Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Elementary School Grading Procedures Plan

CMS Vision
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools provides all students the best education available anywhere,
preparing every child to lead a rich and productive life.
Mission
The mission of CMS is to maximize academic achievement by every student in every school.

Strategic Plan 2024: What Matters Most

Strategy 1: Focus on what matters most- content, teachers and students in our instructional
core
 Content-level of complexity of the content students are asked to learn
 Teacher- knowledge and skill of the teacher
 Student- how students participate in their own education

Guiding Principles of Effective Grading Practices

Evaluating student progress and grading that progress are essential components of the
educational process (CMS Board Policy IKA). The purpose of assessment is to provide teachers,
students, parents and other individuals who support students’ learning with feedback on the
extent of individual student mastery. This allows adults to be strategic in designing future
instruction to meet students’ individual needs; it allows students to take ownership over their
academic performance and it ensures parents stay informed so they can be partners in the
education process.

Achieving the goals of Strategic Plan 2024: What Matters Most, instructional leaders and
teachers will embrace a shift in thinking and implementing effective, standards-based grading
practices. Standards-based grading practices will increase student achievement, reduce course
failures, and improve the academic environment. At any given time, students, teachers, and
parents can use a student’s grades to clearly understand the extent to which students are on track
to mastering the knowledge and skills needed to pass the course and move closer to high school
graduation. There will be alignment between course grades from teachers and scores on
assessments. Grades will provide specific feedback on the knowledge and skills students need to
practice more in order to improve their academic performance. Students who do not initially
demonstrate mastery on standards-based assessments can receive additional support and can
show their ongoing growth through retests. This ensures students are held accountable to
mastering the content by the end of the grade. The objective of these practices is not to give
students unearned grades, but to create an environment in which students earn higher grades
because they put forth more effort, improve through teacher feedback, and complete work at a
higher level of quality.

(Research from Douglas Reeves, Elements of Grading, 2011)

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Effective Grading Practices:
1. Teachers
a. shall ensure that grades reflect mastery of content,
b. shall record grades in PowerSchool within ten school days of the assignment’s due date,
c. shall not use grades in a punitive manner,
d. shall assign the initial score earned for an assignment or assessment on which the student
made a concerted attempt;
e. shall assign an initial score of zero (0) to an assignment or assessment on which a student
made no attempt or which is missing,
f. shall implement the following guidelines related to formal assessments:
i. Assessments should be standards-based and measure students’ level of mastery on
specific learning objectives,
ii. Additional practice will be provided for students who do not achieve initial mastery
(79%),
iii. Following additional practice, new opportunities shall be provided to measure student
mastery. A maximum score of 79% can be earned.

2. Assignments
a. Late work and make-up work must be accepted by all teachers in accordance with the
procedures established by the school. These procedures must align to the CMS Board
Regulation IKB-R:
i. A student who misses homework or other assignments or due dates because of
absences, whether excused or unexcused, must be allowed to make up the work.
Arrangements for completing the work should be made within five school days of the
student’s return to school. Arrangements should include a schedule for completion of the
work. For elementary students, the teacher must initiate the contact with students
regarding such work.
ii. In all circumstances, homework and other assignments should be accepted, even when
turned in after the designated due date. Credit for late work shall be awarded according to
the following guidelines:
1. If the student was present in class on the due date, the work may be given less
credit;
2. If the student was not present in class on the due date because of an excused
absence, full credit must be given for the completed work;
3. If the student was not present in class on the due date because of an unexcused
absence, the work may be given less credit.

Principals will work with staff and students to establish consistent school-wide procedures
for giving less credit for make-up work due to unexcused absences and work turned in past
the due date. These procedures will be communicated clearly to teachers, students, parents
and all other school stakeholders.
b. Graded assignments should be aligned with content standards. Giving students extra credit
or grades for activities such as bringing in canned goods, classroom materials, parent
signatures or participating in non-curricular activities are not acceptable grading strategies.
c. Projects should not place an undue burden on students/families with limited access to
technology and/or financial resources.
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3. Students with a 504 plan, Individualized Education Program (IEP) or who are identified as Limited
English Proficient (LEP) should receive accommodations on assignments and assessments to allow
them to engage in on-grade level content. Teachers should assess student work based on these
accommodated assignments and assessments and not compared to their peers or other norm
referenced standards. While students with accommodations can receive below grade level marks,
these marks should be based on the students’ performance with specified accommodations.
Additionally, if a student with accommodations is failing, the 504, IEP or LEP team should
reconvene to review and amend the plan as needed.

