You are responsible for knowing what is contained
in this handout; don’t plead ignorance to running afoul of any of these
guidelines.
grading scale
90% = A
80% = B
70% = C
60% = D
less than 60% = F
weight of grades
tests = 35%
classwork = 25%
essays = 15%
reading = 15%
seating charts = 10%
about grades
We will be using
Integrade Pro, the official grading system of
1.
By category.
Up above you see five categories of grades. Tests, for example, are worth more
than three times the amount of seating charts.
2.
By assignment.
Each assignment is given its own scale factor. A scale factor is what
the value of the assignment is multiplied by. For example, an assignment out of
ten with a scale factor of two is actually worth twenty points. If the scale
factor is .5, the assignment is worth half as much.
The end result is
an extremely accurate grading system, but one that you simply have to trust.
The one thing you do have some control over is the raw score. The raw
score is what you actually got on the assignment. If you have a paper with a 10
at the top, but the grade book says 5, show me the paper. I’ll
simply correct the error.
Extra Credit: If I do use the term “extra credit,” it usually
means “something fluffy or whimsical.” But, in reality, there is no true extra
credit. It is possible to get over a hundred percent on most every grade in the
gradebook; if you’d like, consider getting over a hundred percent as extra
credit.
Curving: I guarantee a minimum
class average of 78%, C+, on all scores. Because most scores are below that, in
most cases I am raising the class average to 78%. This is why most scores are
curved—but curving only goes upward, not downward.
Due Dates: Most homework assignments are long-term
assignments, often covering a week or longer. In the case of long-term
assignments, the due date is an absolute due date. In the case of
absolute due dates, the assignment is due at the beginning of the period on the
due date, not later in the day. Notice that this policy takes away any
incentive students might have to stay home or to miss class on the day a major
assignment is due.
If you are absent on the day of an
absolute due date, the only way to get full credit is to have the assignment in
my mailbox. Ten percent off for one day late, twenty percent off for two days,
etc.
Explanation
of Categories
Classwork: The classwork category contains everything that
isn’t a test. Included in this category will be something called folders. Folders are nothing
more than a collection of your classwork covering (usually) about a three-week
period. Because of folder collections, you need to save your work when it is
returned to you. If you lose work before you turn it in with your folder, you
will not get credit for that work.
Note: When you are absent, you
are expected to ask for what you missed.
Seating Charts: Seating charts reflect both positive and negative aspects of class
participation.
Seating charts will be
added up every two weeks. At the beginning of the two-week period, all students
are given a free thirty points to start with. Whenever we do extra credit, the
extra credit points get added to your score. Also, when you raise your hand to
participate in class discussion or to simply answer a question, points are
added to your score. Whenever you do something wrong, five points will be
deducted from your score. Minus-fives are given for things not serious
enough for steps or referrals, but that still merit some sort of consequence:
tardies, not bringing materials, not reading or working when you’re supposed
to, overdue library books, putting your head down, complaining (especially
about the reading or the work that is assigned), interrupting, trash on the
floor, and all misbehavior in general.
More serious
consequences: Period cuts are minus 20; electronic devices (cell phones,
walkmans, etc.) receive a minus 20 (for active use) or a minus 10 (for passive
use). If it’s electronic or runs on batteries—this includes accessories—make
sure it’s off and out of sight.
Large bags and purses
and what not should be put away. Don’t wear hoods while in class.
Sometimes I will
tell you when I’m docking you; sometimes I won’t. I don’t like to interrupt the
entire class to announce the misdeeds of a single student. For example, if the
class is quietly reading, I’m not going to interrupt everyone to inform you
that you’ve lost five points for having your head down. The general rule is
this: If you did it, I saw it.
I add seating chart
points for puzzles, for answering questions in class, for discussion
participation, for bringing materials, for returning handouts, for volunteering
to read, for bringing a book and reading on AR day, and occasionally for other
reasons not listed here.
Pass Policy: You get one pass—of whatever variety—every two
weeks. (A second pass within a two-week period will cost you ten points.)
Paper:
You will need filler
paper, not paper torn from spiral notebooks. Also, don’t write in red or green.
I will make periodic checks for filler paper, worth seating chart points. Also,
I will dock those who, when it’s time to take out paper, are tearing paper out
instead of taking paper out. Why so strict? The most common type of trash that
piles up on classroom floors each day is the trash made from tearing paper out
from notebooks instead of taking out sheets of filler paper.
web page:
http://staff.hartdistrict.org/dmoelle
email: dmoelle@hartdistrict.org
Questions
1. Which grade category carries the
most weight?
2. Student A gets a 6 out of 10 and a
10 out of 10, in that order. Student B gets a 10 out of 10 and a 6 out of 10,
in that order. Yet the two students do not have the same grade in the class.
How can this be?
3. True or false: Mr. Moeller does
make extra credit available.
4. You take a test. There are 20
questions. You get 8 right. You get an A. How is this possible?
5. True or false: A major assignment
is due in three weeks. On that day you are absent. If you bring the assignment
the next day, you will receive full credit.
6. You turn in a paper. You get it
back with a score (a green number) at the top. Even though you have received a
score on the paper, you have yet to earn any points for that paper. Explain.
7. Someone offers you a hundred
dollars to lose 15 (and only 15) seating chart points. List three things you
would do to earn that hundred dollars.
8. Someone offers you a hundred
dollars to lose 40 seating chart points. List two things you would do to earn
that hundred dollars.
9. Every two weeks, you are allowed
to use how many out-of-class passes?
10.
You
walk in a classroom and see little strips of paper and lots of raggedy paper
edges all over the floor. The students in this class could help to improve
their classroom environment by meeting at Wal-Mart or Office Depot or some
other store and buying what?