Yorkville Community School District 115
Comprehensive Grading Plan
May, 2016
Curriculum Coordinating Council Members:
Bachewicz, Kelly
McHugh, Stephanie
Badger, Ashley
Miller, Derek
Breyne, Michele
Reece, Melissa
Condon, Melissa
Salvesen, Jessica
Burks, Lynn
Shimp, Tim
Duback, Michael
Siebert, Heather
Faber, Kristin
Spallasso, Katie
Gallt, Kelley
Strandell, Alison
Gambro, Beth
Strauss, Katherine
Hosey, Tracey
Venetucci, Martha
Isabelli, Gina
Waldvogel, Jennifer
Johnson, Mayra
Warren, Christine
Johnson, Megan
Wolf, Harry
Kewenig, Jamie
Table of Contents
Belief Statement and Philosophy of Grading Plan ................................................................................................. 1
Educator, Student, and Parent Roles in Y115 ......................................................................................................... 1
Learning Activities.................................................................................................................................................. 2
Grading System ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Reporting Learning Standards Mastery .................................................................................................................. 4
Communication of Grades ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Retakes .................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Absent Work ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
Incomplete Grades .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Zero Policy .............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Academic Integrity.................................................................................................................................................. 6
Grade Promotion ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Student Accommodations/Modifications................................................................................................................ 6
Guidelines for English Language Learners (ELL).................................................................................................. 7
Other ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Glossary .................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................................... 9
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Comprehensive Grading Plan
Belief Statement and Philosophy of Grading Plan
Yorkville CUSD 115 believes in standards-based instruction, assessment, and reporting. The purpose of grades
is to communicate student mastery of curriculum; standards-based reporting aligns to this purpose at the K-12
level.1
We believe...
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Academic performance/skills are separate from academic behaviors.
Grades reflect mastery of content.
Learning activities contribute to student growth, guide teacher instruction, and are an essential part of
student success.
Educator, Student, and Parent Roles in Y115
All members of the learning community have roles and responsibilities related to student learning. District 115
has outlined expectations for educators, students, and parents in order to create a positive partnership that
supports students in realizing their greatest potential.
Educator Role
Educators will...
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engage students in meaningful learning opportunities to help them achieve mastery of standards.
encourage and model the skills of a lifelong learner: persistent, curious, responsible, collaborative,
adaptable, open-minded, problem solving, and analytical.
set high expectations and provide ongoing feedback to students and parents in order to foster student
growth.
provide students multiple opportunities to show their learning.
work with students to support their academic, social, and emotional needs.
partner with parents to communicate their child’s strengths, interests, celebrations, and needs.
Student Role
Students will...
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engage daily in the learning process by actively participating in educational activities.
develop the skills of a lifelong learner through the demonstration of persistent, curious, responsible,
collaborative, adaptable, open-minded, problem solving, and analytical.
understand and progress toward mastery of the learning standards by setting individual goals for each
subject.
be accountable by producing high-quality work on a consistent basis.
demonstrate self-advocacy by initiating communication with teachers and parents.
1
District 115 is committed to providing greater levels of communication related to a student’s performance level within a given course
and/or grade level. During the 2016-17 school year, a committee will be established to investigate standards based reporting for grades
6-8, while in 2017-18 a committee will be established to investigate standards based reporting for grades 9-12.
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Comprehensive Grading Plan
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partner with teachers and parents to share their strengths, interests, celebrations, and needs.
Parent Role
Parents will...
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become informed decision-makers by collaborating with their child and educators to support the
student's pathway to academic success.
encourage and model the skills of a lifelong learner: persistent, curious, responsible, collaborative,
adaptable, open-minded, problem solving, and analytical.
develop student awareness of educational expectations and support teachers in order to achieve those
expectations.
familiarize themselves with curriculum standards and assessment criteria.
foster independence for students.
partner with teachers and staff to communicate their child’s strengths, interests, celebrations, and needs.
Learning Activities
A variety of meaningful learning activities contribute to student achievement and are an essential part of the
educational process, both inside and outside of the classroom. All assigned learning within the school day must
be developed to address the unique needs and abilities of each student. When learning is assigned to take place
outside of the school day2, it will allow students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in a
meaningful way or challenge each student based upon the personalized needs of the student.
In addition to the skills and outcomes taught within all content areas during the school day, we believe reading
is a significant learning activity which will enhance, extend, and globalize learning for the purpose of improving
student success and achievement, and should be a part of the learning taking place outside of the school day.