Percentage Breakdown:
Classwork/Informal Assessments/Homework Formal Assessments
40% of quarter grade 60% of quarter grade
Classwork must include a variety of assignments such Formal assessments must include a variety of
as warm-ups, notebook checks, quizzes, group work, assignments such as tests, comprehensive writing
in-class tasks, class participation, etc. Class assignments, projects, etc. A minimum of 4 formal
participation rubrics must be approved by the assessments per quarter shall be included in the final
principal/designee. grade. Project rubrics must be approved by the
principal/designee.

The principal will be responsible for developing a process of approving and monitoring teachers’
gradebooks. The process shall ensure an appropriate number of informal assessments are assigned to
calculate a grade that accurately represents mastery of content objectives.

Mastery Grading Plans

The goal of designing mastery grading plans is to create consistency of best practices.

mastery learning.
ol Leadership Teams will support the development of consistent procedures that maintain
consistency with school level (elementary, middle, K-8 and high) and the CMS Grading
Procedures.
to provide input on the
creation and implementation of the mastery grading plan.

following components in the development of mastery grading plans:

o Common assessments,
o Data disaggregation,
o Flexible grouping,
o Additional learning opportunities,
o Late and make-up work,
o Timeliness of recording grades in PowerSchool,
o Professional development,
o Communication to staff, students and parents regarding the practices of mastery
learning.
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 Grading Students with Disabilities

What is the Individual Education Program (IEP) Team required to do if a student with a
disability is failing a grade or course?

The IEP team is required to convene in order to review and, if necessary, to revise a student’s IEP
whenever a student is failing a subject(s) or class(es) to address any lack of expected progress in the
general curriculum. This allows parents and students to be apprised of any difficulties the student
may be experiencing in the general education classroom and/or special education program. New or
additional interventions or strategies may be implemented to improve student performance. Special
Education services, including accommodations and related services, may need to be reviewed by the
IEP team.

Do federal or state laws provide guidance on how to grade students with special needs?
Federal and state special education regulations are largely silent on the topic of assigning a grade.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has a Board of Education policy that addresses grading of all
students. This policy outlines appropriate grading policies and grading scales for schools. IEP teams
must provide accommodations or modifications found on a student’s IEP. Although students with
disabilities have required accommodations and modifications, IEP Teams cannot provide an
accommodation or modification that is in violation of Board policy (i.e., using a different grading
scale or using a different type of grade). Teachers should maintain written documentation to support
grades earned for all students.

What role should a student’s score(s) on the EOG/EOC assessment(s) play in their final grade?
Report cards represent an opportunity to evaluate students across three areas: the work they produce, the
process through which they complete their work and the effort they put into their assignments.
Standardized testing generally measures the amount of course or academic content retained or produced
and so it is in many ways incomplete. It is quite likely that the student is learning more than is measured
solely by the EOG/EOC assessment(s). The report card provides a place to communicate this fact to
parents and students.

When students with disabilities are in a co-taught class, who is responsible for assigning their
grades? Who is accountable for their performance on high stakes tests?
The general education teacher is the teacher of record for the entire class. Both teachers share
responsibility for all the students in their co-taught class and should collaborate on all areas of instruction.
How do teachers document on the PowerSchool Report Card that a student’s work is
modified?

Report cards should have no indication that a child may be receiving Exceptional Children services.
Teachers should use the IEP progress report to document academic and behavior specific
information, which may include attachments of data collection and/or work samples that inform a
parent of student progress. They should also continue to maintain ongoing communication with the
family regarding strengths and needs of the student.

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 Grading English Language Learners (ELLs)

Student work should be graded in accordance with what they “Can Do” based on English language
proficiency levels. Classroom teachers should design and modify instruction, assignments and tests
based on students’ English language proficiency levels in reading, writing, listening and speaking as
determined by the WIDA W-APT or ACCESS test.

ELLs may receive language modifications and testing accommodations in the classroom, while being
instructed with Core Curriculum State Standards on grade level. The WiDA English Language
Development Standards should be used as a tool to access Core Curriculum State Standards. The
WiDA Can Do Descriptors highlight examples of what students can do at each English proficiency
level. It is a grade specific resource designed to guide teachers in planning for meaningful activities
with ELLs.

Report card grades should reflect these instructional and language modifications without limiting the
student from earning the highest grade in the content area. Students should not receive grades of “D,”
“F,” or "I" on assignments solely based on their limited English proficiency. A student could receive
a “D,” “F,” or "I" only if the student’s lack of performance on appropriately modified work warrants
such a grade.

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