GRADING POLICY
“The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure.”
The fifth grade team wants your child to be properly prepared for the MIDDLE SCHOOL experience to come. We want to stress the importance for your child accepting the rewards and consequences of assigned tasks. To help your child develop good study habits and a strong work ethic, the following rules concerning classwork and homework assignments will be enforced.
Due Date
Fifth grade will only accept work as it is assigned (usually due on that day). (We realize that there are always circumstances that are unique and require individual attention. This will be dealt with as necessary. ) If your child did not have the opportunity to complete the work that day in class, depending on the reason why, the assignment may be turned in the following day without penalty. This is based on teacher discretion.
Late Work
Work will only be accepted up to ONE WEEK LATE. Late work will result in having ten (10) points subtracted from the original grade.
Students who have been absent will have one week to make up all missing work. Please remember that much of our work is explained in detail during class, and the assignments are based on notes that students acquire during class. Your child will not have the benefit of that classroom instruction when absent.
Returned Work
I will return work back to students for the following reasons:
“REDO” or “SEE ME”- The student needs further help with this paper. Many opportunities are given during the day in order to provide the extra individual help your child may need. It is the responsibility of the student to seek the extra help needed by asking me for extra help individually. These papers are NOT considered complete until they are fixed up and turned back in. "Redos" are assignments that the student really needs to work on again because the student most likely did not master the skill or concept taught and needs my additional individual help. A "redo" paper may also occur when directions are not followed correctly or minimal effort has obviously been applied. REDO’s are based upon teacher discretion. If I feel that a child simply doesn’t put forth any effort and a pattern of this occurs, I WILL not accept the redo.
“INCOMPLETE” - These assignments are returned to the students and are NOT graded or counted as completed until they are fixed up and turned back in.
MY THOUGHTS
The philosophy behind these returned papers is that I would rather see a student master the skill and do a better job by allowing a second chance, than to simply just accept a low grade and move on without the skill being mastered. Ignoring the issue won’t result in learning. Learning the skill before climbing up to the next level skill is necessary. To climb a ladder, one must take a step at a time as you go up. This is an important way in which learning takes place. Better to learn the task at hand BEFORE moving on to newer skills.