In the Wake County Public School System, we are committed to maintaining rigorous performance and achievement standards for all students and to providing a fair and consistent process for evaluating and reporting student progress that is understandable and relevant to students and their parents/guardians. (Board Policy 3400, Evaluation of Student Progress, and Policy 3400 R&P) The information below shares specific information about grading at Laurel Park Elementary.

Level Descriptors

Standards-based grading is used to report student proficiency on specific curriculum standards.

• Level 4: The student is able to reach beyond the expectation of the standard to a higher level of understanding and/or application.
• Level 3: The student demonstrates an understanding of the standard.
• Level 2: The student is either inconsistent in demonstrating an understanding or needs teacher support to demonstrate an understanding of the standard.
• Level 1: The student does not yet demonstrate an understanding of the standard. Even with teacher support, the student is not able to demonstrate an understanding of the standard.

Classwork (Assignments and Assessments)

• Grade levels have discretion on which assignments will be used for a grade. However, this must be consistent across the grade.
• Grade levels will define what mastery of each standard looks like to ensure consistency.
• Teachers will use a combination of formal (tests, projects, tasks) and informal assessments (teacher observation, student conference, exit ticket) to gather student grades.
• Not all work is graded. This is particularly true when there has not been adequate instruction to expect mastery.
• Assignments are not weighted. Tests and quizzes do not count more than graded classwork.
• Mastery can be determined at any time. However, no student should receive a final grade of 1 or 2 unless adequate instruction and feedback is provided.
• Appropriate feedback will be provided to all students. Appropriate feedback is:
  • Specific
  • Timely
  • Promotes the student’s academic growth
  • Protects the student’s emotional well-being
• Every student will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of a standard that has been taught. Between those opportunities, a student receives additional instruction and feedback.
• Incomplete assignments turned in will be graded for mastery of the targeted standards that were completed.
• Students will be provided additional time to complete any work for a grade that was not completed in the time allotted.
• Chronic incomplete assignments will only impact the student’s grade for work habits, not content areas.
• No grades for a specific standard are given to a student if they are not completing assignments and there are no other methods to determine their understanding. The student should not receive a level 1 or level 2. The student will have a blank for that standard within the online grade book, which might result in a blank on the report card. If this happens, an explanation from the teacher will be included in the comments on a report card or an email sent for a progress report. 

Assessments

• We participate in all required state assessments including, but not limited to End of Grade (EOG) testing for third, fourth, and fifth-grade students, Beginning of Grade (BOG) test for third graders in reading, K-5 universal screeners for reading and math, and NC Check-ins for third, fourth, and fifth-graders. We follow the testing windows and requirements determined by the state. This is dependent upon the state’s testing plans.
• Grade level will develop and administer common assessments to track student learning. 

Missed Work

• Students have a minimum of three days to complete independent work. Additional time can be provided if needed.

Parent Communication

• A parent-teacher conference is required twice each school year. Conferences can be held virtually if in-person is not an option. 
• Additional conferences may be requested by either the teacher or the family as needed.
• Families that enroll students throughout the school year will have a parent-teacher conference about three weeks from the student’s first day of school.
• Work samples that indicate the level of student achievement toward the standard will be shared with parents/guardians regularly. 
• A grade will be reported for each standard assessed on an assignment.
• Missing assignments and low participation will be communicated to parents/guardians. 
• If a student is performing at a level 1 or 2 on a standard that has been taught to the point where mastery would be expected, the teacher will make direct contact with the parent or guardian. 
• All grade levels will provide some feedback/grades to parents and students at least once per week. The form of this feedback must be consistent across the grade level.
• Interim progress reports and report cards are shared with parents and guardians on the dates directed by the county electronically through email. 
• If a student has a blank on a report card or interim due to there not being work or observations to determine his or her level of performance, an explanation must be included in the comments on a report card or in an email for an interim.
  
  

Specials Grades

• Semester grades are given for Music, Art, and PE for all students (K-5). The grades reflect student performance on the standards for each area.
• No grades are given for Media or STEM.

Special Education Progress Reports

• All county and state expectations regarding grades and feedback will be met. 
• Students with an IEP will receive a progress report with each quarterly report card by email. This progress report measures student growth on individual goals on each student’s IEP. The levels are defined differently for IEP progress reports and there are no numeric grades.
• In addition to the IEP progress report, students in special education will receive general education report cards and interims measuring student performance on the grade-level standards.

Level Descriptors

• The annual goal has been mastered.
• Data demonstrates mastery according to the individual goal.
• Consistent progress towards mastery of annual goal.
• Data demonstrates progress at a rate that will allow the student to meet the goal within the life of the IEP.
• Inconsistent progress toward mastery of annual goal.
• Data shows a lack of progress or inconsistent growth without an upward trend.
• Refer to the comment below: This is typically used when an annual review has recently been conducted and there is not enough data to measure progress.