed.

Share any concerns regarding homework with your child’s teacher(s).

Expectations for Teachers

·         Quality teaching matters: homework must be connected to what happens in the classroom.

·         Skills require practice: make sure students are practicing the skills correctly. Shorter, more frequent periods of practice are better than longer, less frequent practice.

·         Time on task matters: set a time limit.

·         Task is as important as time: well-designed homework is important; it should be related to classroom learning, simple enough to do on their own and relevant to real life.

·         Learning is individual: homework needs to be personalized to fit the specific needs of individual students.

·         Children differ in readiness and developmental levels: homework tasks should be differentiated.

·         Children differ in learning styles: provide choices and flexibility in homework tasks.

·         Children differ in motivation, persistence, and organizational skills: wise teachers seek feedback from students and consider how they might tap into students’ interests.

·         Frustration is detrimental to motivation and the desire to learn checking for frustrations is critical.

Projects are intended to be assigned and competed in class: provide students and parents with project information: (e.g. assignment criteria, due dates, materials needed, etc.) in a timely manner. For larger projects/assignments, some portion of the project may be assigned as smaller homework segments with intermittent due dates and ongoing feedback.

Expectations for Schools

·         Each school will provide expectations and strategies for students to successfully complete both classwork and homework.

·         Each school will communicate with students and their responsible parties about support programs available at their school.

·         Support programs may include, but are not limited to before and after school help, technology lab availability, study skills courses, extended lunch, tutors, etc.

·         Each school will routinely assess effectiveness of their support programs and adjust them as needed.

Feedback from students, teachers, and responsible parties will be considered.

Maximum Homework Time Per Day

ELEMENTARY		SECONDARY
Grade	Minutes	Grade	Minutes
Kindergarten	20	7th	70
1st/2nd	20	8th	80
3rd	30	9th	90
4th	40	10th	100
5th	50	11th	110
6th	60	12th	120

 

Notes:

·         Homework need not be assigned every day, and minutes don’t carry from day to day.

·         Homework includes assigned reading and should be considered when assigning homework (i.e., if a fifth- grade student is assigned 20 minutes of reading, the teacher may assign an additional 30 minutes of homework for a total of 50 minutes).

·         Teachers of students in grades 7-12 should be a ware that the time recommendations are per day, not per class period. On larger projects, teachers should coordinate to avoid homework overload.

·         Parents and Students should be aware that DLI and other academic programs such as Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), and Concurrent Enrollment (CE) may require additional time.

Tips for Students

·         Know the expectations for the class.

·         Create a place where you can concentrate on learning.

·         Have everything you need to study close by. Move things you don’t need away from your study area.

·         Outline and rewrite your notes. Notes rewritten in your own words will help you understand the content more fully.

·         Use mnemonic devices (methods for remember pieces of information using simple association of common words: for example, HOMES: the great lakes, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior).

·         Practice by yourself or with friends. Quiz yourself or quiz each other about the content you are studying.

·         Take breaks. Divide study time into segments that make sense and work for you; for example, study for 20 minutes and take a 5- minute break.

·         Approach studying with a positive attitude.

·         Keep healthy and balanced. Exercise regularly, eat right, and get enough sleep.

To prepare your child for kindergarten, here are a few research-based suggestions:

#1: Read to your child daily

Read with your child for at least 20 minutes every day. This has many benefits. First, your child begins to associate reading with the positive experience of spending time with you! This contributes to increased motivation to read. Next, you serve as a model of how to read fluently, which is very important for early readers. Finally, when your child reads to you, your support with difficult words makes their experience more enjoyable. All of these benefits combine to help your student to become a motivated and successful reader! 

A few tips for reading at home:

-Read different types of books including story picture books, non-fiction, poetry, magazines, etc.  

-Talk about the story as you read, ask questions, and encourage your child to ask questions.

-Have your child discuss what they think and what they've learned.

#2: Develop fine motor skills

Fine motor skills are important to the development of your child. Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscle of the hands. Fine motor skills enable children to do activities like write, cut with scissors, button shirts, and play with Legos. To help your child develop these skills, expose them to basic drawing, coloring, cutting and writing are activities. Most children love learning to spell their name. This can be a motivational place to start—teach them to write their name using a capital letter for the first letter and the rest in lowercase. Click here for more information about developing fine motor skills.

#3: Develop letter and alphabet knowledge

One of the first and most important early reading skills is knowledge of letters and the alphabet. Initially, knowledge is built by being exposed to books and written information. This helps children to recognize that letters and words carry meaning. To teach your child about letters, start with the letters in their name. Make a game out of finding letters in various places in the world. If your child seems ready, introduce the sounds of the letter too!  

You can visit this website as a resource to develop letter knowledge: https://www.esc4.net/rla/interactives

#4: Increase vocabulary and oral language skills

Children benefit from being surrounded by environments rich in language. You can help your child to acquire language by talking to them, reading to them, and asking them questions. Avoid talking to their level as children expand their knowledge by being exposed to new and expansive vocabulary. Make a habit of engaging your child in frequent conversation about all kinds of topics.