All Assigned Learning Outside of the School Day Must Be…
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Designed and assigned once the student is able to practice competently or used as a means for prelearning opportunities where students are preparing for a classroom activity or discussion
Aligned to learning targets allowing students greater opportunities to reflect on concepts learned in class
or to apply concepts to new learning
Meaningful and purposeful
Exclusive of reading on a nightly basis as this is something that is expected.
Realistic in length, duration, and difficulty (above and beyond reading, no more than 10 minutes per
grade level, ie. fifth grade = 50 minutes).
Inclusive of student access to all necessary resources
Assigned learning outside of the school day will not be included as a part of a student’s grade on an outcome,
component, or course; however, there may be situations when additional time is necessary to complete a project
2
Learning Activity Outside of the School Day refers to any work assigned to be completed outside of the classroom. This work may
be completed at home.
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or large assignment which may be graded. Any grades related to behavior, participation, and attendance may be
used to evaluate learner characteristics but will not be used as a part of achievement grades.
Grading System
Student achievement of learning standards is derived from a combination of assessments, some of which result
in a recorded grade. Teachers are responsible for assigning grades based on student achievement as
demonstrated by student performance on summative assessments (ie. local outcome assessments, projects,
written work, presentations, and/or any other work providing students an opportunity to demonstrate mastery on
a given set of skills). Teachers will utilize formative, or more daily checks on student understanding as a means
to inform instruction provided to individual or groups of students.
District 115 defines assessment as a process to gather information related to identified outcomes and
components given specific purposes and audiences. There are four forms of assessment that have been
identified and used for specific purposes and/or tasks:
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Pre-assessments: assessments used prior to instruction to collect information to guide teacher planning
in order to support differentiated instruction.
Progress monitoring assessments: assessments designed to measure the growth of individual students
who are receiving an intervention.
Formative assessments: assessments that involve ongoing checks for understanding for the purpose of
instructional decision-making which are not included as a part of a student’s grade.
Summative assessments: assessments used to measure student mastery of learner outcomes. After
substantial teacher support and checking for understanding within a unit of instruction, summative
assessments and/or projects, presentations and/or written work will be provided a grade. Due to the fact
that students are able to demonstrate their knowledge throughout the course, the last summative
assessment will reflect the final outcome of the course and will be of similar value to other assessments.
As a means to communicate assessment data to families and students, teachers will synthesize and interpret all
summative assessment data in order to compile a grade for reporting purposes. Reporting of all grades in
District 115 is expected to support the student, parent and teacher in a collaborative process identifying a
student’s area(s) of success as well as need(s) for growth.
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Reporting Learning Standards Mastery
K-5 Grade Reporting
Grades K-5 will utilize a standards based report card to monitor and report student progress. Report cards will
be given on a quarterly basis.
The standards based scale is as follows in Core Content Areas (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies):
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M = Meets
N = Not Yet Met
NA = Not applicable
I = Incomplete
Within the comment section on the report card, teachers will provide an explanation of all grades assigned an
“N”.
K-5 PE, Art & Music is reported as follows:
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M = Meets
P = Progressing
N = Not Yet Met
I = Incomplete
6-12 Grade Reporting
Grades 6-12 will be determined using a percentage scale. Student performance in relation to the standards for a
given subject will be the basis for determining percentages. The letter grade scale (A, B, C, D, and F) is as
follows:
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A: 100-90
B: 89-80
C: 79-70
D: 69-60
F: 59 and below
Weighted Grades
A system of weighted grades will be applied as outlined in the high school’s curriculum guide.
Extra Credit
Extra credit is not offered in Yorkville CUSD 115. It is the district’s belief that extra credit inaccurately
influences a student’s record of achievement.
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Comprehensive Grading Plan
Communication of Grades
In order to effectively communicate grades, all educators will communicate student progress on a regular basis
through various means, including but not limited to progress reports, report cards, phone calls, online reporting,
conferences, etc. Additionally, Grades 6-12 educators will keep Home Access Center current on a weekly basis
for families to monitor student grades.
Grades K-5
Interim
Progress Report
(IPR)
Informally
throughout
quarter
Method
Report Card
Method
Various
Quarters 1-4
Electronically*
Grades 6-8
Halfway between
quarters
Electronically*
Quarters 1-4
Electronically*
Grades 9-12
Quarters 1 and 3
Electronically*
Semester
Electronically*
*Electronically through HAC – Home Access Center
Retakes
Teachers use a variety of assessments to determine the degree to which students have met course outcomes.
Students will be given the opportunity to retake/rewrite the assessment or to show competency on a given
outcome in a different way but with comparable rigor and expectations. In order to retake/rewrite any
assessment, students and teachers will plan for different learning opportunities for students to complete in
preparation for the retake/rewrite. Students will be provided multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery of
outcomes.
