Grading Policy

At Del Webb Middle School, we believe that grades are a measure of student learning. In order for grades to accurately reflect what students know about a given topic, students will need to complete all of their assignments on time and understand the grading policies and procedures.

Teacher feedback is critical to student progress. Teachers use their assessment of student work to assist with instructional planning. Timely submission of work ensures that teachers accurately understand what content students have mastered and what may require more teaching or practice for mastery.

Grading Scale

All Del Webb Middle School courses adhere to the CCSD Grades 6-12 grading scale.

Grades 6–12

A 90–100% Excellent 4.0
B 80–89% Above Average 3.0
C 70–79% Average 2.0
D 60–69% Below Average 1.0
F 50–59% Emergent 0
P Passing (To be used for specific courses designated by the Academic Unit)

Del Webb teachers will accurately score and communicate student progress toward mastery of the standards. Individual assignments may have scores that are below 50%; student assignment scores will reflect the percentage of the work that demonstrates mastery of standards. If the course grade is less than 50% at the end of the quarter, the course grade must be overwritten to the minimum score on the CCSD grading scale (50%).

Infinite Campus Gradebook Category Weighting

All Del Webb Middle School courses will use the following categories and weighting to calculate grades:
Formative Assessments: 20% of the overall grade
These assignments are checkpoints during the unit of study designed to monitor student progress toward mastery and provide actionable feedback to inform teaching and learning strategies.
Summative Assessments: 80% of the overall grade
These assignments are designed for students to demonstrate mastery of standards after instruction and learning have taken place.
Students will be afforded multiple opportunities to show mastery of content standards through formative and summative assessments. Students will receive feedback on formative and summative assessments to help inform their learning.

Exams

Missing Work

Assignments that have not been turned in by the due date will be labeled “Missing” in Canvas and “M” in Infinite Campus. The mark “M” has a score of 0 in the gradebook. Once the missing work is submitted, the “M” is replaced with a score reflecting the student’s academic performance, and the “L” flag is added to the assignment to monitor the student's behavior, separate from the academic grade.

Students will have five school days from when the assignment is due to submit the missing work. Teachers will use established means of communication (i.e., Infinite Campus Messenger, Canvas Inbox, etc.) to send messages to those who have not submitted their work. Students may submit late work without a penalty during the five-day grace period. Teachers will not grade work submitted after the five-day window. If the student does not submit the missing work within the five-day grace period, the teacher has no evidence of the student’s content mastery; therefore, the “M” will remain in the gradebook.

Homework

All Del Webb Middle School courses may use homework as an opportunity for students to practice skills learned in class or as an extension of learning. While homework completion status will not carry weight in the gradebook, much of the content will require additional practice time beyond the school day to demonstrate mastery on the formative and summative assessments. Students who struggle with mastering the material will need to take advantage of school-provided opportunities and resources to support their learning. The DWMS homework expectations are in accordance with Policy 6143 and Regulation 6143.

Reporting Behaviors

Academic grades do not include learner behaviors or work habits. While these nonacademic behaviors impact learning, they are not included in student academic grades; instead, they are assessed using the Del Webb Middle School Citizenship Guidelines Rubric and reported through Citizenship grades on quarterly report cards.

Del Webb Middle School students are expected to demonstrate Respect, Pride, Responsibility, Kindness, and Leadership. Students who struggle in these areas will be identified and offered additional behavioral support.

Students who engage in cheating, forgery, or plagiarism will be addressed in alignment with the CCSD Pre-Kindergarten–12 Student Code of Conduct. Students are provided with an opportunity to demonstrate their learning to ensure accuracy in academic reporting while also receiving targeted support to improve their behavior.

Reassessment Opportunities

Students who earn a passing grade (A-C) will be allowed one opportunity to retake summative assessments. Students receiving a passing grade who wish to reassess their learning must request reassessment within one week (five school days) of the assessment score being shared with students. Students who do not earn a passing grade (D or F) will be offered one opportunity to retake each summative assessment during the instructional day. All reassessments will occur at least one week before the end of the grading term. Students interested in a reassessment opportunity are required to be active participants in the reassessment process. Students must complete and submit a reassessment reflection to their teacher as part of the process and may also be required to complete missing work or participate in a relearning session with their teacher. Reassessment may take a different format than the original assessment. Reassessments may be limited in scope to the content components for which the student has yet to show mastery or may involve test corrections or an alternate assignment. The format of the reassessment is at the discretion of the teacher.

Communication with Students and Families

All Del Webb Middle School teachers are responsible for keeping scores and grades entered into the gradebooks up-to-date. This ensures students have time to reflect on and improve their grades prior to the end of the marking period. Teachers must communicate student grades via the Infinite Campus Grade Book in accordance with Regulation 5122. The weekly parent newsletter will include reminders for parents to check student grades.

Tips for Student Success

Stay current with classwork and homework. Students with missing and late assignments are disadvantaged because they do not benefit from timely teacher feedback and intervention. They tend to struggle with assessments. Staying current with the learning activities in the classroom helps cognitively solidify the learning process for the student.
If your child has low scores on formative assessments, encourage them to reach out to their teacher for additional support as soon as possible. This helps avoid unnecessary challenges with the content and allows for more effective preparation for the summative assessment.
Encourage your child to speak with their teacher if they don’t understand a concept or if they need to engage in the reassessment process. Student self-advocacy on behalf of their educational progress is an important skill.
Many different resources and forms of support are available to our students, including after-school tutoring sessions and online instructional applications. Contact the teacher or grade-level counselor for more information about additional resources.
Make use of the resources and supports posted in the Canvas classroom. Many teachers have links to resources, tutorials, and videos to explain information in various formats. Parents are also encouraged to set up a Canvas Parent Observer account. For instructions on how to become a parent observer in Canvas, click here.