Absent Work
Teachers and students will collaborate to make-up the learning activities and summative assessments missed
due to absence.
Missed learning activities and summative assessments may be made up inside or outside of the school day
based on the type of activity and must be completed by the end of the current marking period as defined by the
school calendar. Summative assessments not completed will be assigned a grade of incomplete.
Incomplete Grades
District 115 recognizes that there may be times when student grades may need to reflect an incomplete. At the
end of the marking period, summative assessments that have not been completed will need to be resolved by the
student within three weeks into the next marking period.* Teachers must communicate with administration,
students and parents in the event an incomplete is issued as well as work together to establish a plan to resolve
incompletes. Failure to resolve an incomplete will result in a zero for the summative assessment.
*Graduating seniors must have all incompletes resolved prior to graduation practice.
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Zero Policy
Grades reflect students’ performance of specific skills; therefore, academic behaviors such as producing timely
work, engaging in class, and participating in class activities will not factor into a student’s performance grade.
However, students may receive feedback that reflects those academic behaviors.
Based on research, the use of zeroes creates a severe mathematical penalty that is often unrecoverable due to the
misapplication of the mathematical ratio when assigning a zero to an assignment. Therefore, District 115
believes that zeroes should be discouraged for reporting student performance. Discretionary use of zeroes may
only be used when all other efforts have been exhausted, including the following:
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Students provided opportunities to redo/complete the work during independent work time or before/after
school
Students provided the opportunity to complete the work in another location during a free period or noninstructional block of time
Students provided extra copies of summative assessments/learning activities/projects/rubrics
Students’ parents are notified of missing or late work
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is regarded as a fundamental principle in District 115. More specifically, all students are
expected to maintain a high standard of individual honor in academic work undertaken for any class. This
expectation is further reinforced within the District’s Handbook at each level (elementary, middle and high
school), which requires students to:
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Acknowledge the sources used to support any written or spoken work;
Complete all assignments independently unless otherwise noted;
Avoid participation in any form of academic dishonesty.
Grade Promotion
It is critical that students demonstrate proficiency in basic skills. All decisions to promote a student who has yet
to demonstrate fundamental, grade level mastery of identified district approved outcomes will be determined on
a case-by-case basis, with the student’s academic and social-emotional needs in mind.
Student Accommodations/Modifications
Accommodations and modifications can be made for a student in practice, instruction, and/or assessment. An
accommodation and/or modification should be specifically matched to the needs exhibited by the student. An
accommodation does not change the instructional outcomes of the lesson, assignment, or course, but provides a
change in the avenue in which it is delivered, practiced, or assessed. Any accommodations provided for a
student during the instructional time should also be provided during assessment based on their IEP/504 and/or
state guidelines. A modification indicates a change in the instruction, practice, and/or assessment resulting in
the student being exposed to, interacting with, and being assessed on fewer than the specified course-related
outcomes or different course/grade level outcomes.
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Guidelines for English Language Learners (ELL)
District 115’s grading policy shall not adversely affect a learner solely based on the student’s English language
proficiency. Instruction and assessments must be adjusted appropriately to the student's level of English
language proficiency as indicated on the ACCESS assessment for ELL students so that each student is provided
the opportunity to attain expected benchmarks. English learners must receive a grade that represents an accurate
evaluation of achievement based on their English language acquisition. Teachers will determine student grades
based upon progress toward and achievement of the benchmarks.
Other
Though every effort is made to address the impact of State Statute and Federal mandates on the Yorkville
Community Unit School District’s Comprehensive Grading Plan, it is possible that answers may not be found in
this document. These omissions are not to be construed as District 115 granting permission for issues not
covered in the Comprehensive Grading Plan. For clarification on these types of issues, please contact the
Department of Teaching and Learning.
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Glossary
Competency: the ability to do something successfully or efficiently.
Component: The skills and concepts necessary to accomplish an outcome.
Home Access Center (HAC): The Home Access Center (HAC) provides families and students with 24/7
access to academic information as well as contact, attendance, and schedule information. Visit the district
webpage to learn more about the HAC and how to utilize this resource.
Integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
Mastery: comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment.
Outcome: A clear, concise statement that describes what students will be able to do after instruction. These
align with the course and grade-level purposes.
Progress Report: A report of a student’s academic before the conclusion of the grading period.
Report Card: A report of a student’s academic accomplishments and learner characteristics given each grading
period during the school year.
Weighted Grades: are number or letter grades that are assigned a numerical advantage when calculating
a grade point average, or GPA.
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Bibliography
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